Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. It’s the Story of Shankleville, One of the State’s Early Freedom Colonies.

In a grassy field carved out from the East Texas pines, cousins Lareatha Clay and Phillip White host a summer festival in the community of Shankleville. At first glance, the Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival celebrates the legume that many local families grew up growing, picking, and eating. But history lies at the heart of Shankleville, and through the event, Clay and White hope to preserve the legacy of one of the state’s early Freedom Colonies, founded by their ancestors Jim and Winnie Shankle. See more in the latest dispatch from Texas Country Reporter.