Joppa (Dallas, Texas)

USA / Texas / Hutchins / Dallas, Texas
 place with historical importance, community, neighborhood
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Joppa (pronounced "Joppy") is one of the last remaining freedman's towns in Texas. Founded in 1870 by a freed slave, it is named after a city mentioned in the Bible.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   32°42'45"N   96°44'39"W

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  • flood plain - homes here are subject to flooding
  • An important crossing such as this needed the best men to run it. With high unemployment after the war and relative stagnation of the economy, William Miller could have chosen one of a thousand capable men to oversee his ferry operation. The man Miller handpicked was Henry Critz Hines. Really it was more of a business agreement among men who viewed each other as equals. As a result, Hines became one of the first African American entepreneurs after the Civil War. Not just in Dallas or Texas or even in the South. In the whole of the United States. In addition, you will find very few freed slaves who so soon after the war were able to make a living from a customer base that was largely anglo. Henry Critz Hines also founded Joppa, one of the best preserved, if not the best preserved Freedmen's communities left in the United States. Joppa was founded in 1872 by Hines and freed slaves from the Miller Plantation. Here they carved trees out of the forest for cabins at first, replaced by shotgun houses, some of which are still standing today. Many of the original Joppa residents were freedmen who immigrated from East Texas plantations. The attraction of Joppa was the safety of living near a large town like Dallas while maintaining the agrarian lifestyle they knew from earlier times. Other freedmen communities in Dallas such as Deep Ellum and State-Thomas had residents more comfortable with city life. More info: http://dallastrinitytrails.blogspot.com/2011/12/millers-ferry-3000-years-of-human.html
  • Joppa is now a rising community with new homes being built through the Dallas Habitat Organization. I also grew up in the State-Thomas area. The Freedman's Cemetery has been reconstructed and shows a beautiful King and Queen at it's entrance. This is next to the Walmart on Hwy 75 at Lemmon.I'm very fortunate to share in some of the history with these areas. Knowing that Joppa was the beginning of the June 19th celebration, I'm overwhelmed. Many events takes place in Joppa each year like parades, horseback riding, and community gatherings. This is a new beginning for my family and I'm glad to be here.
  • I grew up in Joppy. I was born there. I remember visiting a cemetery that was at the end of the street where our school was. It was located right near the golf course. I used to go there and read the few headstones located there. I told my moms about it and she told me that she had a brother who was stillborn and he was buried there. The last time I saw the cemetery,I had moved across town and I was visiting one of my friends who lived near the cemetery and I went to the end of her street where it was located and peeked through a wooden fence that had been erected and I could still see a few head stones. They are not there now. A cemetery located off Interstate 45 has been dedicated to the freed slaves of the Joppy area. Somebodies have destroyed the remaining head stones and I was told the remains that were located in Joppy were moved there but you can't tell because there is no way to know where anyone is buried. My dad's grandmother is there but I don't know where. The entrance to the place is nice but it has no name or figurines to even let you know it is there. Who knows the name of the cemetery? Why are the neighborhood kids or whomever allowed to destroy what is left of such an important piece of history? I would like to place a monument on my great-grandmothers graves.
  • There are actually 3 African-American cemeteries located behind that new arch way and fence on Bulova Honey Springs Cemetery, Coming Home Cemetery aka Homecoming Cemetery, and Queen City Cemetery.
  • Wow I wish u could show me this place
  • Your vid made me want to do some research. Good history thanks for sharing.
  • Your comments lead me to believe you are talking about the area around central expressway and Lemmon. The joppa community is on the south side of downtown dallas some distance from the area you refer to in your comments. You may be confusing the two areas.
  • It saddens me to hear thst the old cemetery at Joppa, TX is (has been) being destroyed. I attended two funerals there, one in early 1960 of Luther Ater,who was killed in a truck crash. Both of Luther's parents were buried there, "Ethel and Will Ater as was his sister "Judy", also killed in an automobile accident in Austin in 2000. There was an old, small church (Baptist?) quite near the cemetery as I recall.
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This article was last modified 9 years ago