DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker on this one has to say, and I'll do my best to tell it right. Now, most folks who built up Austin's neighborhoods at the turn of the last century don't get a lot of credit. But the Dawson sisters — Mary and Nannie — they're worth slowing down for.
Real estate developers, the marker calls them. Not a phrase you heard attached to many women's names around 1900, and that alone ought to catch your attention. These two had already made their mark as pioneer teachers in the free public school system.
Mary — who went by Molly — had risen all the way to principal of Fulmore School. That's not nothing. That takes grit and standing in a community.
But somewhere along the way, Molly looked at a chalkboard and then looked at a plot of land and made a decision. She left teaching to pursue real estate. And the Dawson sisters got to work.
About 1900, they built this stone house as part of the South Heights expansion of Austin. They weren't working alone, either. Their brother Nick Dawson was likely the builder — their partner in the enterprise — a man who built several other stone houses in the area.
The house itself is described as typical of middle class homes of the time. And maybe that's the quiet power of it. Not a mansion.
Not a monument. Just solid stone, honest construction, and the fingerprints of two women who had already taught a generation of Austinites before they turned around and started building the city itself.
What the marker says
Real estate developers Mary and Nannie Dawson built this house about 1900 as part of the South Heights expansion of Austin. The sisters were pioneer teachers in free public school system. Mary (Molly) was principal of Fulmore School, but she left teaching to pursue real estate. The builder was probably their brother and partner, Nick Dawson, who built several other stone houses. The house is typical of middle class homes of the time. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974