A Cultural Resources Assessment of the Proposed Site of New Construction for the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Bexar County, Texas

Summary

An archaeological survey of three areas within the Fort Sam Houston military reservation and an archival study of the specific history of the military uses of these areas was conducted by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. during December 1987 and early January 1988. The largest of these areas is a 147- acre triangular tract where a new addition to the Brooke Army Medical Center is planned. The two smaller areas are along Salado Creek where planned all-weather bridges will link the new facilities with those already in existence.

Examination of all three areas revealed evidence of moderate to severe disturbances and few intact structural remains. The archival map study revealed several episodes of use of each area and of extensive earthmoving in all of the areas during the recent past.

An area of trenches was documented on Thomas Field where construction of the expansion facilities is planned. This area is depicted on maps from the World War I era as a drill field and did not become Government property until June 1919. A 1943 aerial photograph shows scrub growth transected by a number of small roads. The first documentation of a trench area appears on a 1951 map of the Fort Sam Houston Firing Ranges. Traces of the trenches are still visible. It is presumed that the trenches were dug after 1943.

Where Binz-Engleman Road crosses Salado Creek, the eastern bank of the creek remained outside the military reservation until very recently. From the early 1940s to at least 1953, the City of San Antonio operated a gravel pit and water works on the east bank of the creek. These structures are no longer shown on the 1967 USGS map. On the west bank of the creek, no structures could be documented before the one shown on the 1967 USGS map. Foundation remnants of this building were located during the survey. A landfill area of about 10 acres west of Salado Creek and south of Schofield Road has been designated 41BX779 and may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. However, current construction plans only impact the extreme northern margin of this site.

Where W. W. White Road crosses Salado Creek, there is evidence of extensive land modification, an abandoned cemetery, and a late nineteenth century farmstead. A 1917 map of this area depicts a house and barn on the west bank of Salado Creek. This was probably the farmstead of Herman Eisenhauer which was purchased by the Government on August 21, 1917. Later maps of the Post depict a cemetery where soldiers hanged in connection with the Houston Race Riot of August 1917 were interred from 1917-1918 until 1937 when their bodies were exhumed and reburied in the National Cemetery and elsewhere. Subsequent maps show the land here as vacant except for a gravel pit which was open in 1946 at the southern end. The only area where undisturbed cultural deposits appear to be present is the northern portion of this area where artifacts consistent with the remains of the Herman Eisenhauer farm were found. This site has been designated 41BX778. It is argued that the limited intact deposits from this 1885-1917 occupation do not retain sufficient information yield potential to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Finally, it is recommended that a generalized developmental history and map series of the Fort Sam Houston military reservation be prepared as a planning tool.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Cultural Resource Office, Joint Base San Antonio

Principal Investigator(s): Elton R. Prewitt

Repository(s): Fort Sam Houston

Prepared By(s): Prewitt & Associates, Inc.

Submitted To(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District

Record Identifiers

NADB Citation ID(s): 000000320186

Delivery Order Number(s): 0013

Contract Number(s): DACW63-86-D-0010

NADB Document ID(s): 846739

Notes

General Note: The information in this record was originally migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and has since then been updated.

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