Peggy Peterson Farmer

Reflections Dickinson's Black History Peggy Peterson Farmer

Dickinson is a small town situated in Galveston County, Texas, purchased from the Mexican government by John Dickinson in 1824. The African American families began to migrate to this small town through a slave owner, General E. B. Nichols, in the mid 1800s. These families came from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama. They pooled their money together and purchased property from a man named John Moore. Then they divided it among themselves. This small subdivision was named Moore's Addition. This was the only area where blacks were originally allowed to live in Dickinson. Many families came in search of jobs, and they built the interurban track, which served as transportation to and from Houston-Galveston. Many blacks worked in Galveston in the cotton exchange. Others worked in the fields-picking strawberries and vegetables. During that time, Dickinson was the strawberry capital of the USA. Those families, when out of work had pound parties where they would share what they had with those who were more in need. There wasn't any welfare or unemployment insurance. There was a fund from the government where the unemployed were paid, called "pennies." However, for the most part, the African American residents depended on each other and the "can do" spirit within them to overcome great odds and adversity.