Bessie Coleman

(1892-1926) Born in Atlanta, Texas, pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman grew up and went to school in a Waxahachie neighborhood a few blocks north of this site. At age 23 she moved to Chicago and first expressed her desire to fly. Since there were no flight schools in this country that would teach African American women, Coleman learned to fly in France and obtained her international pilot's license in 1921. Upon her return to the United States, she was hailed as the first black woman pilot. Extremely popular, "Queen Bess", as she was known, performed as a barnstormer for integrated audiences at air shows and exhibitions around the country before her death in an air accident in Jacksonville, Florida. (2001)

Bessie Coleman is a historical marker in Waxahachie, Ellis County, dedicated in 2001. It is one of 116 historical markers documented in Ellis County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 300 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.3835, -96.8435 near Waxahachie. The nearest cataloged historic site is Building at 500--502 East Main (Gone?) (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Building at 441 East Main, Joshua Chapel A.M.E. Church, and House at 104 Kaufman.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5139012451. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.