Connelly-Yerwood House
Why it's listed
Built in 1904 at 1115 East 12th Street, this one-story cottage in East Austin follows a modified L-plan under a hipped roof with cross gables. Fishscale shingles and traces of turned porch columns point to a restrained Queen Anne decorative scheme. The Connelly family, a white working-class household, lived there first. In 1926 the house was sold to the Yerwoods, an African-American family, a change that mirrors the shift in East Austin's population in the early twentieth century. Dr. Charles Yerwood practiced medicine and campaigned for better tuberculosis care among Black Texans. His daughters, Dr. Connie Yerwood and Dr. Joyce Yerwood, also became physicians, and Connie lived in the house from 1937 to 1991. Later changes include a 1955 rear addition, art-deco bathrooms and a pink and green interior. The house kept its original form, shiplap siding and roofline. It is vacant, and the city plans to restore it as a community center.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion A for ethnic heritage (Black) because its 1926 sale from a white working-class family to an African-American family reflects the demographic shift in East Austin. It is significant under Criterion B in medicine as the home of three pioneering Black physicians, Charles, Joyce and Connie Yerwood. Alterations to its form mean it was not found eligible under Criterion C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000279, listed April 18, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1115 E 12th St., Austin |
|---|---|
| County | Travis County |
| Listed | April 18, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000279 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1904-1953 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian; modified L-plan (Queen Anne decorative elements) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant. Plans call for restoration and adaptive reuse as an East Austin community center; the porch and pink asbestos siding were recently removed in preparation. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 30.27212, -97.72821 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000279.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5161751
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.