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As the granddaughter of Lorenzo de Zavala (1789-1836), first vice-president of the Republic of Texas, young Adina de Zavala was exposed to vivid accounts of Texas' Revolutionary and Republican past. She became a guiding force in the preservation of many of Texas' most revered historic structures and sites, including the Alamo, Mission San Francisco de Los Tejas in East Texas, and San Antonio's Spanish Governor's Palace. The "De Zavala Daughters," a women's group formed in Miss Adina in 1889, erected Texas' first historical markers and helped preserve San Antonio's Spanish missions. Her firm belief, later verified, was that remnants of Mission San Antonio de Valero, known in 1836 as the Alamo's long barracks, lay underneath the wooden exterior of buildings adjacent to the Alamo church. By 1893, as president of the De Zavala chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), Miss Adina had secured the adjacent property owner's commitment to give the chapter first purchase option. In 1908, upon hearing that the 2-story long barracks were about to be razed, Miss Adina barricaded herself inside the buildings for three days and nights in an effort that ultimately prevented their destruction. (1994) |
