South Texas & San Antonio: Black History, Culture & Place™_2

There are so many layers of history and culture in the south Texas and San Antonio region that it is literally very difficult to take a step without encountering a significant landmark or story. For many years a myth has been generated that there is “…no significant Black history in south Texas and San Antonio.” Documentation ranging from periodicals, church histories, photographs, maps and public records makes it clear that the myth is absolutely not true.

The Menger Soap Works structure was built in 1850, on the west bank of San Pedro Creek, less than one half mile west of the San Antonio River. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of pre-Civil War industrial architecture, and currently serves as the leasing office for a modern apartment complex. However, between 1868 and 1873 it was rented to “Colored Methodist” and African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church congregations for fifteen dollars a month for religious services. The congregations were started by former Black slaves.  In the coming decades, the congregations evolved to serve Black enclaves within one mile of historic Main Plaza, on the west side of the city. Successors of these original Black congregations still survive in west San Antonio, approaching their one hundred and fiftieth anniversaries.