What Once Was Austin
Jacob Fontaine Gold Dollar Building
First Black Newspaper West of the Mississippi
This building was home to the Gold Dollar newspaper, one of the first Black newspapers west of the Mississippi. Between 1870 and 1900, it was among 48 Black-owned commercial newspapers in Texas. However, the Gold Dollar building is more than just a former newspaper office; it is the last standing structure of Wheatville, a freedom colony in Central Austin that once spanned from 24th to 26th Streets, and from Rio Grande Street to Shoal Creek