Hospital and Commissary

Hospital and Commissary. . This large limestone foundation is all that remains of the most outstanding building built at Fort Inge, and one of the first large stone buildings built west of San Antonio. Constructed of limestone hauled to the site rather than of the black volcanic rocks from the hill. This building had an air of elegance and comfort in it's design, 60' long by 25' wide, it was surrounded by a porch (raised on small stone piers) on all four sides. The interior was divided into a large room and a small office by a double fireplace. The long wall down the center was a "joist wall" used to support a raised wooden floor. Although no records survive that give its date of construction and original purpose, a map made in 1853 shows a large building in this general location labeled a "hospital." An earlier log hospital had been built around 1851, so this may have been built to replace it. This structure was built by stone masons paid around $40 a month. The corners and edges were of dressed stone blocks and the walls were plastered smooth and painted white. Used for at least fifteen years, it likely served many purposes., There was a gala Christmas dance held at the fort in 1861 when the Confederate troops were stationed here, and this would likely have been used for the dance as it was the largest building here at that time., Maps made following the Civil War label it as a "commissary store house," meaning bulk food was stored here during the last years of occupation. Records show coffee, flour, sugar, rice, ham, pork, butter, beans, macaroni, hominy, as well as fresh meat and eggs were available at the fort in the 1850's. , After the army left in 1869, Texas Rangers used the site and, and if this building was still standing, occupied it also. An archeological excavation was done in 1981, and the walls were exposed. Later the foundations were capped and stabilized to protect them.