Juneteenth Monument at Ashton Villa

On June 19, 1865, Union troops marched into Galveston, Texas, a wealthy port city and once Confederate stronghold, with a historic decree. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, their arrival was a pivotal moment in U.S. history: According to General Order No. 3, the Civil War and slavery in Texas were finally over. Today, this moment is celebrated on the holiday Juneteenth.

There are over 200 Juneteenth landmarks in Galveston, but one of the most poignant (and lesser-known) is the Juneteenth Monument at Ashton Villa. The site comprises a brick mansion bearing a Confederate legacy, which is now home to a civil-rights museum and the Monument – an emotional juxtaposition, to say the least.

For years, it’s been claimed that on June 19, General Gordon Granger took to Ashton Villa’s iron balcony to issue General Order No. 3 (an end to legalized slavery by the Executive of the United States). There is no historical evidence to support this and it’s considered more likely that the ordinance was hung around Galveston.

Therefore, the Juneteenth Monument at Ashton Villa is not a statue of Granger, but rather, Texas State Representative Al Edwards, who is considered the father of Juneteenth. The nine-foot bronze statue of Edwards, a Black civil rights leader, is known by locals as “the Legislator.” The statue holds up a 1979 legislation declaring Juneteenth a Texas state holiday.

Find the statue erected outside of Ashton Villa’s former carriage house which, since 2022, keeps a permanent exhibit on Galveston Juneteenth history. On the grounds, the monument and museum offer a poignant contrast to Ashton Villa and its Confederate legacy.

The grand three-story mansion, designed in Victorian Italianate style by European craftsmen, was erected in 1859 using the labor of enslaved people. Owned by a wealthy merchant (and Confederate supporter), the villa eventually served as the Confederate Army headquarters in Galveston during the Civil War. 

Since 2021, Juneteenth has been a U.S. federal holiday. Every year, Juneteenth celebrations are a big to-do around the whole city. For example, since the 1979 Juneteenth legislation, Edwards himself hosted a prayer breakfast at Ashton Villa on the landmark day every year. This particular celebration has always included a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and a historical reenactment of Granger’s announcement on the balcony. And, though Edwards died of natural causes in 2020, his son has since helped keep the tradition alive.