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Original version of General Order No. 3 from General Gordon Granger.
Courtesy Photo/United States National Archives
June 19, 2025
Juneteenth, Bandera’s Bertha Tryon/Hendrick Arnold Cemetery featured at Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
On June 19, 1865, 250,000 Texas slaves were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. With Union troops, General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston to issue an order of emancipation in Texas, the last state of the Confederacy to delay emancipation.
The first Juneteenth celebrations were held in Texas in 1866, on the anniversary of Granger’s arrival. In 1979, Governor William P. Clements signed an act making the day a state holiday. In 2021, President Joseph Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
The first Bandera County official celebration honoring Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, was held in 2022, at the Bertha Tryon/Hendrick Arnold Cemetery - a parcel owned by Freedman and soldier Hendrick Arnold. Arnold (1804-1849) was awarded land after the Texas Revolution for his service and bravery in the Siege of Bexar (1835) and the Battle of San Jacinto (1836).
This year, the Tryon/Arnold Cemetery will be featured during the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street exhibit, on display at the Bandera Middle School from June 21 to July 26.
The first Juneteenth celebrations were held in Texas in 1866, on the anniversary of Granger’s arrival. In 1979, Governor William P. Clements signed an act making the day a state holiday. In 2021, President Joseph Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
The first Bandera County official celebration honoring Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, was held in 2022, at the Bertha Tryon/Hendrick Arnold Cemetery - a parcel owned by Freedman and soldier Hendrick Arnold. Arnold (1804-1849) was awarded land after the Texas Revolution for his service and bravery in the Siege of Bexar (1835) and the Battle of San Jacinto (1836).
This year, the Tryon/Arnold Cemetery will be featured during the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street exhibit, on display at the Bandera Middle School from June 21 to July 26.