Honoring Jacob Fontaine

Jacob Fontaine probably never imagined that 125 years after his death he would receive a plaque and recognition honoring his legacy. Born into slavery in 1808 in Arkansas, Fontaine was brought to Austin in 1839, the same year our city was founded. Jacob Fontaine’s enslaver, Edward Fontaine, organized the first church services in Austin and worked in the Texas government. Jacob Fontaine was educated, which was a rarity (and often illegal) for an enslaved person. He led church services for Austin’s Black population and worked in local churches. At the time, churches in Austin were integrated, with segregated seating and/or segregated services.

Texas Leader

After the Civil War and Emancipation, Jacob Fontaine hosted a meeting of four Black Baptist ministers from different parts of Texas at what is now 25th Street and Leon to form a statewide Black Baptist Ministry. Each minister was assigned a division in Texas to organize Black Baptist churches. Fontaine then organized many churches around Central Texas. In addition to his religious work, Fontaine was also active in local and state politics and was one of the first Black men to vote in Travis County, as well as serving as a delegate to national political conventions.

Welcome to Wheatville

At that same time, the area along San Gabriel Street north of 24th Street was developing into a freedman’s community called Wheatville, named after early settler James Wheat. Located on what was then the outskirts of Austin, the Wheatville community grew to include several hundred Black residents and at least two churches and a school. It included the stone building at 2402 San Gabriel, built by George Franklin in 1870, which was both a commercial and residential building.

Founding the Gold Dollar

In 1870, Fontaine moved his family next door into a home at 2400 San Gabriel. At this time Fontaine established The Gold Dollar, one of the first newspapers in the South aimed at a Black audience. The Gold Dollar represented Fontaine’s political and social views, advocating for economic advancement, education, religious instruction, and racial justice. Fontaine’s activism and prominence made him a target of racial violence. In August of 1879, arsonists burned down his home while the white fire companies refused to intervene.

Stones Still Standing

While the Fontaines did rebuild their home at 2400 San Gabriel, at various times members of the extended family the resided in, operated businesses at, and began at least one church in the stone building next door at 2402 San Gabriel. At the time of his death in 1898, Fontaine was residing at 2402 San Gabriel. Today, this building is the only remaining structure from the Wheatville community.

Preserving the Gold Dollar Building and Ceremony

On February 28th, 2023, I attended a ceremony held to honor Jacob Fontaine by posting an informative plaque commemorating the historic stone building as the Reverend Jacob Fontaine Gold Dollar Building. Rowena Houghton Dasch and Prof. Tara Dudley, authors of Reckoning with the Past: Slavery, Segregation and Gentrification in Austin spoke, and the new plague was unveiled. Today the Jacob Fontaine Gold Dollar Building is a coffee shop and has historic protections to preserve it. This seems to me a fitting legacy, one of the Fontaine family businesses at the location was an ice cream store and it remains a place where new ideas will be exchanged.

While there is quite a bit of information about Rev. Jacob Fontaine and Wheatville available, the most comprehensive and up-to-date research I found on both subjects was at ctxretold.org, a history project led by UT professor Edmund T. Gordon.