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I'm
not sure if some citizens of Texas realize just how much they owe to a handful
of ladies who saved from ruin, our most precious historic structure, the Alamo.
One
of those women, Adina De Zavala, has been credited as the one most responsible
for saving the old mission and if it hadn't been for her efforts, the Alamo
might well have been replaced by a parking lot. It was in her blood to fight for
something she believed in, the lady had an historic legacy - her grandfather,
Lorenzo de Zavala, was the first vice-president of the Republic of Texas. According
to The Handbook of Texas Online, Miss De Zavala organized a group of women who
met for the purpose of discussion and study of Texas heroes. These ladies became
part of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in 1893. De Zavala and her group
prevented the destruction of the Alamo chapel, after it had been purchased from
the state by the wholesale grocery firm of Hugo and Schmeltzer Company |
| | Adina
De Zavala
Photo
courtesy of Murray Montgomery |
Miss De Zavala obtained
a verbal promise from the company that her chapter of the DRT would be given the
first chance to purchase the Alamo
property. In 1903, Clara Driscoll joined the DRT and De Zavala's group of preservationist
women. Driscoll soon purchased the property from the grocery firm to prevent it
from falling into the hands of another group, referred to as an "eastern syndicate."
In 1905, the Texas legislature authorized the state to purchase the property from
Driscoll and custody was turned over to the DRT.
However, trouble soon
began to brew between De Zavala and Driscoll. The rift was over Driscoll's desires
to tear down part of the old Hugo and Schmeltzer building, as it was her contention
that it had been built long after the famous battle in 1836. Miss Zavala opposed
this action; as she was sure that the building was part of a structure know as
the "long barracks" which was of great historical value. Even though Driscoll's
group won several decisions in state court against De Zavala, it didn't deter
this granddaughter of a patriot from sticking to her guns and fighting for what
she believed to be the truth of the matter.
At one point, in 1908, Miss
De Zavala went so far as to barricade herself inside the north barrack of the
Alamo for three days to protest
its destruction. It was her belief that this section was of even more historical
worth than the Alamo chapel. De Zavala's efforts were not in vain, and history
has proved that she was right in her belief about the value of the old barracks.
It has been confirmed that that section of the Alamo
grounds is where much of the fighting took place in the legendary 1836
battle. |
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Bird's-eye
view showing the Alamo
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| Although the noble
lady had saved her beloved mission, she never seemed to venture far away from
the place. In her book, The
History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel, Docia Schultz Williams writes that
Adina De Zavala was a resident of the
old hotel, located on Alamo Plaza, from 1926 to 1932. According to Williams,
"She must have lived at the hotel
in order to be close to the shrine which meant so much to her." |
Alamo
Plaza showing Menger
Hotel on the right
1915
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Adina
De Zavala went on to be instrumental in saving the Spanish Governors' Palace in
San Antonio. She organized, in
1912, the Texas Historical and Landmarks Association. She also wrote several books
about San Antonio and the Alamo.
She was a member of the Texas Folklore Society, the Philosophical Society of Texas,
and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Texas Women's Press Association,
and many other organizations.
This great lady of Texas died on March 1,
1955, and is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in San
Antonio.
© Murray Montgomery
Lone
Star Diary
April 20, 2004 column |
Adina
Emilia De Zavala
Grave and Historical Marker |
Adina
Emilia De Zavala grave and historical marker
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2009 |
Adina
Emilia De Zavala historical marker
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2009 |
Historical
Marker Text: Adina
Emilia De ZavalaTeacher,
historian and preservationist Adina Emilia De Zavala was born in Harris County,
Texas, on November 28, 1861. She was the daughter of Augustine and Julia Tyrrell
De Zavala, and the granddaughter of Lorenzo De Zavala, first Vice-President of
the Republic of Texas. Adina spent her early years in Galveston,
before moving with her family to a ranch near San
Antonio circa 1873.
Miss Adina was a founding member of "De Zavala's
Daughters," one of the earliest preservation groups in the state of Texas.
Among de Zavala's most renowned contributions to the preservation of Texas history
was her role in saving the Alamo
Long Barracks from demolition. De Zavala not only secured funding from philanthropist
Clara Driscoll for the purchase of the structure, but she also barricaded herself
inside the military quarters in February of 1907 when she feared the building
was to be razed. Besides her dedication to saving portions of the Alamo
compound, De Zavala initiated a public effort that culminated in protecting several
of Texas' most revered historic structures and sites,
including the legendary missions and Spanish Governors' Palace in Bexar County,
and Mission
San Francisco de los Tejas in east
Texas. In 1938, De Zavala organized the Texas Historical and Landmarks Association.
The civic group installed thirty-eight markers at historic sites thorughout Texas.
Two months after her death in 1955, the Texas Legislature honored Adina De Zavala
for her "life of devotion to Texas history, folklore, and general civic and patriotic
work," as well as her commitment to "immortalizing Texas history for the ages."
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Adina
Emilia De Zavala granite marker
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2009 | | |
