O. Henry, Considered one of America's greatest short-story writers, lived in this house in 1885. As editor of his newspaper "The Rolling Stone" he used San Antonio as the setting of some of his most intriguing short stories such as "A Fog in Santone" and "The Higher Abdication". In 1896 O. Henry moved to Austin, was indicted for embezzlement and spent three years in prison where he used his time productively honoring his craft and memorizing every word in the dictionary.

Hoping to use O. Henry as a role model, Bexar County Chief Probation Officer Caesar Garcia assigns his probationers as Docents in the O. Henry Museum to fulfill their Community Service. A college scholarship will be awarded to the probationer who best demonstrates a change of attitude and goals in life. The mural on the large wall behind the O. Henry House Museum was painted by a young probationer, John Murphy, whose artistic talents were recognized by Chief Garcia.