Houston
rutherford B. H. Yates Museum
1912
The Yates House
Rutherdord B. H Yates was the son of Reverend John Henry (“Jack”) Yates, the first full-time pastor of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, which was organized in 1866 for emancipated slaves. Jack Yates built a house, the oldest datable building in Freedmen’s Town, next door to the church at 1318 Andrews, and that is where Rutherford grew up.
The Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum has preserved six of the original houses in Freedmen’s Town, including the Yates house, which was built in 1912. Rutherford valued education, the written word, and public service. He taught freed slaves how to read, which allowed them to establish themselves in the community as free, able workers. His father, Jack Yates, also led the African American community in their efforts to purchase Emancipation Park.
