Texas. Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools

The Texas Woman's Confederate Home was initially established and operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). In 1903 the organization created a Wives and Widows Home Committee, which raised funds for the home and oversaw its construction. The UDC purchased property in north central Austin for the home, and in 1906 A. O. Watson was hired to design a building on the site. In 1905 the 29th Legislature passed a bill to transfer the home to the state but it was vetoed by Governor Samuel W.T. Lanham (House Bill 387, Regular Session). In 1907 a constitutional amendment providing for state ownership of the home was rejected by Texas voters (Senate Joint Resolution 12, 30th Legislature, Regular Session). The Confederate Woman's Home was opened in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to care for widows and wives of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers and other women who aided the Confederacy. Residents were required to be at least sixty years of age and without means of financial support. Some of the women had been residents at the Texas Confederate Home, residing with their husbands, and transferred to the Woman's Home. The United Daughters of the Confederacy operated the home until 1911, relying solely on donations to cover expenses. The State of Texas assumed control of the Home on March 10, 1911 by provisions of Senate Bill 275 (32nd Legislature, Regular Session). The property was deeded to the state and the facility was placed under a six-member board of managers. At the time of the transfer, the institution had eighteen residents. The two-story facility, constructed in 1906-1907, had fifteen bedrooms. At its opening on June 3, 1908, three women were admitted to the home; by 1909 it housed sixteen. In 1913 the state constructed a large two-story brick addition, designed by Page Brothers, architects, which included twenty-four new bedrooms. A brick hospital building was built in 1916, with a hospital annex added eight years later.

The institution was placed under the Texas State Board of Control in 1920 by the 36th Legislature (Senate Bill 147, Regular Session). The Board appointed a manager for the home and was responsible for appropriations and maintenance. The Home housed between eighty and 110 residents from 1920 through 1935. From 1938 to 1945, the population of the home fell from eighty-seven to fifty-five. In 1949 administration of the Home was transferred to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools (House Bill 1, 51st Legislature, Regular Session). In 1963 the last three residents were moved to private nursing homes at state expense, and the facility was closed. The state sold the property in 1986. During its fifty-five years of operation the Home cared for over 3400 women.

[Information for the history of the home was taken from the Handbook of Texas, from the general laws and the records themselves.]

From the guide to the Texas Confederate Woman's Home resident files, [ca. 1900], 1913-1965, (bulk 1932-1950), (Texas State Archives)

In 1949 responsibility for most eleemosynary institutions that had been managed by the Texas State Board of Control, including state hospitals, special schools, and the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation, was transferred to the newly-created Texas Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools (House Bill 1, 51st Legislature, Regular Session) in order to improve the efficiency of operations and provide better treatment of the patients and students. Duties of the board included establishing and enforcing rules and regulations, deciding on building and/or expansion programs, approving budgets for its central office and each individual institution, and deciding on general policy matters. The board was composed of nine members, appointed by the governor, with concurrence by the Senate, to six-year overlapping terms. No more than three members could be physicians. In 1956 the board exercised oversight of 22 hospitals and special schools. It was abolished in 1965 (59th Legislature, House Bill 3, Regular Session) and its duties transferred to other departments, primarily the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Responsibilities for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians were transferred to the Texas Commission for Indian Affairs.

(Sources: Manual of Texas State Government, Texas Legislative Council, 1950; Guide to Texas State Agencies, Texas Legislative Council, 1956; and the organization and mission statement of the Board found in the records.)

From the guide to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools records, 1950-1965, (Texas State Archives)

State administration for the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation began in 1930. In that year the state began making appropriations for the reservation and designated the Texas State Board of Control as the supervising agency. In 1949 responsibility for most eleemosynary institutions that had been managed by the Texas State Board of Control, including the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation, was transferred to the newly-created Texas Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools (House Bill 1, 51st Legislature, Regular Session). Responsibilities of the Board in regards to the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation included approval of the budget for the reservation, helping the Indians develop human and economic resources of the reservation and assisting the Tribal Council--the governing body of the Indians--in making the reservation self-sufficient. The federal government relinquished federal control over the tribe in 1955.

The Texas Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools was composed of nine members, appointed by the governor, with concurrence by the Senate, to six-year overlapping terms. No more than three members could be physicians. The board approved budgets for the central office and each individual institution. In 1956 the board exercised oversight of 22 hospitals and special schools. It was abolished in 1965 (59th Legislature, House Bill 3, Regular Session) and its duties transferred to other departments, primarily the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Responsibilities for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians were transferred to the Texas Commission for Indian Affairs.

From the guide to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools records regarding Alabama-Coushatta Indians, 1938-1939, 1948-1965, bulk 1956-1964, (Texas State Archives)