Grant's Colony
Grant's Colony was five miles east of Huntsville in central Walker County. It was named for its benefactor, George Washington Grant
of Walker County, who planned a model farming community at the site.
During the Civil War his wife, Mary, introduced him to the religious
philosophy of the Church of Christ, which condemned slavery, a
commitment to education, and a desire for racial harmony. He accumulated
over 11,000 acres in Walker and Grimes County between 1856 and 1874.
Grant’s Colony began in 1866 as freedmen moved to the area following the
Civil War. A 6,000 acre parcel of land stretching across Harmon Creek
become the site of Grant’s Colony, which he sometimes referred to as
“Harmony Settlement.”
In 1867 Grant deeded two acres of land to a
twelve-member board of trustees for Mount Moriah Methodist Church, Good
Hope Baptist Church, and a school. Grant's Colony was predominantly a
freedmen's village that provided a site of safety and opportunity during
Reconstruction. Grant recruited Edward, Hannah, and Sarah Williams to
teach at Grants’ Colony at an 1869 meeting of the Society of Friends in
Jackson, Mississippi. Over nine years the family helped build the
“Colony Grove” schoolhouse where they taught primary school and music
lessons to 120 students annually. Edward Williams became the first
African American to obtain a teaching certificate in Walker County and
taught at the Williams’ school. TSHA
Texas State Historical Association
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/grants-colony-tx
East Texas History
https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/252
TX Almanac
https://www.texasalmanac.com/places/grants-colony
txgenwebcounties
https://www.txgenwebcounties.net/walker/cemetery/grant.htm
Find a Grave
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/3896/grant-colony-cemetery