Original Fort Worth Juneteenth museum destroyed in fire that spread to two other homes

A residential building that served as the city’s original Juneteenth museum burned down overnight, the Fort Worth Fire Department said Wednesday.

Firefighters responded to the blaze about 1:15 a.m. in the 1100 block of Evans Avenue, on Fort Worth’s south side. There, crews saw the one-story wood-frame residential structure engulfed in flames. Crews entered the building to search for anyone who might have been trapped inside while hose lines were being pulled to fight the fire.

One person was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but there were no other injuries.

Plans for construction of a new Juneteenth museum meant that all artifacts had already been removed from the building and were safe from the fire, the fire department said in a tweet.

The homes on either side of the former museum also caught fire due to winds. Crews were able to control all three fires within an hour, the fire department said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The new National Juneteenth Museum is set to open in the summer of 2025 on East Rosedale Street.

The original museum was run for 20 years by Opal Lee, known as the grandmother of Juneteenth. In 2019, the movie “Miss Juneteenth” was filmed on location there.

Lee worked for years to gain national recognition for the holiday, which is a celebration of independence for Black Americans. It commemorates the date that enslaved Texans were freed when Union troops arrived on June 19, 1865, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas was the last state to see these troops.

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 4:23 PM.