Caldwell County administrative offices will be closed for Juneteenth on Friday, June 19.

Juneteenth, a federal holiday that is always celebrated on June 19, commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas and became a day of jubilation and liberation for former slaves and today is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in our nation. 

The holiday, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. 

The official Juneteenth celebration for St. John Colony will be Saturday, June 20 at 189 Carter Road in Dale beginning at 11 a.m.

The Freedman Community of St. John Colony, Texas purchased 2,200 acres to establish The St. John Colony Emancipation Grounds, within a settlement already inhabited by Native American relatives and diverse settlers. 

Reverend John H. Winn, Sr. and 14 pioneer families developed churches, schools, cemeteries, farms, ranches, a general store, a post office, a cotton gin, grist and sorghum mills, and a community hall – incorporating Mackiesville, and the areas now known as Lower and Upper St. John in Bastrop County. 

The first celebration was in 1872, and descendants of the founding 14 pioneer families have continued gathering in the old-time tradition – with barbecuing, traditional recipes, singing, dancing, and fellowship – to honor and preserve this deep-rooted history. 

View recent proclamations commemorating Juneteenth.