Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) produced a short documentary Haskell House and the Story of Clarksville. The film premiered at the Boyd Vance Theater at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center on Saturday, November 16, and it is available for public viewing on PARD’s YouTube channel.
 
Haskell House and the Story of Clarksville chronicles the life of Hezekiah Haskell and his descendants. The historic Hezikiah Haskell House, located at 1703 Waterston Avenue, was built by Peter Tucker, a formerly enslaved man, and his wife, Betty, in about 1875. It is located in the community of Clarksville, one of the first freedom colonies established west of the Mississippi in Texas after the Civil War. It is the oldest registered structure in Clarksville, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a State of Texas and City of Austin Historic Landmark.

Not long after building their home, the Tuckers sold it to Edwin and Mary Smith. Mary was one of the founders of the historic Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, which was begun soon after Clarksville was established. Initially, services were held in the Smith’s home because early Clarksville residents had no money to buy land for or build a church structure.

 
The Smiths later deeded their home to their daughter Catherine and her husband Hezikiah Haskell, who fought on the side of the Union during the Civil War and was a Buffalo Soldier. The couple raised their family there, and their son Hezikiah, Jr. died in the House in 1976, after which the Haskell family donated it to the City of Austin. 
 
Today, under a use agreement with Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, the House is managed and maintained by the Clarksville Community Development Corporation (CCDC), the neighborhood organization for historic Clarksville. The CCDC operates the House as a museum about the history of Clarksville and its early residents, as well as a community activity and meeting space.
 
Funding for Haskell House and the Story of Clarksville was made possible through the City of Austin’s Historic Preservation Fund, which was initiated by the City Council in 2018 to support the preservation of Austin’s built heritage as well as the intangible history, which includes the people, traditions, and community history that has shaped our city from the beginning. The fund, made possible through the Hotel Occupancy Tax, helps preserve and restore Austin’s historic treasures to be enjoyed by tourists and locals alike.