The former estate of John Burnham located in Rancho Santa Fe, California was leased by the Navy (Eleventh Naval District) and used as a convalescent home for injured officers during World War II. The facility was known as U.S. Naval Hospital, Unit 6. The property occupied an area of 73.79 acres. The facility was operated as an annex to the main Naval Hospital San Diego located in Balboa Park in the city of San Diego. The U.S. Naval Hospital, Unit 6 began operating in February 1943.
The U.S. Naval Hospital, Unit 6 housed up to 60 ambulatory naval officers. The facility was designed to assist in the recovery of patients released from Naval Hospital San Diego until they were able to return to duty, or retired. In 1944, due to the increasing number of casualties, the Navy relocated thirteen former Army-owned barracks to the northeastern portion of the Unit 6 site and remodeled them for use as a convalescent center. These temporary structures provided accommodations for approximately 400 enlisted men who needed little medical care, but required extensive rest and recreation.
Operations at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Unit 6 officially ceased in November 1946. The property was returned to the Burnhams who retained ownership through the 1970s. In 1972, the property was subdivided and reduced from the original 73.79 to 28.49 acres. The subdivided area included the northeastern portion of land where the Army-owned temporary barracks were formerly installed. These buildings were removed in 1946. In 1974, Dr. Marianne McDonald acquired the remaining 28.49 acres where the former Burnham Convalescent home had been located. All original buildings and structures remain on the current McDonald property, with the exception of a two-story stucco building. This building, constructed in 1978, is located on the site of one of the former temporary barracks buildings
