The stone house at 1200 South 5th Street was constructed by the Home Builders’ Association, which consisted of Nicholas A. Dawson, and his older sisters Mollie and Nannie Dawson.  It was built on four lots in the South Heights Addition which was platted in 1894 by the Association on forty-four acres acquired from an heir of J.E. Bouldin in 1892.  Four other houses of the same basic design and construction technique remain in the neighborhood.  Besides the stone houses, the Dawsons also built a number of frame houses in the area during the 1920s as rental property.

Nicholas A. Dawson (1864-1939) was educated as an engineer at Texas A&M and as a lawyer at the University of Texas.  He served as a legislator in the 22nd Session of the Texas Legislature.  As a developer and builder, besides South Heights across the Colorado River from Austin, he constructed a number of stone houses on Castle Hill above Shoal Creek and he built the Orange County Courthouse.  Mr. Dawson also established and operated public transportation to South Austin, with a streetcar service across the Congress Street bridge and up South Congress.