Masontown

Masontown was a black community located in what is now east Austin in Travis County. It was bounded to the south by what is now Third Street, to the north by Sixth Street, to the west by Waller Street, and to the east by Chicon Street. Sam and Raiford Mason, the two brothers for whom the community was named, bought the first property in this area in 1867. Former slaves from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia settled in Masontown. At one time the community had two Baptist churches and as many as 200 residents. By the 1980s, however, Masonville was no longer identifiable as a distinct neighborhood.