Archival and Historical Review of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Property, Downtown, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

From the Fall of 2016 through September 2020, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) conducted archaeological monitoring and test excavations for an expansion and renovation project on the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio’s (CHoSA) downtown campus under contract with CBRE Healthcare Services. Dr. Raymond Mauldin served as the Principal Investigator for the project, and Cynthia Munoz served as the Project Archaeologist. The archaeological investigation did not require a Texas Antiquities Permit. However, the City of San Antonio (COSA) Office of Historice Preservation (OHP) has review authority as the project area falls under the purview of the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC). The hospital site and landscaping work were approved by the HDRC on October, 16, 2019 (HDRC Case No. 2019-568). The project adhered to the COSA Unified Development Code (Article 6 35-630 to 35-634). Human remains were recorded during construction excavations at various times over the four years of improvements to the project area. The hospital property was originally the location of the San Fernando Campo Santo (1808-1848) and the Old Catholic Cemetery of San Antonio (1848-approximately 1855). The results of the archaeological monitoring and testing are discussed in a separate report (Munoz 2020). The purpose of this report is to provide the CHoSA and the descendants of the individuals interred on the project area with a comprehensive history of the CHoSA property. The history was compiled from primary sources and from a newpaper survey and literature review. To supplement the archival research, the report includes an analysis of burial patterns based on the San Fernando Burial Registry as translated by John Leal and personal contributions from descendants of some of the individuals buried on the property.