The Conservation Society purchased the home of noted author William
Sidney Porter, or “O. Henry,” in 1959. The sale price of one dollar
included responsibility for moving the adobe house from its site at
904 South Presa Street within 60 days to save the building from
demolition. Although the Society considered many sites (including
adjacent to the German English School and next to the Eager House),
the Society selected the grounds of the Lone Star Brewery.
In 1960, the Lone Star Brewery purchased the O. Henry House from the
Conservation Society for one dollar. Mary Friedrich Rogers and her
husband, Wallace Rogers, later purchased the house as a part of the
Buckhorn Museum collection when the brewery closed in 1997. The
following year, David Carter and MLP Partnership bought the O. Henry
House. The historic structure was relocated from the old Lone Star
Brewing Company site to the corner of Laredo and Dolorosa. In May of
1999, the restored O. Henry House reopened to the public. |
