04.1 - C14H-2025-0095 - Calhoun House - Application — original pdf

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B. Tax Map C. Tax Certificate Historical Documentation - Deed Chronology F. 1 Deed research for 2401 Givens Avenue Date Transaction Vol./Page or Instrument 1959-12-23 1987-07-15 2003-06-13 2012-04-25 2015-01-25 2016-02-05 2017-12-15 2017-12-18 2018-04-12 WASHINGTON HAZEL EVAN to CALHOUN T C & THELMA D Vol. 2143, Page 100 CALHOUN T C & THELMA D to CALHOUN PATRICIA & THELMA D Vol. 10372, Page 709 CALHOUN PATRICIA & THELMA D to CALHOUN THELMA C & PATRICIA CALHOUN THELMA C & PATRICIA to CALHOUN THELMA C LIFE ESTATE 2003153655TR 2012072747TR CALHOUN THELMA C LIFE ESTATE to CALHOUN PATRICIA None CALHOUN PATRICIA to CALHOUN PATRICIA C TRUST CALHOUN PATRICIA C TRUST to EDWARDS KAREN CRAWFORD EDWARDS KAREN CRAWFORD to CALHOUN PATRICIA C CALHOUN PATRICIA C to CALHOUN PATRICIA C TRUST 2016024472 2017198036 2017199429 2018058878 F.2 Historical Documentation - Occupancy History Occupancy Research for 2401 Givens Avenue Year 1959 1990 2015 Occupant Name and Reference Theodore C. and Thelma Dotson Calhoun Thelma Dotson Calhoun Patricia Calhoun Source Patricia Calhoun Patricia Calhoun Patricia Calhoun Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Biographical Data F.3 See Section F.2 for occupancy history and Section F.9 for data on owners and occupants. Historically Significant Events F4. See Section F.9 for history of the building and its occupants. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application F.5 Color Digital Prints Image 1 North elevation, facing south Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 2 West elevation, facing east Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 3 West and south elevations, facing northeast Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 4 South elevation, facing north Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 5 East elevation, facing west Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 6 East and south elevations, facing northwest Photo by Meghan King 2025 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 7 Interior view, living room Photo by Lauren Kerr 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 8 Interior view, kitchen/dining area Photo by Lauren Kerr 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 9 Interior view, kitchen Photo by Lauren Kerr 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 10 Interior view, bathroom Photo by Lauren Kerr 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 11 Interior view, hallway Photo by Lauren Kerr 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application F. 6 Architect/Builder/Contractor/Craftsmen See F.9 for information on builder of the subject property. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application F.7 Historical Photographs/Maps Map 1 2025 aerial view subject property, courtesy of Google Maps Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Map 2 Plat of the Washington Subdivision, Calhoun house located at the southeast corner of Givens and Maple Date unknown Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Map 3 1935 redlined map of Austin, edited by author to show the future location of the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross neighborhood Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Map 4 1965 aerial of subject property, courtesy of USGS Earth Explorer. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 1 North elevation Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 2 West and south elevations, view northeast Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 3 South elevation Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 4 Drawings, exterior elevations Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 5 Drawings, floor plan Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 6 Interior photo, living room, view west Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960s Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 7 Interior photo, living room, view east Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960s Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 8 Interior photo, dining room/living room Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. 1960s Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 9 Portraits of Thelma Dotson Calhoun and Theodore C. Calhoun in the Calhoun Home Photographers unknown, dates unknown Photo by Lauren Kerr, 2021 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 10 Notice of marriage license issued for Thelma Dotson and T.C. Calhoun The Austin American, August 27, 1938 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 11 Pat Calhoun with father T.C. Calhoun at the Miss Kealing Pageant Courtesy of Pat Calhoun c. late 1940s Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 12 Announcement of T.C. Calhoun’s election as president of the Austin Negro Chamber of Commerce The Austin Statesman, December 8, 1948 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 13 Photograph of men signing contract for building the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin, TX; T.C. Calhoun seated in first row, second from right Photographer unknown, date unknown - likely late 1940s, early 1950s University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth17373/m1/1/?q=t.c.%20calhoun Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 14 Officers of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSAT) with architect John S. Chase, FAIA, at the groundbreaking of the TSAT headquarters at 1911 Navasota Street, Austin, TX The Texas Standard, Volume 26, Number 5, November-December 1952 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 16 T.C. Calhoun named on building dedication of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin, TX Photographer unknown, August 8, 1955 University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth17374/ Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 17 Reporting of Thelma Calhoun as supervisor for twenty-five Negro teachers in county schools The Austin American, July 14, 1955 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 18 Memo from T.C. Calhoun, Treasurer, to members of the Austin-Travis County Teachers Credit Union October 1, 1957 Courtesy of Pat Calhoun Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 19 T.C. Calhoun with Kealing Junior High students Roselyn Fowler and Vicky Kirk Photo by Neal Douglass March 27, 1958 University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth19513/ Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 20 Notice of T.C. Calhoun elected as president of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSAT) The Austin American, Friday, April 6, 1962 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 21 Message from T.C. Calhoun during his time as president of TSAT The Texas Standard, Volume 36, Number 5, November-December 1962 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 22 Photo of the TSAT headquarters at 1911 Navasota Street, Austin, TX, designed by architect John S. Chase, FAIA The Texas Standard, Volume 37, Number 2, March-April 1963 Photographer unknown Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 23 Announcement of T.C. Calhoun presiding over meeting of TSAT during his time as president The Austin American, October 24, 1963 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 24 Reporting mentioning Thelma Calhoun as president of the Austin alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority The Austin American, May 14, 1964 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 25 Marriage announcement of Patricia Calhoun The Austin American, July 6, 1969 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 26 T.C. and Thelma Calhoun at the renaming of Pennsylvania Avenue, location of Kealing Junior High, after Mr. Calhoun upon his retirement from Kealing Junior High Photo by Darl Hyatt for the Austin Statesman, May 1971 Courtesy of Pat Calhoun Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 27 The Austin American, Thursday, July 29, 1971 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 28 Notice of T.C. Calhoun to speak at NAACP dinner in his capacity as representative of the Travis County Teachers Association Credit Union The Austin American, February 8, 1973 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 29 Article on the closing of Kealing Junior High following desegregation The Austin American-Statesman, August 25, 1976 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 30 Notice of T.C. Calhoun honored by Bishop College Alumni Hall of Fame Austin American-Statesman, March 20, 1980 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 31 Announcement of Thelma and T.C. Calhoun’s 50th wedding anniversary Austin American-Statesman, August 28, 1988 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 32 Obituary for T.C. Calhoun Austin American-Statesman, June 14, 1990 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 33 Obituary for Thelma Calhoun (incorrect age cited - actual age 103) The Austin American-Statesman, February 2, 2015 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Image 34 Obituary for Thelma Calhoun Legacy.com, published in The Austin American-Statesman February 1-2, 2015 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesman/name/thelma-calhoun-obituary?id=18860687 Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application F.9 Historical Narrative Introduction: T.C. and Thelma Calhoun established an enduring legacy in Austin and helped build community for Black Austinites that spanned nearly a century, from the 1930s to the present day. Their leadership in education, community service, and neighborhood advocacy lives on in their daughter Patricia, who considers the Calhoun House her personal legacy to the neighborhood and the city. T.C. and Thelma succeeded and supported others despite the barriers of the Jim Crow South, establishing a tradition of excellence in education and community service that comprises an inspiring chapter in Austin’s history. The home built by T.C. and Thelma Calhoun is a modest but groundbreaking example of California ranch architecture that is significant for the historical associations and community value of its inhabitants and their lives. As one of the original homes in the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross (RWHC) Historic District, it has a long and fabled association with the Calhoun family and their contributions to Austin, making it an important part of the city’s cultural heritage and warranting its designation as a historic landmark.1 Summary The Calhoun House is a one-story home located at 2401 Givens Avenue within the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District, which lies two miles east of the Texas Capitol.2 The home was built in 1959.3 The RWHC Historic District is one of the most intact concentrations of post-World War II housing for African Americans in Austin. As an early neighborhood developed by Black professionals for Black professionals, its development pattern is strongly tied to its cultural significance as a professional, middle-class, suburban neighborhood.4 The period of significance for the RWHC Historic District is 1953-1970, which corresponds to important economic trends in Austin. These include post-war growth patterns and the district’s associations with developers Nash Phillips, Hal Starkey, A.D. Stenger, and architect John Chase, known for their impact on Austin’s growth and development.5 The Calhoun House embodies those trends while showcasing the history of its owners. T.C. and Thelma Calhoun were committed educators and civic leaders in Austin’s Black community during the mid-twentieth century, when “separate but equal” racial policies continued to hinder the prosperity of Black Americans. The Calhouns played pivotal roles in the success and cohesiveness of the RWHC neighborhood. The home’s massing and detailing are representative of ranch-style homes, one-story, low-slung houses that underscored a new concept of simplicity for a postwar American family living a more casual lifestyle. 1 “Historic Districts,” City of Austin website, accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.austintexas.gov /page/historic-districts#Rogers%20Washington%20HC. 2 Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Preservation Plan & Narrative History, accessed July 6, 2025, https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=343959. 3 Travis Central Appraisal District, accessed July 6, 2025, https://travis.prodigycad.com /propertydetail/204110/2025. 4 Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Preservation Plan & Narrative History. 5 Ibid. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application The underlying aesthetic fit with the informality and optimism that prevailed in the 1950s postwar era, by which time the ranch form had become the most popular housing style for new housing development. Also referred to as a California ranch, the ranch form had its origins on the West Coast in the 1930s work of California architects and was loosely based on the low, rambling courtyards of Spanish Colonial ranching houses.6 Statement of Significance: The Calhoun House demonstrates significance in the categories of historical associations and community value. The home, one of the first to be built in the subdivision and the anchor of a key intersection, has been owned and inhabited by the Calhoun family since its construction by T.C. and Thelma Calhoun in 1959.7 For over thirty years, T.C. was the principal of nearby Kealing Junior High School, the only middle school in Austin for African American children during segregation. He also held leadership roles in organizations that served African American educators, among many other civic titles.8 Thelma was a Jeanes supervisor for African American Travis County schools and a reading specialist at two local elementary schools. Both T.C. and Thelma were long-time leaders at nearby Ebenezer Third Baptist Church.9 The home’s community value also stems from its role as the site of community service meetings in the early years of the Calhouns’ residence and through the present.10 Their daughter Patricia continues to enrich the community value of the home through her neighborhood advocacy and work with a local non-profit. While architecture as a category is not considered in this application, it is worth noting that the Calhoun House is a high-integrity example of the California ranch style. Architectural Description The Calhoun House is sited at a prominent corner of Givens Avenue and Maple Street and is a contributing property in the RWHC Historic District. It sits on 9,743 square feet of land (.2237 acres) and has 2,213 square feet of living area.11 The house embodies the California ranch style through its massing and details. Designed by local builder Hal Starkey, the distinctive home has a low, elongated roof and clever integration of indoor and outdoor space that includes three patios.12 In keeping with the 6 Virginia Savage McAlester, “Modern Houses – Ranch, ca. 1935-1975,” in a Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Knopf, 2013), pp. 596-603. 7 Interview with Pat Calhoun by Mary Kahle, June 24, 2025. 8 Theodore C. Calhoun obituary, Austin American-Statesman, June 14, 1990; interview with Pat Calhoun. 9 Thelma Calhoun obituary, Legacy.com, accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries /statesman/name/thelma-calhoun-obituary?id=18860687; interview with Pat Calhoun. 10 Interview with Pat Calhoun. 11 Travis Central Appraisal District. 12 Profile sheet, 2401 Givens Avenue, Preservation Austin Homes Tour 2024. Sources for profile sheet include Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Preservation Plan & Narrative History, Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Design Standards, Hal Starkey obituary, and “Common Ground: The story of Austin’s newest, and only Black, historic district,” by Marla Akin (Sightlines Magazine, 2021). Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application California-style plan, the house was intended to be built around a pool; however, the Calhouns didn’t swim, and the pool was never built.13 Like similar ranch-style homes in the neighborhood, the Calhoun House is a low-slung, single-story brick and wood structure, with a low-hipped roof, prominent sliding glass doors, and a deep overhang with a minor front porch. The front porch features a horizontally oriented wooden fence for privacy from passersby. The garage, which was originally also intended for extra entertainment space, repeats the ceiling design of the living room and reflects the growing prevalence of car ownership after World War II. Original features in the home are extensive, including the living room’s exposed beams and clerestory windows, paneled wood walls throughout, a galley kitchen with wood cabinetry, ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms, and a pass-through area from the kitchen. Many of the current furnishings are also original, including the mid-century modern dining set and hutch, and a wood high-low table with molded chairs in the breakfast area. The dining room and breakfast area ceiling light fixtures are also original. In keeping with the ranch style, the Calhoun House features architecturally separate “zones,” with the private bedrooms and bathrooms separated from the public living room and kitchen. This zoned floor plan contributes to the exterior appearance as elongated and rambling. The public zones of the house–the kitchen and living room–are integrated with the outdoors through the use of large windows and sliding glass doors in every room except a bathroom where the glass door was removed for security reasons. The outdoor emphasis is further heightened by the incorporation of built-in planter boxes at the front door and in the interior dining room.14 The property has always been used as a private home. The Calhouns enclosed the east patio for use as a game room in the late 1970s, but otherwise the home retains much of its historic integrity and is in good condition due to the diligent care of the Calhoun family.15 Today the home has energy efficient sliding glass doors and kitchen windows.16 Historical Overview As an early neighborhood developed by Black professionals for Black professionals, the development pattern of the RWHC Historic District is strongly tied to its cultural significance as a professional, middle-class, suburban neighborhood. Neighborhood residents were influential in the fields of science, architecture, local and national government, and education, as well as the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, and more. Architecturally, the houses represent postwar stylistic trends, including ranch, minimal 13 Nicole Villalpando, “Preservation tour offers story of segregation, prosperity and Austin's Black community,” Austin American-Statesman, June 5, 2021, accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.statesman.com/story/lifestyle/home-garden/2021/06/05/preservation-austin-tour-goes-inside-histori c-black-austin-neighborhood/5286440001/. 14 Profile sheet. 15 Kahle interview with Pat Calhoun. 16 Profile sheet. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application traditional, modern, and split-level styles.17 Comprised of just forty-six contributing homes, the historic district’s small footprint belies the impressive legacy of history, activism, and community that exists here. The district is bound by E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Chestnut Avenue, East 21st Street, and Cedar Avenue.18 It bears the name of African Americans Eli Rogers and Dr. Marcellus Washington, who previously owned and later developed the land, and of the nearby Holy-Cross Hospital (no longer extant). An important East Austin landmark, the 1951 hospital was built for African Americans and gave Black physicians all admitting and surgical privileges.19 Givens Avenue, where the Calhoun House is sited, was named after Dr. Everett Givens, a community leader and one of Austin’s first Black dentists. A civil rights advocate who pushed for equal rights and opportunities for African Americans, in 1950 Givens subdivided a tract of land he owned off E. 19th Street (now MLK Jr. Blvd.). This tract was adjacent to Holy Cross Hospital. With A.D. Stenger, a white architect and builder famed for his mid-century modern designs, Givens platted Holy Cross Heights, the first “Negro” subdivision in Austin to have Federal Housing Authority approval. Stenger-designed homes were never built on any of the Holy Cross lots, but after adjacent landowners Rogers and Washington subdivided their plots, local builders including Lott Lumber (the largest Black-owned lumberyard in Texas), Hal Starkey (builder of the Calhoun House), Travis Cook, and Nash Phillips developed the neighborhood throughout the 1950-60s.20 Prior to this, East Austin’s development was defined by the policies of the Jim Crow South. Legal segregation began with racial covenants on property deeds that barred people of color from living in certain neighborhoods, mainly those in West and North Austin. These practices were later codified by the 1928 City Plan that pushed Black and Latino Austinites east of East Avenue, now I-35, by denying city services to those who resisted relocation.21 Housing segregation was further enshrined in a 1934 city survey produced by the federal Home Owners Loan Corporation, established to facilitate homeownership by restructuring existing mortgages on better terms. The agency’s risk assessment maps, however, redlined “hazardous” areas and prohibited federally-backed mortgages for homes there. Virtually all majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Austin were redlined based on race and regardless of a home’s actual condition. This included much of East Austin, along with former freedman colonies citywide. Homeownership thus became easier for white residents living in “desirable” neighborhoods and that much harder for Black residents with limited housing options.22 After World War II, hard-won economic, educational, and social opportunities created an emergent Black middle class seeking its own vision of suburban life. Yet the postwar building boom was largely out of 17 Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Preservation Plan & Narrative History. 18 Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District Preservation Plan & Narrative History. 19 Profile sheet. 20 Ibid. 21 A City Plan for Austin, Texas, Koch & Fowler Consulting Engineers - 1928, accessed July 6, 2025, file:///Users/Mary/Downloads/txu-oclc-9451130%20(6).pdf. 22 “Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America,” University of Richmond, accessed July 6, 2025, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/map/TX/Austin/context#loc=13/30.289/-97.7453. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application their reach, again because of segregationist policies. The Federal Housing Administration prohibited Black families from obtaining the same low-cost mortgages available to white families, or from buying into the large-scale, developer-driven subdivisions that the agency backed.23 Black Americans had to find alternative, and often more expensive, routes to homeownership. These barriers make the existence of African American communities like Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross all the more remarkable. The Calhoun House was one of the first new homes built in RWHC starting in the late 1950s, when incoming city services readied the neighborhood for exciting new growth. The neighborhood attracted Black professionals largely by word of mouth, including schoolteachers, professors, business owners, and veterans. Like so many postwar suburbs, ranch-style homes prevail here, ranging from stylish to modest. RWHC residents often worked directly with building professionals to design their homes, resulting in an architectural character that reflects the personal tastes of each family––character which distinguishes their neighborhood from the segregated, large-scale, FHA-backed subdivisions with hundreds of inexpensive but identical homes. Developed during the height of the Civil Rights movement, at a time of increased economic prosperity for all, the neighborhood was imbued with a sense of optimism and promise that homeownership brings. In Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross, this sentiment found architectural expression through the use of modern styles, which looked with hope towards a more just and prosperous future. Biographical Data: The Calhoun Family The Calhoun family purchased the property on Givens in 1959 and has inhabited the home since its completion in spring of 1960.24 Family members have a history of leadership, accomplishment, and community engagement that makes their home significant to their neighborhood and to Austin. Theodore Calvin (“T.C.”) Calhoun (1905-1990) T.C. Calhoun was born into a large family in Corsicana, Texas, in 1905 and left home at the age of fifteen or sixteen. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Bishop College, a historically Black college located in Marshall, Texas, before becoming a math teacher in Mansfield, Louisiana. T.C. subsequently came to Austin, where he united with Ebenezer Third Baptist Church. He was a coach and the chairman of the L.C. Anderson High School math department for ten years. He became the principal of Kealing Junior High in 1941, and, in emergencies, would step in to teach a math class. He retired in 1971. T.C. earned a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1941and completed post-graduate studies in administration for junior high school programs at the University of Boston and the University of Connecticut. 25 23 “A History of Racist Federal Housing Policies,” Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center, accessed July 8, 2025, https://massbudget.org/2021/08/06/a-history-of-racist-federal-housing-policies/. 24 Kahle interview with Pat Calhoun. 25 Allen Jackson, “Principal Retiring as School Closes,” Austin American-Statesman, July 29, 1971; “Principal of Kealing to Preside,” Austin American-Statesman, October 24, 1963; interview with Pat Calhoun; and Theodore C. Calhoun obituary. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application T.C. met and married Thelma Clarissa Dotson (see next section) in the late 1930s during the period when he was teaching at L.C. Anderson High School, Austin’s segregated high school for Black students. According to daughter Patricia “Pat” Calhoun (1943-), they met through friends connected with Prairie View College, where Thelma earned a degree in education in 1934.26 Despite the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case of 1954, Austin’s public schools remained de facto segregated until 1971, when the federal government forced compliance on the district. For East Austin, this meant the closure of Kealing and L.C. Anderson and the beginning of busing Black students out of their neighborhoods. While the necessity for integration was evident, the burden largely fell on Black Austinites. Pat recalls that the closure of Kealing was difficult for her father and motivated his decision to retire. It was also challenging for the community, which was losing the support system provided by the schools.27 T.C. held numerous leadership positions in the community. In 1948 he was elected president of the Austin Negro Chamber of Commerce.28 In 1963, he served as president of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSTA), an organization of 9,000 African American teachers, and the District Teachers Association. TSTA was founded during Reconstruction and achieved crucial civil rights wins for Black students and teachers in Texas. T.C. was instrumental in creating the Austin-Travis County Teachers Credit Union, which is thought to have helped finance loans for several homes in Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross. He was a charter member on the board that worked to build the first Senior Activity Center on Shoal Creek Boulevard and 29th Street.29 T.C. was also a board member of the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons and a major contributor to the Children’s Haven Association, a nonprofit founded in 1946 to serve underprivileged children in East Austin. He served in leadership roles with the American Red Cross, United Fund of Austin, the Austin-Travis County Tuberculosis Association, and the Texas Credit Union League. He was listed in Who’s Who in American Education and Who’s Who in Colored America.30 Pat notes that her father had a pin denoting membership in the Lions Club but says that he would not have been formally accepted into the organization during the height of his career, as it was a segregated organization at that time. Thus he had quasi-membership status as someone who maintained alliances and friendships within the white community in a situation where he was “accepted but not fully accepted.”31 26 Interview with Pat Calhoun; “Thelma Clarissa Calhoun: 1911-2015,” Legacy.com, accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesman/name/thelma-calhoun-obituary?id=18860687. 27 Preservation Austin (unknown employee) interview with Pat Calhoun, circa 2020; Allen Jackson, “Principal Retiring. 28 “T.C. Calhoun Heads Negro C.C.,” Austin American-Statesman, December 8, 1948. 29 Correspondence between T.C. Calhoun and TSTA membership; Correspondence between T.C. Calhoun and credit union membership; Theodore C. Calhoun obituary; “History,” TSTA/NEA, accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.tsta.org/about tsta/history/; interview with Pat Calhoun. 30 Theodore C. Calhoun obituary. 31 Kahle interview with Pat Calhoun. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application T.C. was a deacon, trustee, and treasurer at the historic Ebenezer Third Baptist Church (1010 E. 10th Street), where he sang in the Bright and Early Choir, one of the first to broadcast on the radio. His name is on the cornerstone of the main building.32 Thelma Dotson Calhoun (1911-2015) Thelma Clarissa Dotson was born in Austin in 1911, the oldest of seven children. She attended L.C. Anderson High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Prairie View College (today’s Prairie View A&M University) in 1934. She earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Michigan and certification as an education specialist at the University of Texas at Austin.33 Descended from a long line of educators, she served as a Jeanes Supervisor for the segregated Travis County Schools. Jeanes Supervisors were a group of African American teachers who worked in southern rural schools and communities in the United States between 1908 and 1968. “Also known as Jeanes Teachers, Supervising Industrial Teachers, or Jeanes Workers, they derived their name from Philadelphia philanthropist Anna T. Jeanes, who provided funding for black education in the South.”34 Thelma later worked as a reading specialist for the Austin Independent School District.35 Like T.C., Thelma valued community service and served in leadership roles with the Children’s Haven Association and Ebenezer Third Baptist Church, where she was a founder and director of the children’s choir. Thelma also belonged to Delta Sigma Theta sorority and was a charter member of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. Throughout her life she received awards for her civic and service contributions.36 Patricia “Pat” Carol Calhoun (1943-) Pat Calhoun, the daughter of T.C. and Thelma Calhoun, was born in Austin in 1943. The Calhoun family lived at 1408 Cotton Street prior to their move to 2401 Givens Avenue in 1960. Pat graduated from L.C. Anderson High School in 1960 and earned a degree in interior design at Michigan State University in 1964. She was the second African American to graduate from the interior design program. After finding it difficult to find a job as an African American in the interior design industry, Pat eventually landed a job at Sears in Chicago through a friend of her father T.C. After her marriage and subsequent move to Detroit, she was the first African American interior designer in the Design Studio of the J.L. Hudson Department Store. Pat was one of the first African Americans registered in the State of TX as an NCIDQ certified interior designer and currently maintains that certification. Today she is a manufacturer’s representative with her own agency. Pat lived in Carrollton, Texas, for many years before returning to Austin and the family home on Givens Avenue in 2016. She also returned to and is an active member of Ebenezer Third Baptist Church. 32 Theodore C. Calhoun obituary; Kahle interview with Pat Calhoun. 33 “Thelma Clarissa Calhoun: 1911-2015”; interview with Pat Calhoun. 34 “Jeanes Supervisors,” Encyclopedia of Alabama, accessed July 6, 2025, https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/jeanes-supervisors/. 35 “Thelma Clarissa Calhoun: 1911-2015.” 36 Ibid. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application Pat is also a family historian – her home is filled with antique photographs and documents chronicling the many branches of her family tree spanning centuries. A particularly special touch are the heirloom quilts still on display, some of them over a century old. Today Pat is a fierce advocate for the community and neighborhood and was instrumental in the neighborhood achieving historic district status in 2020, Austin’s first historic district designated to honor Black heritage. As she notes, “We have become a more diverse – ethnically – neighborhood but we still have that great sense of community and the love that was there when we were all African American is still here. Which is really great because our new families have embraced the stories and histories as well.”37 While the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Neighborhood Association has existed for nearly as long as the neighborhood, the neighborhood’s path to historic district designation began in 2016 after an uptick in demolition. A state historical marker will soon honor the site of Holy Cross Hospital. Pat and other neighbors are involved with a non-profit they established to support the neighborhood and find ways to give back to the community. Pat – like her parents T.C. and Thelma – is a leader at the Children’s Haven Association, the non-profit established in 1946 to serve underprivileged children and their families in the area. Pat also holds membership in Preservation Austin, the Austin History Center Association, the American Society of Interior Designers, and the International Institute of Business Designers.38 37 Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross: Black Heritage, Living History, interview with Pat Calhoun by Meghan King, June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNbrmsvyyV4 38 Interview with Pat Calhoun. Calhoun House Historic Landmark Application