Historic Freedmen's Town bricks stored in Houston's warehouse

HOUSTON – Dating back decades, the palettes of old bricks stored in a Houston warehouse have quite a long story to tell.

They were laid over 100 years ago by freed slaves, shaping the streets to form Freedmen's Town west of the city's modern day skyline.

But today, their story is far from over.

"I'd like to see our bricks, the sacred bricks of Freedman's Town returned and installed properly," Freedmen's Town resident Gladys House-El said.

House-El said the bricks were forcefully removed during a construction project back in November. On Friday, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a new effort to put the bricks back to their original place in history.

"I think we all have to be very vigilant that we don't undo the history, undo what this area is all about, as we move forward," Turner said in a Friday press conference.

Three days later, on Monday that promise had already been postponed.

"It never last longer than the weekend, to see that it's not happening," House-El said.

House-El is now upset because the bricks crews laid Monday weren't the original ones stored in that warehouse.

"I'm beyond getting upset. I just want corrective action," House-El said.

She doesn't know why the bricks were removed in the first place or why new bricks from Kansas City have been brought in.

Even council members are unsure.

"I had no idea that any bricks were here from Kansas City. It just doesn't make any sense," At Large Council Member Michael Kubosh said.

Construction crews were out Monday replacing those bricks, but with the wrong ones.

"I happen to agree that it doesn't make any sense to put Kansas City bricks down because that would pollute the very concept of it being historical," Kubosh said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Ellen Cohen responded to House-El's questions, saying a mistake was made.

"There was a certain amount of over-enthusiasm by the contractor because he just went ahead and put these down," Cohen said.

Cohen said the original bricks will soon be returned in their original state to their rightful home.

"The fact is we have the right bricks. We know where they need to go. Gladys has got her eye on it. We apologize for the confusion and the over-enthusiasm," Cohen said.

The Mayor's Office released the following statement over the project:

In an effort to ensure preservation protocols, the Freedmen's Town brick re-installment has been temporarily suspended.  All of the replacement bricks laid today have been removed, re-palletized and transported from the site.  The sand was also removed.  Going forward, we will follow the procedure indicated below:

STEP 1:

Our contractor will accumulate bricks from various sources to bring to the site.

STEP 2:

A. The project archeologist, who is an outside independent consultant, will examine these bricks and identify those which meet approval for placement.  He will approve only the bricks that match the historic nature, look, size, etc. of the original bricks.

B. The archeologist-approved bricks will be shown to the Freedmen's Town Preservation