Despite objections from the owners, a dilapidated East Austin home that belonged to a family of Mexican American civic activists since the early 1900s could become a historic landmark.

The Herrera house, at 1805 E. Third St., highlights the conflict between historic preservation and property rights. Until the last several years, the home belonged to the Herrera family. It was the childhood home of Consuelo Herrera Mendez and Mary Grace Herrera, sisters who were the Austin school district's first Mexican American teachers. The dwelling was later home to Diana Herrera Castañeda, their niece and a prominent East Austin activist and Austin school district trustee.



Latino community members have lobbied for the home to be preserved because of its historical significance to the East Austin Mexican American community. But the current owners, who purchased the home in foreclosure to build a new house, are fighting the historic zoning label, pointing to its caved-in roof and walls as too costly to repair.



The Historic Landmark Commission unanimously voted July 22 to recommend the home be rezoned due to its historical significance to the East Austin Mexican American community, preventing the current owners from tearing it down without commission permission. Now the decision goes before the city's Planning Commission, then to the City Council, which ultimately will decide whether to uphold the designation. The council must have a supermajority vote to rezone it, because the designation goes against the will of the owner. Council members have gone against owners' objections only three times since 1974.

"It is important that we continue to not just recognize but preserve Mexican American culture," said East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association President Bertha Delgado. "It is so vital that we fight for this house because the history it provides is important to Mexican American culture."

Historic Landmark Commissioner Terri Myers said the home is where the Herrera sisters "learned their values and went on to become civil rights leaders for Mexican Americans. If it's demolished, that heritage will be lost forever."



Historic landmark status would grant the owner significant tax exemption on the property but would not determine how the property would be used.



A co-owner of the house, Rex Bowers, said that after he bought it last year, code enforcement gave him a long list of violations that would need to be fixed before the house was deemed inhabitable. The roof is fallen, the walls have holes and cracks, and the back porch has collapsed.

Bowers and the other owner filed to demolish the house, which brought the case before the Historic Preservation office due to its age. He has filed a formal petition opposing the rezoning.

"You have your first black teacher, your first gay teacher, you have your first lesbian teacher, you have all kinds of teachers that are firsts," Bowers said. "Are you going to save every house that has a first of everybody?"

Bowers offered to put up a plaque in remembrance of the Herrera sisters, but commissioners and community members said that would not adequately communicate the house's historical significance.

Myers said it is rare for the commission to recommend historical landmark zoning against the will of the owner, as commissioners believe it is important to respect property rights. However, this case is exceptional, she said.



"The building has deteriorated, there's no question. It would be costly to fix," Myers said. "But it's of such historical significance that every effort should be made to restore and preserve it."

Delgado said many East Austin houses that were important to the community have been demolished over the years.



"We've lost a lot of homes and a lot of history over the years," Delgado said.



Myers agreed, saying historical preservation efforts have focused on grand structures and the homes of the rich and powerful, but that the recommendation for this house is part of a recent shift to preserve buildings important to minority communities.



The house met two criteria for historical landmark status: its historic association with the Herrera family and its architectural style, called National Folk. That simple, minimalist home style was common among low-income Americans around the turn of the 19th century and is quickly disappearing from the American landscape.



According to a report by the Historic Landmark Commission, Valentin Herrera, a Mexican immigrant who taught in and operated a local Spanish-language school, and his wife, Josefa Herrera, who later owned and operated a bakery out of the house, moved into the East Austin home in 1911. They raised their seven children in the house, including Consuelo and Mary Grace.



Despite passing the qualifying exam for elementary school teachers, the Austin school district initially declined to hire Consuelo due to her ethnicity, though the official reason given was a lack of vacancies. In 1927, due to pressure from the City Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, the district hired her as its first Mexican American teacher. She taught there for 45 years. The district later named a middle school for her.



Mary Grace was born in 1912 and became the second Mexican American teacher to work for the district, teaching there for over 35 years. In 1973, Mary Grace testified during a lawsuit against the district that claimed the school system was resisting desegregation and discriminating against Mexican Americans. She told the court that teachers were instructed to speak to students in English even if the student did not speak the language, and that no programs existed to meet the special needs of Spanish-speaking students.