Since late 2023, the O. Henry House has sat in its new home near the Casa Navarro State Historic Site on West Nueva as the state and the University of Texas at San Antonio discuss its future care.
O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, is considered among the greatest short story writers in U.S. history.
The small home had to be moved just one block over because it sat between West Commerce and Dolorosa streets in the footprint of what is known as the Continental Hotel project, a residential high-rise expected to be completed and open within a couple of years. The facade of the Continental Hotel will be preserved as part of that project.
UTSA explained in November 2023 that Weston Urban, the high-rise developer, gave the residence to the university as a gift in May 2023 and moved the structure to 702 Dolorosa St. The structure was part of a property purchase the developer made in 2022.
The statement added at the time that potential uses “for the residence include operating it as a museum alongside Casa Navarro or as a functional part of the UTSA campus.” It also explained that the Texas Historical Commission (THC) would care for “the property to preserve the architectural integrity of the structure.”
“As the historic preservation agency of the state, the Texas Historical Commission is happy that the O. Henry House is being saved, and we’re thrilled to welcome it as a neighbor,” said Thaddeus Imerman, a THC spokesman. The neighbor reference is in regard to the home’s move close to the state historic site of Casa Navarro.
Imerman said that THC continues discussing with UTSA how they can work together to care for the historic structure in downtown San Antonio. However, he declined TPR’s request for details of those issues or discussions.
O. Henry’s writings include “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Duplicity of Hargraves,” and “Cabbages and Kings.”
Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. The licensed pharmacist moved to Texas to successfully cure a cough. He worked as a sheep herder on a La Salle County ranch.
He lived in the home pictured in 1885 as part of his entire stay in San Antonio. San Antonio was the setting for some of his works, including “A Fog in Santone,” and “The Higher Abdication.”
By 1896, he had moved to Austin, where he met his wife-to-be, Athol Estes, according to the Handbook of Texas.
During his time in San Antonio and Austin, he served as the editor of his own humorous weekly, “The Rolling Stone.”
He worked as a draftsman for the Texas General Land Office in Austin and as a teller at the First National Bank of Austin, where he was accused of embezzlement.
His indictment on embezzlement came as he wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. He fled to New Orleans and then Honduras, but he later returned home after learning his wife had become ill with tuberculosis. She died in 1897.
In 1898, Porter was sentenced to five years in a federal penitentiary in Ohio.
After losing everything, he emerged from prison under the pen name O. Henry. He moved to New York, where he published more than 300 stories and gained his fame.
A second wife, Sarah Coleman, left him in 1909 after a two-year marriage. Porter, a heavy drinker, died in 1910 from alcohol-related illnesses. He was 47.
