19.0 - 1205 Cotton St — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS JUNE 5, 2024 PR-2024-042274; GF-2024-043970 1205 COTTON STREET 26 – 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1923 house. ARCHITECTURE One-story Craftsman bungalow with horizontal siding, 1:1 wood windows, and a partial-width porch supported by tapered posts atop stucco piers. It features exposed rafter tails beneath the gabled roof’s deep eaves. RESEARCH The house at 1205 Cotton Street was likely constructed around 1920, though the property’s longest-term occupants purchased the lot several years before. Henry Peter sold the property to Edward “Eddie” T. and Effie Esler White Yerwood in December of 1912. The Yerwoods, newlyweds, were both educators: Professor E. T. Yerwood was the principal of the West Austin School and district superintendent of the Sunday School convention of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Effie E. Yerwood was a teacher of history at L. C. Anderson High School. Professor Yerwood died on March 1, 1917. Between 1922 and 1935, Effie Yerwood either remodeled the existing house extensively or constructed a new house at the same place on the lot. Mrs. Effie Esler White Yerwood completed teaching coursework at Guadalupe College and Texas College in Seguin and Tyler. She attended Tillotson College and received her B.A. from Samuel Huston College shortly thereafter. Because Black teachers could not earn teaching certificates in Texas at the time1, she also studied at the University of Colorado and the University of California.2 After beginning her teaching career in 1910, Effie E. Yerwood taught at L. C. Anderson from 1917 until 1954. In a 1971 retrospective on her years of service with Anderson High with home economics dean Mattie Durden (who eventually became President of the Community Welfare Association and trustee of Huston Tillotson College3), Yerwood recounts the disparity between Black and white schools during the era of segregation: “[Anderson was] lacking a whole lot…the only equipment [Yerwood] remembers having was an old Bunsen burner, some rocks, and a tuning fork.”4 Yerwood and Durden also recalled the significant discrepancy between white teachers’ pay and their own, and how school administration explained away this injustice by stating that Black teachers had a lower cost of living than white ones. “I would tell them that just because you are a Negro doesn’t mean that you get discounts at stores,”5 Yerwood told the Austin American-Statesman. During the 1950s, as she neared retirement, Yerwood purchased the house next door and moved it onto the rear of the lot for use it as a rental unit, taking on three renters at a time during the ‘50s to supplement her income. (The rear house does not appear in aerial photographs after her death; by 1984 it was replaced with a small garage and rear addition.) In 1952, she became one of the charter members of the Austin Retired Teachers’ Association, which predated the statewide Texas Retired Teachers Association by a year.6 Throughout her life, Yerwood served with many charitable and civic organizations, including service for 51 years as secretary and founding member of the Lettie Madison Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and service as secretary of the Community Welfare Association alongside Board of Trustees president Mattie Durden. The Community Welfare Association was formed in 1927 to provide meeting space and health resources to African American organizations and opened the Howson Community Center in 1929.7 Yerwood was also an early officer of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. E. E. Yerwood remained at 1205 Cotton Street until her death in 1977. 1 “Establishment of HBCUs in Texas.” Texas Historical Commission, https://thc.texas.gov/learn/historic-resources-survey/african- american-travel-guide-survey-project/establishment-hbcus; The Austin Statesman, 28 Aug 1971: 18. 2 The Austin American-Statesman, March 13, 1977: 118. 3 Brown, Olive. “Durden, Mattie Ella Holman.” Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/durden-mattie-ella-holman. 1994. 4 The Austin Statesman, 28 Aug 1971: 18. 5 Ibid. 6 https://austinretiredteachersassociation.org/about-us-2/ 7 Brown, 1994. 26 – 2 PROPERTY EVALUATION The East Austin Historic Resource Survey (2016) lists the property as not eligible for individual local or national designation; however, no occupancy research was completed for the property at that time. Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. Porch piers have been replaced, though their original shape is likely unchanged. The rear additions do not compromise the building’s ability to convey its original form. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it meets two criteria for landmark designation: a. Architecture. The East Austin Historic Resource Survey notes that the building does not appear to convey architectural significance; however, it is an intact example of a modest Craftsman bungalow. b. Historical association. The property is associated with Mrs. E.E. Yerwood, educator and founding member of the Austin Retired Teachers’ Association, treasurer of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and 51-year veteran secretary and charter member of the Lettie Madison Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The property may possess a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, the neighborhood, or a particular demographic group. Yerwood’s contributions to Anderson High, the AKAs, the Community Welfare Association, and the ARTA had significant impacts to those communities. e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Consider initiation of historic zoning. Should the Commission decide against initiation, strongly encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, then relocation over demolition, but release the demolition permit only upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. LOCATION MAP 26 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos 26 – 4 26 – 5 26 – 6 Demolition permit application, 2024 Occupancy History City Directory Research, April 2024 1959 Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) a. Kincey Leondero, renter b. Thomas Roberts, renter c. S. E. Warren, renter 1955 Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) a. Isaac Chapman, renter 26 – 7 b. Walter West, renter c. Mack Nealy, renter Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) - teacher Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) – teacher, public school Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) – teacher, public school Mary Yerwood, renter – teacher, public school Mrs. Effie E. Yerwood, owner (widow of Edward T.) – teacher, public school Mary Yerwood, renter – teacher, public school Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, public school Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, public school Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, Anderson High School Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, Anderson High School Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, Anderson High School Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, Anderson High School Effie E. Yerwood, owner – teacher, Anderson High School Edward T. Yerwood, renter – principal, West Austin High School Effie E. Yerwood, renter – teacher Willie M. Davis, renter Edward T. Yerwood, renter – principal, West Austin High School Effie E. Yerwood, renter – teacher vacant Henry Peter, owner Mrs. Eliza Peter, renter 1952 1949 1944 1941 1939 1935 1929 1927 1924 1922 1918 1916 1914 1912 1910 1909 1903 Address not listed. Mrs. S. Peter listed at 1203 Cotton St. Historical Information The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 20 May 1907: 4. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 13 Sep 1908: 2. 26 – 8 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 19 Sep 1909: 16. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 17 June 1910: 2. The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 13 Jan 1913: 7 The Austin Statesman (1902-1915); Austin, Tex.. 09 Aug 1914: 12. 26 – 9 The Austin Statesman and Tribune (1915-1916); Austin, Tex.. 01 Aug 1915: 10. The Austin Statesman (1916-1916); Austin, Tex.. 19 July 1916: 3. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 09 Sep 1928: 4. 26 – 10 The Geyser: First Annual of the Anderson High School of Austin, Texas, 1926. Via Black Classicists in Texas: https://bcatx.org/wp- content/uploads/2023/04/geyser_full_carver.pdf 26 – 11 White, Leslie J. The Texas Standard, Volume 28, Number 4, September-October 1954, periodical, September 1954; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth193776/m1/19/?rotate=0), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Prairie View A&M University. J MASON BREWER.  The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 12 Aug 1956: A9. 26 – 12 DIXIE SHIPP Staff Writer.  The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 28 Aug 1971: 18. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 29 Aug 1971: A6. The Austin American - Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; Austin, Tex.. 09 Sep 1975: 8. The Austin American - Statesman (1973-1980), Evening ed.; Austin, Tex.. 04 Mar 1977: B2. 26 – 13 Austin American-Statesman, March 13, 1977, Page 118. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american- statesman-obituary-for-e/67134037/ : accessed April 10, 2024), clip page for Obituary for Effie Esler White Yerwood by user jeannegoldman 26 – 14 1940 aerial image showing original location of pyramidal-roofed building, moved behind 1205 Cotton Street in 1958 aerial image. By 1984, it had been replaced by a small garage and rear addition. Permits 26 – 15 Building permit for rear unit, 1950 Sewer tap permit, 1953 Water tap permit, 1962