From the Texas State Historical Association.
Opened in 1908 to take care of the wives and widows of former Confederate soldiers who had been honorably discharged. Many of these women were related to men who were in the Texas Confederate Home in Austin.
Residents were required to be at least 60 years of age and have no means of support.
At its opening on June 3, 1908, three women were admitted to it, by 1909, 16 women called it home. But by 1911, the expenses were too much for the UDC and it was deeded to the state. At the time, residents numbered 18.
In 1913, a two-story addition was added which included 24 new bedrooms. and then a brick hospital was constructed to care for the increasing number of ailing residents. From 1920 to 1935, the place housed between eighty and 110 residents any given year.
By the late 1930s, new admissions to the home were decreasing and most of the surviving residents were in poor health. From 1938 to 1945, the population fell from eighty-seven to just fifty-five. In 1949, the building fell under the control of the State Hospitals and Special Schools.
During the late 1950s, the nine remaining residents were housed in one wing and in 1963, the three remains women were moved into private nursing homes at state expense and the facility closed. The state sold the property in 1986.
During the course of its run to take care of Confederate wives and widows, the home cared for 3,400 indigent women. It was popular with the Austin community and many events took place there.
--Old Secesh
