He lived and worked in Texas, where he was prominent in the Black community, before moving to Los Angeles, California.

[4] Townsend established an office at 108 West Santa Rosa in the late 1880s.

[2] Townsend moved to Los Angeles in 1904 and was succeeded in ownership of the house and medical practice by Dr. John H. Wilkens, one of the founders of the Lone Star Medical Association.

[6][2] In 1986 the property was owned by real estate agent Lee Swearingen.

This article about a property in Texas on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.