 The day was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau, and it had been listed on a "calendar of public events" by 1872.That year black leaders in Texas raised $1,000 for the purchase of of land to celebrate Juneteenth, today known as Houston's Emancipation Park.The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas; an estimated 30,000 black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park in Limestone County, Texas, established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebrations.