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Blanco County TX
Blanco County

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PEYTON COLONY, TEXAS
AKA Peyton, Texas / Payton, Texas

Texas Ghost Towns
Blanco County, Texas Hill Country

Just West of the intersection of FM 165 and FM 2325
7 Miles ENE of Blanco
23 Miles SE of Johnson City the county seat
36 Miles E of Fredericksburg
40 Miles SW of Austin
Population: 30 (2000)

Peyton Colony, Texas Area Hotels › Johnson City Hotels
Blanco County, Peyton Colony Tx - Mount Horeb Baptist Church
Peyton Colony - Mount Horeb Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009

History in a Pecan Shell

Once known as Peyton Colony and Boardhouse (after the first structure built), it was also referred to by white settlers as Freedman's Colony. Settled just after the Civil War, the community’s namesake is Peyton Roberts, an emancipated slave from Lockhart, Texas. Roberts was joined by other freedmen and in the early 1870s and land for a church was donated by the family of Jim Upshear who arrived by wagon train from Virginia.

The community had its own post office (briefly) from 1898 through 1909 and again from 1918 until the Great Depression.

Today, descendants of the original settlers still live in the vicinity and the population estimate for 2000 was 30. The Mount Horeb Baptist Church is the community’s social center.
TX - Blanco County, Peyton Colony Road sign
Peyton Colony Road
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009
Photographer's Note:
Peyton Colony is located about 7 miles ENE of Blanco in Blanco County, just off FM 165. Only after my last visit there did I see that the Peyton Colony Cemetery is nearby, on private property. - Barclay Gibson, June 27, 2010
Blanco County TX - Peyton Colony Board House Historical Marker
Historical Marker for Peyton Colony
which also went by the name Board House.

Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, April 2018
Historical Marker, 593 Peyton Colony Rd.
in front of Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Peyton Colony (Board House)

In 1865, a group of freed persons, led by Peyton Roberts, established a community they named Peyton Colony. Roberts was born into slavery in Virginia. In the 1820s, he came to Texas with his owner, Jeremiah Roberts, settling in the Bastrop and Caldwell counties area. Peyton and his family eventually became the slaves of Jeremiah Roberts’ grandson, William, who freed his slaves during the Civil War. The freed families agreed to work for William during the war, receiving payment in the form of supplies they would need to begin new lives.

In 1865, the former slaves moved to this area, establishing Peyton Colony, which was known as Freedman’s Colony to white settlers. The residents mostly farmed; they also built a lime kiln to make mortar for buildings in the county. The community received a Post Office named Payton in 1898. It was discontinued in 1909, but reestablished in 1918 with the name Board House, named for Alfred V. Walker’s lumber home, which housed the Post Office.

Life in the community largely revolved around Mt. Horeb Baptist Church, which organized in 1874 under the Rev. Jack Burch. Members built a log cabin which served as a church and community school on land donated by Jim Upshaw (Upshear). Residents used a cemetery on land deeded by Peyton Roberts; many of the settlement’s early pioneers were buried there. Although the community declined throughout the 20th century, many descendants continued to live here and remnants remained. Today, Peyton Colony is remembered as the realization of the dreams of ex-slaves to establish a community as freed persons.
(2008)
More Texas Black History

Mount Horeb Baptist Church

On CR 409, one mile N of FM165
Blanco County, Peyton Colony Tx - Mount Horeb Baptist Church
Another view of the Mount Horeb Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009
Historical Marker - on CR 409, one mile N of FM165

Mount Horeb Baptist Church

Born a slave in Virginia, Peyton Roberts became a freedman in Caldwell County, Texas, at the close of the Civil War. He soon moved west to this area and the settlement that developed around his farm became known as Peyton Colony. In 1874, under the direction of the Rev. Jack Burch, residents of the community established the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. Early worship services were held in a log building also used as a school. Since the reconstruction era, Mt. Horeb has served as a focal point for the community and for a widespread rural area.
(1988)
Mt. Horeb Baptist Church Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, April 2018
More Texas Churches
Building next to Mt. Horeb Baptist Church.
Parsonage perhaps?

Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, April 2018

Peyton Colony School
1st Thru 8th Grade
1877-1963
Peyton Colony Schoolhouse today
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, April 2018
Blanco County, Texas - Peyton Colony  School
Peyton Colony Schoolhouse as it appeared in 2009
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009
Blanco County, Texas - Peyton Colony  School  interior
Peyton Colony School Interior
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009
Blanco County, Texas - Peyton Colony  School 1877-1963
Peyton Colony School 1877-1963
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2009
More Texas Schoolhouses

Historical Marker - roadside park, west side of 165 (8 miles NE of Blanco)
Peyton Colony Lime Kiln
Peyton Colony was a freedmen's community established in the 1860s under the leadership of former slave Peyton Roberts. In addition to homes, the community included a local school and Mt. Horeb Baptist Church.

This lime kiln was built by Peyton Roberts and his neighbors to provide high quality materials with which to make mortar for buildings in Blanco County, some of which remain today. The kiln was restored in the 1960s in conjunction with the construction of a roadside park at the site. It stands as a reminder of the efforts of ex-slaves to begin new lives.
(1988)
Incising: Restored by Blanco Lions Club
Related Topics:
Texas Architecture
Texas Architecture - Special Subjects

Board House, Blanco County,  TX 1936 Post office info
Board House, Blanco County,  TX 1936 Last Day Postmark
Cover canceled with Board House, TX 1936 Last Day postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection
Blanco County Texas 1907 Postal map
Blanco County 1907 postal map showing
Peyton Colony as Payton
(E of Blanco, SE of Johnson City , near Hays County line)

From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Peyton Colony, Texas Nearby Towns:
Johnson City the county seat
Blanco | Fredericksburg | Austin
See Blanco County, Texas Hill Country

Book Hotel Here:
Johnson City Hotels | More Hotels
Peyton Colony is featured in T. Lindsay Baker 's "Ghost Towns of Texas."


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