DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Frenchtown Community in Harris County. Now settle in, because this is a story that moves — across centuries, across states, across a flooding river — and it ends right here in Houston. Long before Houston had a neighborhood called Frenchtown, there was a people called Creoles of Color taking shape in Louisiana across the 18th and 19th centuries.
They were a distinct ethnic cultural group, and distinct is the right word. Their roots ran four ways at once — French, Spanish, African, and Native American — and what grew from those roots was something the world hadn't quite seen before. They spoke standard or Creole French.
They practiced Catholicism. And before the Civil War, they held something precious and rare: they were free persons. Now, freedom in that era was not a simple thing to hold onto.
When Jim Crow laws swept in, their special status was gone. Many turned to sharecropping just to survive. And then, as if that wasn't enough, declining agricultural prices and drought came pressing down on top of that.
Hard times stacked on hard times. And then came 1927. The Mississippi River flooded — devastating is the word the marker uses, and it earns it.
Many of these Creole families fled west, moving along highways and rail lines, looking for somewhere to land. They landed in Houston. In Houston, they found work in industries tied to oil, construction, and railroads.
And they did something else — something that takes vision and will and a whole lot of trust in your neighbors. They built a community. Tight-knit.
Culturally unique. They called it Frenchtown, and today it's bounded by Collingsworth Street, Russell Street, Liberty Road, Quitman Street, and Jensen Drive. In 1929, the residents built Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, which later established a parochial school.
That church wasn't just a building — it was an anchor. Families maintained their cultural identity by marrying within the community, by closely supporting one another. They held what they called la-las — social gatherings built around food and music — and they used those gatherings to raise funds for building new homes.
Think about that. A party that builds a house. That's not just culture.
That's ingenuity. And the music. Zydeco — a blending of Creole la-la and the blues — played a vital role in setting this community apart.
It wasn't just background noise. It was a declaration. But after World War II, things began to shift.
Segregation ended. U.S. Highway 59 expanded through the area.
More non-Creole families moved in. Frenchtown started losing its identity as a Creole enclave, little by little, the way places sometimes do — not all at once, but steadily. And yet.
The story doesn't end there, and that matters. The popularity of Zydeco music and a renewed interest in Creole culture brought fresh attention back to this place. Preservation efforts took root.
The Frenchtown community association has worked at reclaiming this vibrant, distinctive area of Houston. A people who fled a flood, built a neighborhood from scratch, and poured their whole culture into the doing of it — they're still here, still worth knowing about. The marker was placed in 2007, and the story it tells is still very much alive.
What the marker says
A distinct ethnic cultural group, “Creoles of Color,” developed in Louisiana in the 18th and 19th centuries. With roots in French, Spanish, African and Native American cultures, they spoke standard or Creole French and practiced Catholicism. Free persons before the Civil War, they lost their special status with the onset of Jim Crow laws, and many turned to sharecropping to survive but suffered further with declining agricultural prices and drought. Escaping the devastating 1927 Mississippi River flood, many fled west via highways and rail lines. In Houston, they took jobs in industries related to oil, construction and railroads. They established a tight-knit, culturally unique community called Frenchtown, today bounded by Collingsworth Street, Russell Street, Liberty Road, Quitman Street and Jensen Drive. In 1929, residents built Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, which later established a parochial school. Families maintained their cultural identity by marrying within the community and closely supporting their neighbors. They held la-las, social gatherings centered on food and music, to raise funds for building new homes. Zydeco music, a blending of Creole la-la and the blues, also played a vital role in distinguishing this community. Frenchtown began to lose its identity as a Creole enclave after World War II as segregation ended, U.S. Highway 59 expanded and more non-creole families moved here. Later, the popularity of Zydeco music and a renewed interest in Creole culture brought attention to this unique community and led to various preservation efforts. The Frenchtown community association has aided in the reclaiming of this vibrant, distinctive area of Houston. (2007)