Homeowners band together to preserve historic neighborhood
Save our Southside is advocating for preserving historic homes in College Station’s Southside Historic Area.
Because of the increase in historic homes being torn down and rebuilt to accommodate student growth, Save our Southside’s mission is to build community through preservation and restoration of homes in the Historic District, according to the Save our Southside website.
“We want people to honor the history,” said Emily Jane Cowen, founder of Save our Southside and Texas A&M University graduate. “Let’s honor the character. Let’s honor the history. Let’s honor the fact that this is where College Station started.”
Some of the historic homes in this neighborhood date back to 1890 and were originally erected on the Texas A&M campus, according to the Southside Area Neighborhood Plan. They were later relocated to the Southside neighborhood.
“We really cherish our traditions and our history, we keep those things very close to our hearts,” said Anna Fosdick, Save our Southside volunteer. “As Aggies, we want to preserve the history and the homes. A lot of what’s happening in this area is people coming and buying old houses and tearing them all the way down.”
Ali Hays, Texas A&M senior, said she enjoys living in a historic home that has character. She prefers not to live in Ag Shacks — newer houses built for six or more students — that often she sees in the neighborhood.
“It feels like every corner you turn there’s another house being torn down and so quickly another house pops up that looks exactly like the rest,” Hays said. “It’s a little bit of a bummer because you can’t get that historic feel back once you start throwing Ag Shacks in.”
Students and developers are drawn to Ag Shacks because they can sometimes provide double the room of a historic home, Fosdick said. Property owners might be making more money with more student renters, but the beauty of the Historic District is lost.
Hays said in her two years of renting in the Southside Historic Area, she has seen at least three historic homes replaced by Ag Shacks.
“I would hate to see this city just become so overdone that it outgrows itself, especially with A&M growing and how many students are being admitted,” Hays said. “It’s a little bit of a dangerous game.”
To preserve historic homes from becoming Ag Shacks, Save our Southside works with local government, homeowners and students renting in the area, Cowen said.
“The community can influence the local government by giving them their vision,” Fosdick said. “We have to band together to share our passion for the Historic District. Community and local government play pivotal roles and have to be unified.”
Cowen said she also wants more communication between the families and student renters of the Historic District. Students and homeowners can both contribute to preserve historic homes.
“The best way students can do that [work to preserve historic homes] is to continue to search for historic homes to live in, to stop fundraising and supporting Ag Shacks,” Fosdick said. “If you can shut that down, you can shut down the system.”
Change is not inherently bad, though rapid change can cause negative ripples in this neighborhood, Cowen said.
To learn more about the preservation of the Southside Historic Area or to volunteer with Save our Southside, visit sites.google.com/view/savingsouthside.