Historic Central Austin property that once housed Confederate widows now home to ghosts

Table of Content

• Historic Central Austin property that once housed Confederate widows now home to ghosts
• Texas -- Travis County -- Austin -- Confederate Women's Home
• Herman: Battle brewing over marker at former Confederate Woman’s Home
• Is The Confederate Women’s Home Haunted?
• A Guide to Confederate Monuments in Austin
• Mysterious Sounds at the Confederate Women’s Home

Eastside Memorial High is located on the campus of the former Johnston High School, at 1012 Arthur Stiles. (Johnston itself closed in 2008.) Also has a statue on UT's campus, and a large monument and sculpture at the Texas State Cemetery. U.S. rep. from Texas who resigned from the House when Texas seceded, and joined Jefferson Davis' cabinet as Postmaster General. Denounced by Texans for encouraging cooperation with the Union after the Civil War . Also the namesake of a state office building , and one of three enshrined with a statue on UT's campus.

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.

Historic Central Austin property that once housed Confederate widows now home to ghosts

Would it be better just to ignore certain minor cases like this one? Possibly, but no policy change is ever conducted perfectly, and even if removing this historic marker is an overreaction, it does nothing to invalidate the move to remove the statues that celebrate the Confederacy. I think if the Confederacy wasn't still commemorated and romanticized today, the text on the marker wouldn't be an issue, even if it would be worded differently if erected now. The Chronicle welcomes opinion pieces on any topic from the community.

Controversial treatments such as electroshock therapy were used to battle even the most common diseases such as dementia. Once the site of electroshock therapy, the Confederate Women’s Home is haunted by its former inhabitants. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.

Texas -- Travis County -- Austin -- 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.

Operating funds continued to come from public contributions until 1891, when the state assumed control and support, and the name officially became Texas Confederate Home. The John B. Hood Camp deeded the property to the state on March 6, 1891. Management was the responsibility of a board of managers made up of five Confederate veterans appointed by the governor and a superintendent, also a Confederate veteran, who was selected by the board.

Herman: Battle brewing over marker at former Confederate Woman’s Home

The last Confederate veteran, Walter W. Williams, was 114 years of age at a time of his death December 19, 1959. Of the three documented burials in this plot, two were later moved to family plots elsewhere and one moved to rest beside her husband in Confederate Field in the Texas State Cemetery. You can use the hashtag #HM1WOK in tweets, and any other place where you might refer to this marker, including when searching on this site. But, like the aging widows, there were some children who moved in and never moved out. Although the building has undergone major renovations during its 111-year history, it is believed that some of the original occupants remain.

Everett had no pension to fall back on after the War, unlike most Union soldiers. Therefore men like Everett who were indigent toward the end of their lives had no other place to go but institutions like the Confederate Men’s Home. When the decision was made or why the decision was made to bury the inmates of the Home at the State Cemetery is something that’s lost to history. The building sat unused until 1972 when the state began housing children with special needs that were residents of the School for the Deaf, Blind and Orphans. Infirmary rooms that once housed dying widows were converted into classrooms, a gym, and an area for physical therapy exercise.

Hallways that were once filled with senior women were now filled with children playing in the halls. CONFEDERATE WOMAN’S HOME The home was opened “to all wives and widows of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers who either entered the Confederate service from Texas or came to live in... The UDoTC is literally a propaganda organization for the Confederacy. Does this plaque exist to white wash the history of a propaganda arm of the Confederacy and advance their image? Texas Confederate Women's and Men's Home Historical Markers (3710 Cedar St. and 1600 W. Sixth).

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.

Is The Confederate Women’s Home Haunted?

To commemorate campgrounds built to house and care for the widows, wives, and veterans of the Confederacy. The marker seems to accurately and objectively reflect an historic building’s history. It does not seem to glorify the Confederacy, other than perhaps to note a Confederacy-related group’s effort to help women in need of help. This monument is located within a fenced-in area of the historic Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas.

Sometimes all we have is the information on their headstones which is the case with Everett. He served in the Eighth Texas Cavalry, also known as Terry’s Texas Rangers; it was the most well-known Texas Confederate unit in the War other than Hood’s Texas Brigade. Terry’s Rangers was organized in Houston early in 1861 and that’s where Everett joined them.