Bates Allen Park Blends Orienteering and Black Fort Bend History

Bates M. Allen Park sits on 236 acres just outside Kendleton, one of Texas's historic freedmen's towns, a community founded by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. That setting is what makes this more than a place to walk the dog. The park is home to the Fort Bend County Heritage Unlimited Museum, and the county has even laid out an orienteering course to make a visit a little more fun and educational.

Fort Bend County is also building an African-American Heritage Monument here, placed deliberately near Kendleton to honor and preserve the county's Black history, one that runs from slavery on the sugar plantations through Reconstruction-era leadership to today.

So a stop at Bates Allen can be a hike, a fishing trip, and a brush with one of the county's most important stories all at once. Because the monument work is ongoing, check the county park page for hours, reservations, and current construction status before you go.