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The Garden of Eden: The Story of a Freedman's Community in Texas. By Drew Sanders. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2015. ix + 194 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95 paper.
In his book The Garden of Eden: The Story of a Freedmen's Community in Texas, Drew Sanders provides readers with the history and culture of a black community through memory, recipes, genealogy, and other available resources. Located in Tarrant County along the Trinity River, this historically black neighborhood, situated near downtown Fort Worth and Haltom City, is indicative of other similar black settlements in the West that have been enveloped or absorbed by surrounding communities. Today one might find limited information on websites such as "Vanished Towns and Communities of Tarrant County, Texas." The Garden of Eden was also closely associated with the town of Birdville, the early seat of Tarrant County. Today, the Garden of Eden Neighborhood Association and the Birdville Historical Society have been working to ensure that the Garden of Eden will be preserved and remembered.
Like many black communities around the country, areas like the Garden of Eden were places that...