Porter, William Sidney, House
Also known as: O. Henry House
Why it's listed
This small frame cottage in Austin was built in 1886 in a simplified Eastlake style, with an L-shaped Victorian plan, clapboard siding, and porches trimmed with scroll-saw balustrades, brackets and spandrels. Decorative barge boards with finials and a king-post adorn the projecting bay, and the windows have shallow pedimented lintels with wooden rosettes. A back bedroom and bath were added in 1893. William Sidney Porter, later known as the short story writer O. Henry, lived here with his family for two years starting in 1893, and it is the only surviving Austin residence where he lived. During that period he left his bank job to edit a humorous weekly, The Rolling Stone. The City of Austin accepted the house in 1934 and moved it to Brush Square to save it from demolition, then opened it as a museum that same year. It holds furniture, photographs, letters and other items belonging to the Porter family.
Significance in brief: It is described as the only surviving residence in Austin in which William Sidney Porter (the writer O. Henry, 1862-1910) lived. The Porter family lived there for about two years in the 1890s. The house is also a typical simplified Eastlake Victorian cottage.
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 73001979, listed June 18, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 409 E. 5th S., Austin |
|---|---|
| County | Travis County |
| Listed | June 18, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001979 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1886 |
| Architectural style | Simplified Eastlake style, L-shaped Victorian cottage plan |
| Areas of significance | Literature, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the City of Austin and operated as a museum since 1934; condition listed as good, with interior restoration work in 1969 and 1972. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Within district | Sixth Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 30.26573, -97.73910 (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.
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 73001979.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8018434
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.