Thomas Caldwell was a prominent member of the Black cowboy community. Now, two of his artifacts will be displayed at Texas City Museum.
Last week, Texas City Museum added two artifacts from Black cowboy Thomas Caldwell to its collection. His history, along with other pioneering cowboys of color, is often erased from narratives looking back on this time. In welcoming his branding iron and saddle into an exhibit, the Texas City Museum is helping to combat that erasure. Joel Clouser, who is the great-grandson of Caldwell, spoke with ABC13 about his great-grandfather’s life, and of why it’s important to honor and uphold Caldwell’s legacy.
As Clouser explained, Caldwell was born enslaved in Louisiana and was taken from his family against his will when he was 13 years old. “He was given as a wedding gift to the slave owner’s daughter [at Lands End Plantation], and when she got married, he was brought down here to Clear Creek, which is now League City,” Clouser said. Caldwell endured horrific conditions during his enslavement until he was freed at the end of the Civil War. Instead of returning home to Frierson, Caldwell remained at Butler Ranch and began driving cattle on Chilsholm Trail. ABC13 explains that he was a prominent Black cowboy at the time, and the branding iron and saddle he carried with him are the ones now on display at the museum.
Texas City Museum Curator Shelby Rodwell said, “Here on the saddle, it’s truly beautiful for it being at least 160 years old, probably older. The level of detail in the designs and even down here to these buckle portions, you can see stars and ornamentation that is just really, really fantastic. So for it to have survived for this long in various different conditions is really fantastic.” Currently, Caldwell’s artifacts are on limited display until June after which they’ll be on full display to the public. Admission to the museum cost $7 per adult, $5 per senior, and $4 per student. Children six years of age and under are admitted for free.
Caldwell helped establish the historic 1867 Settlement
Thomas Caldwell was one of several Black cowboys, along with Thomas Britton, David Hobgood, and Calvin Bell, who helped establish the historic freed-slave 1867 Settelment in West Texas City. Nestled in its 320 acres were farms, houses, schools, churches, a hotel, restaurants, and stores. As the years passed, additional conveniences were added, like pharmacies, night clubs, beauty studios, and gas stations. The community thrived for over 100 years, and it was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. In honor of the settlement’s rich history, a Black Cowboy Rodeo is still held annually.
When it was announced that Caldwell’s saddle and branding iron would be welcomed into the Texas City Museum collection, ABC13 spoke with Vera Bell-Gary, who, at 100 years of age, is one of his oldest living grandchildren. She said of the occasion, “Thomas Caldwell is my grandfather. He’s my mother’s dad. That saddle is very dear to us. And we wanted it to remain preserved from one museum to the other, if they ever did decide they’re going to shift it around. But wherever Grandpa’s saddle goes, that’s where his history is.”
