By John Benedict, Hal Harwell, Sarah Habeeb
A secluded African American Cemetery (Fig. 1) is just three miles north of Boerne with 122 graves from 1890 – the Wren Cemetery (41KE306). Those laid to rest here are former slaves and their descendants who lived in Kendall County before and after the Civil War. This is their story as we discovered it.
Figure 1. Descendants of Wren Family, Gloria Thompson (left) and May Herndon (right), at the Wren Cemetery entrance. Source: Cathy Schwarz.
The cemetery is named after Alex (1838-1924) and Charlotte Wren (1848-1840) who once owned a 160-acre homestead here (Fig. 2). It is a beautiful cemetery with many attractive headstones. All those buried here are related by birth or marriage to the Wren family of 10 that arrived in Kendall County about 1852. They were among 20 slaves owned by Methodist Circuit Riding Preacher Daniel A. Rawls (1783-1862). Alex was about 14 years old when he arrived.
Figure 2. Graves of Alex and Charlotte Wren in the foreground. Visitors are (L to R) Virgil Hardin and May Herndon, descendants of Alex and Charlotte, and County Judge Darrel Lux, 2018. Source: John Benedict.
Rawls bought 640 acres near today’s Rawls Creek just west of Kendalia on the eastern side of Kendall County. The community was called Curry’s Creek. He built a home (Fig. 3) and slave quarters (Fig. 4) and began farming and ranching with his slaves.
After the Civil War, Alex married Charlotte Manning and acquired the 160-acre property where the cemetery is located as a Preemption Land Grant. About the same time, three other African Americans acquired tracks of land adjoining Alex’s to create a 606-acre community or colony — called the Wren Freedom Colony. The 2-acre Wren Cemetery is all that remains of this colony today.
Figure 3. The ruins of Daniel Rauls’ home looking north, August 7, 2024. The home was built in the early 1850s possibly by the slaves that Daniel Rauls owned. Source: John Benedict.
Figure 4. Former slave cabin drawn using the actual cabin sometime before 1990. Fireplace and chimney standing today. Thought to have housed Daniel Rawls’ slaves. Source: Bettie Edmonds.
More than 600 similar Freedom Colonies were formed across Texas after the Civil War. Typically, in locations invisible to white society where these former slaves could marry and work together to farm/ranch, raise children, worship, go to school and learn how to live as free citizens in white society.
Two more Freedom Colonies developed in Kendall County and others in surrounding counties. Alex’s older brother, Burrell Wren (1832-1890?) purchased land east of Kendalia on Simmons Creek, just a few miles from where he had been a slave.
By 1870 Burrell had joined five other African Americans who purchase adjoining land. Together they owned a total of 553 acres that formed the Simmons Creek Freedom Colony. Two of these landowners, Hiram City (1837-1896) and his brother, Murray (1839-1908), had also been slaves of Rawls with the Wren family.
Burrell married Millie Reily (1847-1914), the daughter of Sebron Reily (1832-1908), both slaves of Judge W. Early Jones. Sebron also purchased land in the Simmons Creek Colony. Jones and his nine slaves lived in the Curry’s Creek Community near Preacher Rawls and the Wren family.
Figure 5. Mahalie (1847-1929) and Murray City (1839-1908) headstone in the Simmons Creek Cemetery. Source: John Benedict.
The Simmons Colony has an old colony cemetery with nine graves that can be seen today. Only one has a clearly marked headstone for Murray City and his wife (Fig. 5). Burrell and Millie Wren are likely buried here in unmarked graves.
The other features we found were many dry stacked fieldstone walls suggesting areas for animal pens or gardens or homes. The stone walls and cemetery can be seen today.
Alex’s father, Benjamin’s (1806-1889) and mother, Cathrine “Kittie” Wren (1810-1900) acquired 129 acres of land to form the third Freedom Colony. They were also slaves of Rawls. Benjamin’s land was on Zink Creek in Spanish Pass northwest of Boerne about five miles. Robert Meadows (1847-1924) acquired 160 acres nearby on Wasp Creek, creating a colony of 280 acres. This Freedom colony is called the Spanish Pass or Wasp Creek Colony. At least seven African American families lived in this colony.
Figure 6. Headstone for Kathrine “Kittie” Wren or Rain (1810-1900) the matriarch of the Wren Family. Source: John Benedict.
The Spanish Pass/Wasp Creek Colony has a cemetery that can be seen today. It contains about 13 graves but only one has a clearly inscribed headstone. It is the grave of the matriarch of the Wren family, Cathrine or Kathrine Wren (Fig. 6). We believe Benjamin is buried in the grave next to her. There are dry-stacked rock wall features here similar to those on Simmons Creek Colony and Rawls homestead.
Colony Growth and Migration
Family ties between these three colonies were close. For example, Robert Meadows married Lucinda Street (1853-1925) who was the sister of Richard Street (1843-1892). Richard owned 160 acres in the Wren Colony and married Amanda Wren (1846-1884). Amanda was the daughter of Benjamin and Kittie Wren and the sister of Alex and Burrell.
By 1900, the number of folks in the three colonies had grown significantly. For example, Alex and Charlotte had 18 children and 57 grandchildren. At this time the oldest generation was passing away. And there was a large younger generation that wanted better opportunities for education, worship, work and social life.
Moreover, the weather was not easing life in the colonies. Floods in 1900 and drought in 1910, plus the coming of the boll weevil caused many to leave. By 1925, the properties of the three colonies were not owned by African Americans — they had moved, migrated to cities and states that offered what they needed. Some moved to Boerne.
Figure 7. Royal School for African Americans located in the Flats community of Boerne. Photo was taken some time between 1920 and 1950. Source: Leaford Miller. “Boerne Negroes.” Boerne Star Newspaper.
After 1887, a block of land in Boerne was developed for homes called the “Irons’ and Graham’s Addition,” or just “the Flats.” About 1910, Charlotte Wren moved to the Flats along with some of her children and grandchildren. In 1924 she sold the Wren property except for the cemetery which was set aside and managed by the Boerne Colored Cemetery Association. By 1930 there were 43 African Americans living in the Flats who owned or rented 17 homes; they were mostly from the former colonies.
Figure 8. Students and teachers at the Royal School in the Boerne Flats Community, 1920. Most of these children lived in the Flats. Source: Garland Perry. 1998. “Historic Images of Boerne and Kendall County Texas.”
Boerne provided a school building in 1910 (Fig. 7), named the “Royal School” for first through sixth grade (Fig. 8). Many African American families left Boerne so their children could attend junior and senior high because African American children were not allowed to attend Boerne white schools until the 1960s.
In the 1950s, the last two African American children were taught at the Royal School. The last African American living in the Flats died in 1999 and is buried in the Wren Cemetery. To our knowledge no descendants live in Boerne or the county today, but there are hundreds across the United States.
Echoes from Archives is compiled by the Patrick Heath Public Library with contributions from many local authors, researchers and historians.