Historic Structures Report, Architectural Data: HB-7, Commanding Officer's Quarters

Ashley, Douglas

Fort Davis was established in 1854 to aid in the protection of the "Lower Road" leading from San Antonio to El Paso. The site was chosen because it offered the one oasis relieving the hostile country of Southwest Texas. The Commanding Officer's Quarters was in use from its completion in 1869 to the Post's abandonment in 1891. The Commanding Officer's Quarters, HB-7, was the largest of the quarters on Officer's Row. In addition to the two rooms flanking a central hall, this building had a two-room wing extending westward. The quarters were also equipped with front and rear colonnaded porches. By the mid-1870's an addition of two rooms was complete. This addition is set back from the front of the house and wraps around the northwest corner. One of the two rooms was designated on Army plans as a bedroom; the other was left without identification, but there is evidence to suggest it was a bathroom. Still later, after 1882, a part of the back porch (next to the bath) was boarded in to make one more room. There is no direct evidence as to the use of this room but it may have been associated with the bathroom of the first addition. The basic appearance of the building today reflects these additions. The rear porch and "boarded-in" part of that porch are missing but the north addition is still intact. The roof structure and front porch was reconstructed in 1963-64 by the National Park Service under an Emergency Stabilization Program. The proposed treatment for the structure is full restoration, inside and out. It will be used as an interpretive focal point depicting the life of officers and their families.

Historic Structures Report, Architectural Data: HB-7, Commanding Officer's Quarters

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