A woman born into slavery in the early 19th century went on to become one of the wealthiest Black landowners in Dallas, Texas — a storyhistorians say highlightsresilience and determination during the difficult years following emancipation.
Hope Thompson, born around 1826 in South Carolina, was enslaved for decades before gaining her freedom after the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery in 1865.
After emancipation, Thompson and her family moved to Dallas, Texas, where she worked as a washerwoman to support herself and her family.Like many newly freed Black Americans during the Reconstruction era, she sought opportunities to build a better life.
In 1869, Thompson took a bold step that would transform her future. She borrowed $50 from local banker William Henry Gaston and agreed to repay the loan by doing his laundry. With the money, she purchased a small parcel of land near Elm Street and Live Oak in what was then an undeveloped part of the city…