This was the original back door to the main house, and one of three doors on the back side of the house. All of the work that allowed the this building to function as a home took place on the other side of this door. Spend some time with the "Give Us This Day" mural series to learn more.

Look at the top of the doorway - can you see what's wrong? The staircase engages with the front of the doorway: the right corner of the threshold is lost and the millwork above and to the left of the door is heavily compromised. Was this just a carpentry mistake? No - this is the effect of unrealistic expectations. The Hill family, who commissioned this project from Master Builder Abner Cook, could not afford their grand project. The building as originally designed would have been deeper, and the door never would have been cut by the stairwell.

This portrait depicts Jacob Fontaine, one of the most influential Black Austinites in the 19th century and a neighbor to this site. Mr. Fontaine was enslaved prior to the Civil War and while enslaved became a pastor. After the war he was involved in the establishment of six Central Texas churches. He also published the "Gold Dollar" newspaper, thought to be the first Black newspaper west of the Missisissipi, at 2402 San Gabriel during the 1870s.