Independence Park
a.k.a. James McCullough Park
Roughly bounded by 1000 Blk. of E. 40th St., Houston, TXIndependence Park is the only public space remaining from the early years of Independence Heights. In 1910, the Wright Land Company set aside some eight lots in the northeast portion of the subdivision for a community park and named it Independence Park. The park provided important community space for church gatherings, school activities, and annual Juneteenth celebrations. Although parks were often part of white neighborhoods during this period, few African American communities had such dedicated space and few larger community parks were open to blacks. The property is eligible under Criterion A in the areas of Community Planning and Development and Ethnic Heritage (black) at the local level of significance.
The Wright Land Company set aside approximately eight lots in Blocks 68 and 77 of Independence Heights for a community park named, Independence Park. Developers of white subdivisions often provided land for neighborhood or community parks. When the Wright Company developed this area they generously provided these lots for residents of Independence Heights.
Independence Park became the principal meeting and public space for activities in the community. Churches, school groups, and special occasions, like Juneteenth, were often based in the park.
During the 1910s and 1920s, African Americans in Houston had few public parks open for use. Local officials enforced segregation of public spaces by a custom first and then by local ordinance in 1922 (Black Dixie, p. 88) This legal action made Independence Park one of several public parks open to African Americans in the Houston area.
Independence Park was renamed James McCullough Park by the City of Houston after its annexation in 1929.
The property is significant in the area of Community Planning and Development and Ethnic Heritage (black) as a rare example of public park accommodation and planning for African Americans at a local level.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.