Short history of Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home in San Antonio, Texas explored.

Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home was a tuberculosis hospital which was operated by Bexar County in San Antonio, Texas from 1914 to 1972.

In 1914, Bexar County purchased 110 acres worth of land from H. C. Feldman and Cheryl Neese for the sum of $12,932.40 dollars for a tuberculosis hospital called Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home. An additional 10 acres were purchased for staff housing on the end of Farm Road for more than $1,000 dollars. (Ref: Bexar County Official Public Records - Real Estate, Deed No. 69676)

Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home was a stucco Colonial style building on beautiful grounds in spite of politics and the dark history surrounding the property. (Ref: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth399351/m1/1/zoom/?q=southton&resolution=2&lat=2905.5&lon=2217)

Over the course of several years, several hospitals, detention facilities, and schools were located on the same property. Southton Sanatorium, Home For The Aged, Bexar County Boys Home, Bexar County Girls Home, Bexar County Poor House, Southton Convalescent Home, Southton Boys Home, Southton Tuberculosis Hospital, and Bexar County Convalescent Sanatorium. The reason for this is because the county believed it would be easier to keep all the 'undesireables' in one location.

Some of the tuberculosis patients were transferred to the medical center at Robert B. Green Hospital (then Bexar County Hospital) in 1968. Elderly patients were transported to the new floor of Robert B. Green Hospital later during the summer of 1968. (Ref: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-antonio-express-and-news-sep-21-1969-p-36/)

A new hospital building for the charges was expected to be built on the same site as Bexar County Boys Home and Southton Sanatorium. However those plans never came to fruition as newer facilities were built elsewhere inside the city of San Antonio. Instead a portion of the land is currently deeded to the Bexar County Hospital District as a temporary home for Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home. Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home used the old Home For The Aged building as temporary housing for patients which lasted until 1972. (Ref: San Antonio Express, Page 54, September 12, 1969)

Texas A & M used this land for grazing cattle and agricultural studies from 1972 to 1996. Texas A & M owned the property from 1972 until 1996 when they sold and transferred the land back to Bexar County.

The property had sat abandoned for decades before being repurposed. The property was soon taken over by nature and greenery. The property was reported as still abandoned in 1996. Reasons as to why have never been made public. (Ref: http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-history/urban-exploration/19th-century-insane-asylum-abandoned-creepy-haunted/)

In 2011, the former property of Bexar County Poor Farm was repurposed as the Bexar County Police Training Facility. It is now home to a shooting range owned by Bexar County (Bexar County Police). The land is managed by Bexar County Public Works. People already have been arrested and charged for trespassing onto the property over the years. The property is now off limits. (Ref: http://www.mesquite-news.com/southside-haunts-to-visit-this-halloween/)

Southton Sanatorium and Southton Convalescent Home was located at 3678 Farm Road, San Antonio, Texas, US 78223.