Clarksville has a long and rich history. Charles Clark, a freed slave who envisioned the new community as a place where reunited families could live after the Civil War, founded it in 1871. It was the first freedom town established West of the Mississippi. However, the area now known as Clarksville actually dates back to 1865, when Governor Elisha Pease, who owned a plantation in the area (located at what is now the corner of Niles and Pease Roads), granted and sold some of his favorite slaves land in the area. Early residents of Clarksville included Elias Mays, a Black state legislator who built his home in the neighborhood in 1884, and Reverend Jacob Fontaine. Fontaine was one of the founders of the Sweet Home Baptist Church located on West 11th Street in Clarksville and also began the Gold Dollar, Austin's first Black newspaper. Despite more than 30 years of pressure from land speculation, rising property taxes and gentrification, the Clarksville neighborhood continues to maintain a unique cultural and historic identity. In fact, many of the descendants of its early settlers continue to call the neighborhood home. The Haskell House One of Clarksville's historic treasures is the Haskell House, located at 1703 Waterston. It is an historic landmark and a great example of early Clarksville architecture. There are efforts underway to preserve the Haskell House to its original state. Click here for more information about the Haskell House.