Entry No. 20 — the Austin file — filed under: reconstruction-history

Neill-Cochran House Museum

An 1855 Greek Revival mansion built by master builder Abner Cook for the Texas Institute for the Blind, later commandeered as a Union Army hospital during Reconstruction (with George Armstrong Custer stationed nearby in Austin). The property holds what the museum identifies as Austin's only intact slave quarters, now the centerpiece of its "Reckoning with the Past" exhibit on the city's early Black history.

The move: Take the docent tour through the antebellum rooms and out back to the slave quarters — a five-minute walk from the UT Tower that almost no student on campus has ever made, followed by a quiet sit in the mansion's gardens to talk about what you saw.

• 📍 West Campus
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 2310 San Gabriel St, Austin, TX 78705

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · Official site

last checked: 2026-07-20