This is Texas Originals. From Humanities Texas, for the advancement of heritage, culture and education.
"Remember the Alamo" was the rallying cry at the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. However by 1903, the neglected Alamo was nearly torn down and replaced by a hotel. The state had already purchased the church, but refused to pay for the rest of the grounds, where most of the famous battle occurred.
At that point, twenty-two-year-old Clara Driscoll, whose grandfather had fought in the battle of San Jacinto, stepped forward with her own money to protect the sacred site. She collaborated with the San Antonio chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to protect the historic mission. For her generosity, Driscoll is known as the "Savior of the Alamo."
Driscoll was born in 1881, the only daughter of Corpus Christi millionaire Robert Driscoll. Educated in Europe, Clara understood the importance of preserving historical sites. She wrote: "By the care of our eloquent but voiceless monuments, we are preparing a noble inspiration for our future."
Driscoll is also remembered for the beautiful Laguna Gloria villa she and her husband built on the Colorado River in Austin. This mansion and its grounds became the original home of the Austin Museum of Art. But Clara Driscoll is best remembered for rescuing the Alamo, "the shrine of Texas Independence," as she described it. When Driscoll died in 1945, her body lay in state at the mission’s chapel, in recognition of her work to preserve it.
More information about Clara Driscoll and other Texas Originals is available at Texasoriginals.org. This program is produced by KUHF Houston Public Radio and Humanities Texas, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.