Southgate-Lewis House reopens in East Austin

A historic East Austin home will reopen this weekend for Juneteenth.

Why it matters: The Southgate-Lewis House played a significant role in Austin's history, housing one of the first Black physicians in the city, a prominent educator and civil rights leader and a historian who used the house as a cultural center.

Driving the news: Board members of the Southgate-Lewis House will host a grand reopening Saturday.

• "A Juneteenth House Party: Celebrating Black History, Cultivating Black Stories" is free and open to the public, following the city's annual Juneteenth parade and celebration.

What they're saying: The home's board members are working to renovate and restore the house, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Texas Historic Landmark.

• "Part of the impact of gentrification in Austin over the last 15 years has been the physical displacement and cultural fragmentation of Black visibility, cultural experience, and the erasure of our historic spaces and stories," Virginia Cumberbatch, chair of the Southgate-Lewis House and CEO of Rosa Rebellion, said in a statement. "We believe in 2024, this renewed vision of the Southgate-Lewis House will serve to preserve and protect our history, reclaim and restore our connection, and curate and cultivate our continued stories."
• The house, which the board says has remained vacant for the last decade, was reinstated as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2023, according to Cumberbatch.
• Future plans for the home include an artist residency, community events and an exhibition space.

Zoom in : The house is entrusted to the W.H. Passon Historical Society Inc., which was re-established in 2023, and board members hope the event will reintroduce the house to a new Austin.

• Saturday will also mark the launch of the new "Friends of the House Program" — a way for community members and organizations to become active members of the house.
• University of Texas historian Peniel Joseph, cultural preservationist Jennifer Cumberbatch and former City Council Member Ora Houston will hold a community conversation.
• The event will feature music by DJ Sulaiman and a kid reading corner hosted by Terry Mitchell, author of the new kids book "The City We Built."

Flashback: The Queen Anne-style Southgate-Lewis House, built in 1888, housed one of the city's first Black physicians, Thomas H. Davis, according to the board.

• The house later became the residence of educator and civil rights leader William Holland .
• In the 1970s, it was owned by John Warfield , a historian, civil rights activist and UT's former director of the Center for African and African-American Studies.

Of note: The home is named after printer and bookbinder John Southgate and the Charles M. Lewis family, who were immortalized by author Ada de Blanc Simond in series of children's books, "Let's Pretend."

• The Southgate-Lewis Home served as the setting for the historically accurate children's series, according to a Texas House resolution .

📍 If you go: Enjoy the Central Texas Juneteenth parade from 10am-noon tomorrow. The parade begins in East Austin near the Oakwood Cemetery and travels down Chicon Street before ending at Rosewood Neighborhood Park for a festival from 12-9pm.

• The Southgate-Lewis House Juneteenth house party runs from 1-3pm at 1501 E. 12th St.

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