Table of Content
From 1938 to 1945, the population of the home fell from eighty-seven to fifty-five. In 1949 the home fell under the jurisdiction of the Board of Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. During the late 1950s, the nine remaining residents were consolidated into one hospital wing. In 1963 the last three residents were moved to private nursing homes at state expense, and the facility was closed.
Investigators have even spent the night inside the historic building, eager to find evidence of paranormal activity. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. This is carefully crafted to as a public statement, yet they still include phrases like "truthful history" and "worthy Confederates," so there is no mistaking what they really feel about the Confederacy. It tells the story of the building in a way that paints the United Daughters of the Confederacy as do gooders instead of the neo-confederate hate group they are. I am in no way opposed to having the history of the building in my neighborhood but glorifying the UDC in Austin in 2020 is unacceptable. “Our founders — who were well-respected community leaders — bought the empty building from the state of Texas in 1986, and reclaimed the property as a place of charity for the community,” he said.
The Confederate Women’s Home
The home cared for more than 3,400 indigent women over a period of fifty-five years. It was popular with the Austin community, and was the site of many community events over the years. The Confederate Woman's Home was opened in 1908 to care for widows and wives of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers and other women who aided the Confederacy.
An annex was built that doubled the size and increased the capacity, and a hospital was erected in 1916. The state legislature established the board of control to operate the home in 1920, and then in 1949, responsibility transferred to the board for Texas State Hospitals and special schools. This home provided for more than 3,400 indigent wives and widows of Confederate veterans and operated until 1963, when the last residents were transferred to private nursing homes." Under the leadership of President Katie Daffan, the Texas UDC began coordination and fundraising to secure a home for needy Confederate wives and widows. Through dinners, events, concerts and individual donations, the Texas UDC purchased property and constructed a Richardson Romanesque Revival style structure. UDC chapters from all over the state donated furnishings for the home., Due to the cost to maintain the home, the UDC transferred the home to the state of Texas on Dec. 23, 1911.
The Ghosts of The Confederate Women’s Home
The state legislature established the Board of Control to operate the home in 1920, and then in 1949, responsibility transferred to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. This home provided for more than 3,400 indigent wives and widows of Confederate veterans and operated until 1963, when the last residents were transferred to private nursing homes. The Texas Confederate Home began as a project of the John B. Hood Camp of United Confederate Veterans, which obtained a charter from the state on November 28, 1884. The camp's main purpose was to establish a home for disabled and indigent Confederate veterans.
By act of the Forty-eighth Legislature, "senile" mental patients from other state institutions were transferred to the Confederate Home. After 1939 disabled veterans of the Spanish American War and World War I, as well as their spouses, were admitted. In 1963 the remaining patients were sent to Kerrville State Hospital, and the Austin facility was transferred to the Austin State Hospital as an annex. The buildings on Sixth Street were razed in 1970 to make room for University of Texas married students' housing. Applicants were required to be 60 years of age or older, physically unable to live by themselves, and without adequate financial resources.
Historical Marker Project
The Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy cooperated in raising funds for the home. In 1886 the camp purchased sixteen acres of land at 1600 West Sixth Street in Austin from John B. In December of that year the UDC held a "Grand Gift Concert and Lottery," with prizes donated by the public, and raised over $10,800 to support the home.
A free hour-long public tour, Murder, Mayhem & Misadventure, will be offered from 10 am to 4 pm. The tours feature costumed actors at grave sites and highlights the cemetery's "residents" who died untimely deaths from the 1860s to the 1910s. Today, the AGE of Central Texas offices are housed on Cedar Street, providing caregiving workshops and other free opportunities for the senior population in Travis County to grow and thrive as they age. AGE also provides critical services for a consortium of nonprofit agencies serving seniors, including Meals on Wheels, Lutheran Social Services, and Hospice Austin.
Herman: Battle brewing over marker at former Confederate Woman’s Home
Terry's Texas Rangers, Hood's Texas Brigade, Confederate Soldiers Monument . Three monuments to memorialize those fought for the Confederacy. But it’s on private property and if the property owner wants it gone, so be it.
The Home consisted of a large administration building, a hospital, living quarters and private cottages; by all accounts it was a pleasant place to live out your final years. The private cottages were used by married couples for the most part. When a married veteran died, their wives were usually sent to the Confederate Woman’s Home in North Austin.
(approx. 0.4 miles away); Stanley and Emily Finch House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Elvira T. Manor Davis House (approx. 0.4 miles away). Join Ghost City Tours as we explore the haunted streets of Austin. Realizing they needed to recognize more diverse causes, they began to extend the AGE family. Soon they became a launching pad for nonprofits, at times housing as many as twenty-five emerging organizations at once. Only three women were living within the home less than a decade later. With no easy solution, the Confederate Women’s Home relocated the remaining women before closing their doors.
The complex on twenty-six acres of land on West Sixth Street had several buildings, including the large administration building and living quarters, a brick hospital, and private cottages. On January 1, 1920, the legislature established the Board of Control, abolished the board of managers for the Confederate Home, and transferred the responsibility of appointing a superintendent to the new agency. In 1949 the Fifty-first Legislature transferred control and management of the Confederate Home to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. However, the Board of Control continued to handle purchases for the institution. The Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools administered the home until it was closed.
Many of these women were related to men at the Texas Confederate Home in Austin. Residents were required to be at least sixty years of age and without means of financial support. The home was initially acquired and operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In 1903 the organization established a Wives and Widows Home Committee, which raised funds for the home and oversaw its construction. In 1905 the organization purchased property north of Austin, and in 1906 A. The two-story facility, constructed in 1906–07, had fifteen bedrooms.
No comments:
Post a Comment