In 1986, the house was presented to the W. H. Passon Historical Society as a gift, by a professor at The University of Texas at Austin.

[6] The objective of the W. H. Passon Historical Society is to secure and preserve materials and artifacts related to Black culture, in Austin and Travis County.

[7] The National Register of Historic Places describes the architectural style as "High Victorian" Gothic Revival.

Drop siding occurs up to the sills of the second-story windows, above which multiple rows of fish-scale and rectangular shingles alternate.

The parlor contains a fireplace (and functional chimney) with a mantle and brightly colored tiles arranged in a complex non-repeating geometrical pattern.

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[20]).

The map provides an interesting historical perspective for our modern day consideration of the Southgate–Lewis House, on many different levels of analysis.

Southgate had more than thirty years of experience working in both England as well as in the United States, in establishments such as Daniel Appleton & Company (a firm which was founded in 1825 and whose successor lives on as Appleton-Century-Crofts).

In the late 1800s the Austin American Statesman made numerous remarks praising the work of John Southgate.

The photograph caption reads as follows: "Mae D. Lewis, Spanish Teacher, OLCA High School, Class of 1957".

[34] In 1896 Laurine Cecil Anderson resigned his position at Prairie View to become principal of Austin's Robertson Hill High School.

Among other problems, most of the windows were broken and the roof was missing in many locations; thus water had been entering the house for some long time.

The professor was looking for a home and he noticed the abandoned dilapidated Victorian house (which is only a few blocks east from the university) one week before the scheduled demolition date,[5] in February 1979.

Fears was happy to discover a somewhat surprising fact about the carpentered framing of the Southgate–Lewis House – all of the interior walls were reinforced with long and wide diagonal boards.

When unsalvageable water-damaged wallpaper was removed, Fears discovered that the interior walls were not composed of the usual "lath and plaster," which was so common in the late 19th century Victorian buildings, but instead covered with shiplap laid diagonally, at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the frame, much as external sheathing is, making the structure quite stiff, resistant to gusts of wind (which are quite common in the region).

Calcasieu began downtown along the Colorado river between Guadalupe and Lavaca and grew to occupy six city blocks in the 1950s.

[51] The restoration work on the interior of the Southgate–Lewis House revealed many unexpected treasures: a beautiful elaborate staircase balustrade, beaded tongue-in-groove (tongue and groove) hardwood paneling, patterned brass hardware, wainscotting, wood floors from old-growth heartwood longleaf pine, from the Calcasieu Pine District of Louisiana.

Fears) along with the restoration architect (David Hoffman) concluded that the house had not undergone any major changes in the basic floor plan since its original construction, with one exception.

After living in the home for a long time, encouraged by Ada Marie DeBlanc Simond, the professor donated the Southgate–Lewis House to the W. H. Passon Historical Society[6][5][52] in December 1986.

The W. H. Passon Historical Society is an organization that strives to secure and preserve materials and artifacts related to Black culture in Austin and Travis County, Texas.

The Society was founded by Ada Marie DeBlanc Simond (with Janie Beatrice Perry Harrison[53] and Fannie Mae Murphy Lawless).

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 which protect, enhance and reflect respect for the Black Heritage of our community.

[34] In 1907, W. H. Passon provided a comprehensive historical record for the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Austin[59] that has since become an essential resource for scholars and others to this very day.

Charles M. Lewis was also a close friend and mentor and he allowed Ada Simond to audit classes at Samuel Huston College (where he was a professor).

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.

[63] Ada Simond holds a master's degree in home economics from Iowa State University and she taught at Tillotson College between 1936 and 1942.

[64] Ada Simond cofounded the George Washington Carver Museum,[65][66][67] which opened in a historic building that was once the site of Austin's first Black library.

[68] In 1975, Ada Simond organized the W. H. Passon Historical Society to help secure and preserve the history of Austin's African-American community.

This traditional annual celebration commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States – the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.

The banners on the west elevation of the house (shown herein) depict distinguished African Americans in Government, Education, Literature, Medicine, and Sports.