Archaeological Investigation of the O'Hara House Site (41BX2445), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

In March 2021, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), in response to a request from Post Oak Preservation Solutions and Douglas Architects, acting on behalf of Lisa Wong, provided archaeological monitoring and related investigations for a restaurant project located at 722 S. St. Mary’s Street in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. This work was in response to a request from the COSA Office of Historic Preservation (OHP). The project required review under the COSA Unified Development Code (Article 6 35-630 to 35-634). Raymond P. Mauldin served as the Principal Investigator and Clinton M. M. McKenzie as the Project Archaeologist. The archaeological work consisted of three phases of monitoring. Phase 1 monitored the excavation of sequential foundation trenches to document any features around the perimeter of a remnant portion of the O’Hara House (41BX2445), a caliche block structure on a limestone water table foundation. Phase 2 consisted of monitoring the down cutting of the O’Hara House lot to 5 ft below current grade to observe and document any associated features. Phase 3 consisted of monitoring along the St. Mary’s Street side of the property for any traces of the Pajalache, or Concepcion, Acequia (41BX1802). The O’Hara House monitoring documented four features: three limestone wall foundations associated with the larger footprint of the original structure and a single circa 1920 re-used brick patio on the north side of the structure. No significant cultural material or features were encountered in either the Phase 2 or Phase 3 portion of site monitoring. CAR recommends that site 41BX2445 is not eligible for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) and that it is not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No further archaeological investigations for the project area are recommended. All project related materials, including the final report, are permanently stored at the CAR facilities in accession file number 2473.