DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Adina Emilia De Zavala — and friend, this is one worth pulling over for. She was born on November 28, 1861, in Harris County, Texas. Daughter of Augustine and Julia Tyrrell De Zavala.
And if that last name sounds familiar, it should — her grandfather was Lorenzo De Zavala, the first Vice-President of the Republic of Texas. That's the bloodline she came from. That's the legacy she was handed.
And what she did with it was something else entirely. Adina spent her early years in Galveston, then moved with her family to a ranch near San Antonio around 1873. Texas hill country, wide skies, old stones.
And those old stones, it turns out, would come to matter to her enormously. She became a teacher. A historian.
A preservationist. And she was a founding member of a group called De Zavala's Daughters — one of the earliest preservation organizations in the entire state of Texas. She wasn't waiting around for somebody else to care about this stuff.
She was building the institution herself. Now. Here's where the story gets its teeth.
The Alamo Long Barracks — the old military quarters — was facing demolition. Adina De Zavala wasn't going to let that happen quietly. First, she secured funding from philanthropist Clara Driscoll to purchase the structure.
That alone would've been enough for most folks to call it a win. But Adina wasn't most folks. In February of 1907, when she feared the building was about to be razed anyway, she barricaded herself inside it.
Just her. Inside the walls. Daring them to do it.
And they didn't. That building still stands. But she wasn't done.
Not even close. She pushed public efforts that ended up protecting some of Texas' most storied places — the legendary missions and the Spanish Governors' Palace right there in Bexar County, and Mission San Francisco de los Tejas out in east Texas. Site by site, stone by stone, she made the case that these places deserved to survive.
In 1938, she organized the Texas Historical and Landmarks Association. That civic group went on to install thirty-eight markers at historic sites across Texas. Thirty-eight places that now carry a sign saying: this matters, don't forget it.
Adina De Zavala died in 1955. Two months later — two months — the Texas Legislature honored her for her, and I'm readin' their words here, her 'life of devotion to Texas history, folklore, and general civic and patriotic work,' and her commitment to 'immortalizing Texas history for the ages.' They were right, of course. But I'd say she'd already done the immortalizin' herself — one barricaded doorway, one rescued mission, one marker at a time.
What the marker says
Teacher, 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 hre 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." (2008)