This shingle style structure was built in 1918 to attract and house bats in an effort to eradicate mosquitoes and thereby reduce the spread of malaria. It was designed for Albert Steves, Sr., a former mayor of San Antonio, by Dr. Charles A.R. Campbell, an authority on bats who had served as the health officer in the same city. Named "Hygieostatic" by Steves, the bat roost is one of 16 constructed in the United States and Italy between 1907 and 1929.

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Comfort, Texas · USA