The SouthgateâÂÂLewis House is an historic residence located near the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. The building dates to 1888 and was built in the High Victorian Gothic revival style by architect and builder Robert C. Lambie. It was originally built for John Southgate and then later purchased by businessman Charles Lewis in 1913. It is part of the Six Square African American Cultural Heritage District and has been designated a City of Austin landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Since 1986, the house has been owned by the W. H. Passon Historical Society, which uses it to preserve and showcase materials related to African American history in Austin and Travis County.
Located at 1501 East 12th Street, Southgate-Lewis House stands along what was once a principal thoroughfare of Austin that extended outward from the State Capitol. The surrounding area, known as Robertson Hill, is named after Joseph William Robertson (1809-1870), who acquired and subdivided the land around 1848.
The National Register of Historic Places describes the architectural style as "High Victorian" Gothic Revival. The house features projecting eaves and gables as well as a prominent front bay window with a denticulated cornice. A continuous band of vertical siding at the base of the structure is capped with a horizontal band at the windowsill. Drop siding occurs up to the sills of the second-story windows, above which multiple rows of fish-scale and rectangular shingles alternate. Ornamental bargeboard trim with brackets is located at the eave line, and the roof is made of cedar shakes with two brick chimneys. The dormer on the west elevation has diagonal support brackets for the overhang and crossed bargeboard trim. There are 22 double-hung windows.
The SouthgateâÂÂLewis House was constructed in 1888 by Robert C. Lambie for John Southgate, a local bookbinder and publisher. Southgate commissioned the home as a private residence near what was then the main thoroughfare of East Austin.
Lewis Family Ownership
In 1913, the property was acquired by Charles M. Lewis, a professor at Samuel Huston College. The Lewis family maintained ownership until 1970. Charles M. LewisâÂÂs daughter, Marguerite Mae Dee Lewis, resided in the home and taught at L.C. Anderson High School, a historically African American school which at the time was located only two blocks from the house. Following her death in 1970, the house was left vacant for nearly a decade.
During the 1970s, several windows were broken, and parts of the roof were damaged, allowing water to enter the interior. The house was condemned by local authorities and scheduled for demolition due to safety concerns.
In February of 1979, Dr. Duane G. Albrecht, a newly appointed assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, identified the house a week before the scheduled demolition date and initiated efforts to preserve it. Restoration work was conducted with guidance from architect David Hoffman and the craftsman Peter J. Fears, with financial support from Franklin Savings and technical assistance from the Heritage Society of Austin (now known as Preservation Austin).
After living in the home for many years, Dr. Albrecht donated the SouthgateâÂÂLewis House to the W. H. Passon Historical Society in December 1986 at the encouragement of Ada Marie DeBlanc Simond. The stated purpose of the society is "To unite all individuals within and without the Black Community who have a genuine interest in the Past, and an eagerness to discover the depth and breadth of the Black Experience in Austin and Travis County." The stated goal is "To secure, preserve, and legitimize events, documents, and artifacts related to the Black culture in Austin and Travis County [and to] recognize and reward the efforts of individuals and organizations that protect, enhance, and reflect respect for the Black Heritage of our community." The historical society's stated objective for the SouthgateâÂÂLewis House specifically is "to establish an educational center including books, journals, exhibits, periodicals, and other materials by and about Black people for research and to broaden the knowledge of the citizenry relative to the contributions of Black People". The SouthgateâÂÂLewis House stands as an African American Historical Landmark and as a repository for African American history and culture.
Joseph William Robertson (1809âÂÂ1870) was a physician, a Texas Ranger, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Fourth Congress of the Republic of Texas. He established a pharmaceutical business and a medical practice on Congress Avenue and was elected mayor of Austin in 1843. In 1848, Robertson purchased a large tract of land from Dubois de Saligny, one-half mile east of the city center (which included a home that is now known as The French Legation). He and his son, George L. Robertson, began actively subdividing the property and selling lots. This region, which includes the SouthgateâÂÂLewis House, became known as Robertson Hill. Robertson is now buried in Oakwood Cemetery, two blocks from the SouthgateâÂÂLewis House.
John Southgate was a bookbinder and publisher in Austin, Texas with a business at 1008 Congress Avenue, located next door to Charles Lundberg's Bakery near the Texas State Capitol. Southgate had more than thirty years of experience working in both England and the United States in establishments such as Daniel Appleton & Company (now Appleton-Century-Crofts). In the late 1800s, the Austin American-Statesman made numerous positive remarks about the work of John Southgate, such as "Mr. John Southgate has just completed an 850-page ledger, which is a beautiful specimen of the bookbinder's art. It is handsomely bound, and in finish and workmanship cannot be excelled any where [sic]" (April 12, 1988, Page 3) and "The Statesman commends Mr. Southgate as an honest, faithful man, and one whose business engagements will be punctiliously complied with" (April 29, 1884, Page 4). Southgate eventually associated with the Eugene Von Boeckmann Publishing Company.
Contracted by John Southgate, Robert C. Lambie built the house in 1888, along with his stonemason Francis Fischer. Known for his woodwork, mentioned in the State of Texas Legislature: "the SouthgateâÂÂLewis Home at the corner of East 12th and Comal Streets in Austin .... [contains] one of the finest staircases in all of Austin".
His other works include the first engineering building and the Old Main Building of the UT Austin, the Elisabet Ney Museum, and the Hays County Courthouse.
Wesley H. Passon (1864âÂÂ1933) was a Black educator who contributed to the preservation of African American history, most notably through a summary of the history of the African American population in Austin, Texas. In 1894, Passon was elected principal of the school in Wheatville, Texas, which was the first Black community associated with Austin after the Civil War, located just west of The University of Texas at Austin. The community of Wheatville was founded in 1867 by James Wheat, a former slave from Arkansas. The location that was once Wheatville (between 24th and 26th streets, Rio Grande Street to Shoal Creek) is now primarily student housing and contains the majority of all of the sororities and fraternities at The University of Texas at Austin. Passon went on to serve as principal of many other early schools of Austin, Texas, such as Blackshear School, which "opened in 1891 to provide free public education to African American children in the community." He was the principal of West Austin School, Clarksville School, Olive Street School, and Gregory Town. Two journals record the daily affairs of the West Austin School and the Clarksville School from 1908 to 1918.
In 1907, Passon provided a comprehensive historical record of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Austin, which became an essential resource for scholars. In September 2000, the City of Austin, Texas, Historic Resources Survey of East Austin stated that "One of the most important secondary sources obtained for historical research in East Austin was the 1907 Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) ... [book] ... compiled by historian W. H. Passon: The Historical and Biographical Souvenir and Program of the 25th Anniversary of Metropolitan AME Church, Austin, Texas 1882-1907".
Ada Simond used the Lewis family and the Southgate-Lewis House as inspiration for a series of children's books relating to Black history in East Austin. The series included six books entitled Let's Pretend: Mae Dee and Her Family (beginning with Let's Pretend: Mae Dee and Her Family Go to Town in 1977), in which she told historically accurate stories of Black families living in Austin in the early 1900s. These books are "narrated by Mae Dee Lewis, whom Simond identified as a childhood friend." The series was named "Outstanding Publication on a History Subject" by the Texas Historical Commission in 1979.