Earliest Juneteenth celebration photographs from 19th-century

Camille Fine, USA TODAY
Updated ·1 min read
109
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years before all enslaved people in Confederate territory were told they were free.

Juneteenth, a combination of "June" and "nineteenth,"  is a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It is considered the longest-running African American holiday.

On Jan. 1, 1863, known as “Freedom’s Eve,” enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country until the news had arrived: President Abraham Lincoln issued the declaration "that all persons held as slaves" in the rebel states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.

Enslavers were responsible for informing enslaved people, but not everyone in Confederate-controlled territory would immediately be told. The westernmost Confederate state of Texas was the last to announce the proclamation. On June 19, 1865, 2,000 Union troops under Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed a community of 250,000 enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas, who came to know the date as "Juneteenth."

With victory for the Union all but certain after the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865, the following day Abraham Lincoln traveled by boat to the Confederate capital, accompanied by a party that included his young son Tad, Admiral David Dixon Porter, and a small contingent of marines. This print was copied after an eyewitness drawing of the jubilation for Lincoln.
A carte-de-viste depicting the Fisk University Jubilee Singers with all nine members present, 1872.
A carte-de-viste depicting the Fisk University Jubilee Singers with all nine members present, 1872.

One of the earliest Juneteenth celebrations took place at Wheeler’s Grove, now known as Eastwoods Park located on Harris Park Avenue in Central Austin, and was photographed in 1900 by Grace Murray Stephenson, a young, white woman who lived a few blocks away, according to Austin Parks and Recreation. Stephenson later sold her story and photographs to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Today, Juneteenth is typically celebrated with educational activities for children, parades, concerts, beauty pageants and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, Steve Williams, president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, told USA Today in 2020.

Group of children on Juneteenth in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
Group of children on Juneteenth in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
Barbecuing the meat at the Emancipation Day Celebration on June 19, 1900. The 1900 celebration was held in "East Woods" on East 24th St. near the home of the photographer.
Barbecuing the meat at the Emancipation Day Celebration on June 19, 1900. The 1900 celebration was held in "East Woods" on East 24th St. near the home of the photographer.
Juneteenth band. Photograph by Grace Murray Stephenson of celebrations in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
Juneteenth band. Photograph by Grace Murray Stephenson of celebrations in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
Group of men in Civil War uniforms, likely for a re-enactment of the Union’s entry into Galveston in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
Group of men in Civil War uniforms, likely for a re-enactment of the Union’s entry into Galveston in Eastwoods Park, Austin, 1900.
People and picnic tables under a tent in the park near "East Woods" on East 24th Street. Mrs. Grace Murray Stephenson, the photographer, kept a diary of the day's events, which she later sold to the San Francisco Chronicle which wrote a full-page feature on it.
People and picnic tables under a tent in the park near "East Woods" on East 24th Street. Mrs. Grace Murray Stephenson, the photographer, kept a diary of the day's events, which she later sold to the San Francisco Chronicle which wrote a full-page feature on it.
Group of elders on Juneteenth during celebrations in Eastwoods Park, Austin, Texas in 1900.
Group of elders on Juneteenth during celebrations in Eastwoods Park, Austin, Texas in 1900.
Morris Givens Band and Negro National Guard at Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler's Grove, June 19, 1900.
Morris Givens Band and Negro National Guard at Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler's Grove, June 19, 1900.
An African American man stands near a wagon loaded with watermelons on June 19, 1900 in Texas.
An African American man stands near a wagon loaded with watermelons on June 19, 1900 in Texas.
Flags and bunting greet the returned soldier at the Emancipation Day Juneteenth Celebration at Eastwoods Park, north of UT Campus, June 19, 1900.
Flags and bunting greet the returned soldier at the Emancipation Day Juneteenth Celebration at Eastwoods Park, north of UT Campus, June 19, 1900.

Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Earliest Juneteenth celebrations photographed in 1800s in Texas