The Southgate–Lewis House is a historic residence in Austin, Texas, located near the Texas State Capitol. Built in 1888 by builder and architect Robert C. Lambie, the house was originally constructed for bookbinder and printer John Southgate and was later acquired by businessman Charles Lewis in 1913. The property is located within the Six Square District, formerly known as the African American Cultural Heritage District. It has been designated a City of Austin landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Since 1986, the house has been owned by the W. H. Passon Historical Society, which maintains the property and preserves materials related to African American history in Austin and Travis County, Texas.
Landmark status designation and recognition timeline 1979 – Designated a City of Austin landmark 1980 – Awarded the Heritage Society of Austin Historic Preservation Award 1985 – Designated a landmark by the National Register of Historic Places 1987 – Recognized by the State of Texas 70th Legislature, Resolution No. 141, for ensuring the legacy of Black heritage in Austin 1987 – Awarded the "Helping Hands Award for Community Service" by the Texas Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History 1988 – Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Description
Location The Southgate–Lewis House is located at 1501 East 12th Street in Austin, Texas. It stands in the Robertson Hill neighborhood, an area named for Joseph William Robertson, who acquired and subdivided the land around 1848.
Architecture 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 double-hung windows.
History
Construction and early ownership The Southgate–Lewis House was constructed in 1888 by Robert C. Lambie for John Southgate, a local bookbinder and publisher. Southgate commissioned the home to be a private residence on 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. Lewis’s daughter, Marguerite Mae Dee Lewis, resided in the home and taught at L.C. Anderson High School, a historically African American school that was located only two blocks from the house at the time. Following her death in 1970, the house was left vacant for around a decade.
Restoration and preservation 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 craftsman Peter J. Fears, with financial support from Franklin Savings, and technical assistance from the Heritage Society of Austin (now known as Preservation Austin).
Notable figures
Joseph William Robertson Joseph William Robertson (1809–1870) 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 Alphonse 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 Southgate–Lewis House, became known as Robertson Hill. Robertson is now buried in Oakwood Cemetery, two blocks from the Southgate–Lewis House.
John Southgate 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 anywhere." (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.
Robert C. Lambie Contracted by John Southgate, Robert C. Lambie built the house in 1888, along with his stonemason Francis Fischer. Known for his woodwork, Lambie's work on the Southgate–Lewis Home is mentioned in the State of Texas Legislature: "the Southgate–Lewis 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.
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