The Wilkins-heath House | Travis Heights

A home that has watched Austin change for more than a century, with original character and details carefully carried forward.

City of Austin Historic Landmark | National Register Historic District Contributing Property

Some houses are defined by what has been added over time. The Wilkins-Heath House is compelling for how much has remained.

The fully restored Folk Victorian cottage is a City of Austin Historic Landmark dating to the late 1880s. Platted in 1886 and now part of the Travis Heights-Fairview Park National Register Historic District, the neighborhood’s characteristic winding streets, irregular lots, and mature trees preserve its original relationship to the landscape.

The National Register describes the Folk Victorian as both an “outstanding, intact example” of the style and “one of the most elaborate Folk Victorian style houses in the district.” Patterned wood shingles, intricate spindlework, turned porch posts and balusters give the exterior its distinctive architectural character. 

Inside downstairs, 11-foot ceilings, meticulously restored longleaf pine floors and millwork, pocket doors, plantation shutters, beadboard, as well as original period hardware and reproduction wallpaper make that history tangible. Modern materials, such as custom-designed Marmoleum flooring in the kitchen, reference period linoleum flooring. Adjacent to the spacious primary bedroom downstairs, a large dressing room features a burnished-iron enameled soaking tub, a charming and decadent touch.

Set on ~.33 landscaped acres with gated access, a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat, and landscape design that accommodates parking in both the front and back of the home, the two-story, two-bedroom, two-bath home feels unusually private for a property only a few blocks from South Congress, with plenty of room for expansion or additional structures.

Old Austin, Beautifully Intact

Soaring ceilings, original craftsmanship and more than a century of character.

The scale is immediate. Lofty, 11-foot ceilings give the rooms presence, while the craftsmanship keeps them warm and intimate. Original and restored millwork frame the doorways and rooms. Pocket doors disappear into the walls. Beadboard wainscoting, historic shutters and period hardware remain in place. Look more closely, and the house becomes increasingly personal, with subtle variations, individual finishes and handwork that belong to another era.

These are not decorative references to the past. They are pieces of the original house, still part of the way it is experienced today. More than a century later, the character of old Austin remains remarkably close at hand.

A View Through Time

Upstairs, a contemporary loft with the Austin skyline beyond.

The informal second floor offers a striking contrast to the more traditional rooms below. It feels lighter and loft-like, with views through the treetops toward downtown. Restored longleaf pine floors and trim connect the historic context to the first floor. The upper-level bath has been updated with an oversized walk-in shower with zellige tilework and new fixtures. A dedicated laundry room with compact appliances integrates modern comforts with the 19th-century craftsmanship.

Then there is the widow’s walk.

A ship-style ladder leads to the restored perch at the peak of the house, where the view opens across the Austin skyline, perfect for summer bat-watching. From a feature that belongs to another era, the city of today stretches out in full view. Upon the house’s restoration, the missing chimney was reconstructed using reclaimed Butler Bricks.

It is a fitting contrast: the craftsmanship of the 19th century below, modern comfort upstairs, and contemporary Austin on the horizon.

Restored, Not Reinvented

One of the home’s greatest luxuries is how much of it was still here to save.​

The Wilkins-Heath House is one of the few remaining homes built in the original Fairview Park development before it was subsumed by the later-developed Travis Heights.  Platted in 1886, Fairview Park was designed as a residential enclave south of the river, shaped around the hills and ravines that distinguish this part of Austin from flatter neighborhoods which used a street grid.

In an unexpected turn, the years when the house escaped attention became one of its greatest gifts. While many homes of the period were demolished or altered beyond recognition, the Wilkins-Heath House remained largely untouched, leaving its original millwork, shutters, doors and hardware in place. Although the home had been lived in hard, when restoration finally began, the work was about respectfully uncovering, repairing, and restoring what had been there all along.

When Patrick Butler and Melanie Martinez took on the property, the goal was to restore the home’s architectural integrity and protect its story from demolition as the neighborhood began to lose its history.

What followed was a years-long restoration shaped by that philosophy. Working with local, experienced preservation craftspeople, architect Scott Field, and contractors Russell and Beckie Forsyth, the team worked with many consultants on all aspects of the restoration.

Care extended to the smallest details. According to Martinez’s account of the restoration, original doorknobs and door, window, and transom hardware were professionally restored by Cirecast in San Francisco. Even the doorknobs differ from door to door, each with its own finish and character. 

Volz & Associates worked on the interiors, incorporating period-reproduction wallpapers and borders, selected to sit naturally alongside the historic fabric of the rooms. 

The result feels less like a restoration project than a love letter to the house itself. Ultimately, Melanie’s restoration project was awarded the 2005 Heritage Society of Austin (now Preservation Austin) Merit Award for Historic Restoration.

A Family Story Tied to the Driskill

The history of the Wilkins-Heath House touches another Austin landmark.

The Wilkins-Heath House historical designation is associated with its first and second residents. The first were Virginia Alma Day Wilkins and her husband, Frank Wilkins, a bookkeeper for the Driskill Hotel. Virginia was one of the daughters of Texas cattleman J. M. “Doc” Day, brother-in-law of Colonel Jesse Driskill, who owned the hotel. Through some unknown circumstances, Day ended up taking ownership of the Driskill for a brief time. Longstanding folklore claims that Driskill lost his namesake hotel to Day in a poker game. Documents show only that Day became owner of the Driskill Hotel in 1888 and traded it for a California ranch and vineyard in 1893.

The second owner, Benjamin Franklin Heath, from the late 1910s, owned B.F. Heath and Son Boot and Shoemaking on Lavaca Street downtown. During the Heaths’ ownership of the house, the Great Depression spurred a boom in shoe repair shops, which sustained the Heaths for several decades. Eventually, a plumbing lien allowed the Dorval Nicholson Family to own the home. Their large and bustling family remained there until the late 1980s, when they offered it for sale to Patrick Butler, knowing of his desire to preserve it and seek landmark designation.

Stewardship for the Next Century

Modern comforts meet enduring character.

The current owners purchased the Wilkins-Heath House in 2017 and have continued the ethos of caring for the property, making significant improvements to its infrastructure and everyday living spaces while honoring the home’s rich history. The kitchen and baths have been updated with new finishes, along with improvements to the electrical system and updated dual-level HVAC systems. A whole-house generator and tankless hot water heater were added recently, as well.

Together, these updates introduce a more contemporary layer of comfort while remaining intentionally secondary to the architecture. The house has been adapted for the way people live today without erasing the qualities that make it historic.

Historic Fairview Park, Modern Austin Close By

A historic residential setting, with South Congress Avenue and downtown just beyond.

With South Congress Avenue only a few blocks away, Fairview Park offers the quiet, established character of one of Austin’s Historic neighborhoods, with dining, shopping, coffee, live music, and everyday conveniences close at hand. From Perla’s and June’s to Home Slice Pizza and the legendary The Continental Club, some of Austin’s most recognizable destinations are part of the neighborhood, not a destination that requires a commute. Downtown sits just across the river.

The Wilkins-Heath Home represents a unique opportunity to own a thoughtfully preserved piece of Austin history, paired with the character, convenience, and enduring appeal of its coveted Travis Heights setting.

Map