The Irons Graham Addition - "The Flats"
The Flats is a neighborhood between the Cibolo and Fredrick Creeks. Part of its history is not one of Boerne’s finer stories to tell, but in the telling are some important lessons learned about the struggle to gain equality for all.
Not all of Boerne’s first settlers were against slavery. The first Germans to live here were strongly against it. However, many English settlers brought slaves with them. This caused conflict between the two groups of settlers. Small cabins for the slave population who worked at the Kendall Inn were the first houses in The Flats. After the Civil War, freed African Americans stayed on in Boerne and worked in the hotels and as field hands. The Flats became a part of the City of Boerne in 1887, as the Irons Graham Addition, but people still called it “The Flats.” The Flats was a town within a town. Because of the segregation of society at the time, The Flats had its own stores, restaurants, customs, and music separate for African American citizens apart from the rest of Boerne.
African American students could not attend the “white” public school. Children in the Flats went without a school until 1910 when Boerne Public School moved an old building to the flats for a “colored” school. It became the Royal School. African American students attended their own school until federal laws forced desegregation of public schools in the 1960’s.
Most of Boerne’s African American population moved north looking for better economic opportunities after the 1960s.
The most famous person of African American descent who lived in The Flats was Herb Hall. Herb Hall was a jazz clarinet player who toured the world with many of the best jazz bands.
Herb Hall was married to Boerne native Annie Houston Hall who worked at Ye Kendall Inn and attended the Royal School. Annie left Boerne to travel with her musician husband. They came back in their later years and lived in The Flats.
Mexican American families moved into The Flats as the African American families moved out. In 1964, the area was badly flooded and the bridge was washed away. One life was lost. The building of the dam at Boerne Lake helps control flooding of the Cibolo now.
In 1978, Boerne’s Hispanic citizens built Crusader’s Hall as a community gathering space for Boerne’s Mexican American citizens. The building is used for many social events and is a busy hub of activity that provides scholarships to Hispanic youth.
