The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 381
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Second Battle for the Alamo
The two laid plans to thwart the proposal and decided to
appeal to the Kampmanns, owners of the Menger Hotel, which
was located on Alamo Plaza. Miss De Zavala and Coppini thought
that the Kampmanns could help save the grounds and at the
same time prevent potentially strong competition for the Menger.
The hotel owners had gone to Paris. Mrs. Kampmann's sister,
Mrs. George E. Eichlitz, received the request indifferently; how-
ever, she did remark that a "prominent, rich and very ambitious
young woman who may be of some help" was at the hotel. Her
name was Clara Driscoll. Miss De Zavala and Coppini unfolded
their hopes to Miss Driscoll with Coppini explaining "how she
could become famous all over the nation by saving that sacred
spot" and picturing "what it would mean to make reality the
dream of the De Zavala Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic
of Texas to preserve as a shrine one of the most sacred of all spots
.. . ." Before leaving the hotel, the two
had a good reason to believe that we had prevented the Hugo &
Schmeltzer Building from falling into the hands of the Eastern
syndicate, and that that sacred spot would be saved from being
commercialized.37
Miss Driscoll and Miss De Zavala visited Charles Hugo in
regard to purchasing the Hugo-Schmeltzer property, "which
adjoins the chapel of the Alamo, and where once stood the con-
vent Mission known as San Antonio de Valero. The price asked
was $75,000. . . ."38 Miss Driscoll conferred with Hugo again
on March 16, and since a "larger sum had been offered," she
agreed to pay $500 for a thirty-day option. The next day, March
17, Miss Driscoll gave $500 for the option, and the agreement
was drawn and dated March 18. At the end of thirty days the
generous new daughter also paid $3478.25 of the $4,500 balance
required to extend the option until February lo, 1904. The DRT
provided the remaining sum."3
During the remainder of 1903 and early 1904, the De Zavala
chapter and the entire DRT staged various activities, including
"Ibid., io8. Coppini gives the date of the conversation as the fall of 19o4, but
he was in error; they met in January, 1903. DRT Report, 19o6, p. 44.
SDRT Report, 19o6, p. 44.
"81bid., 45-48.381
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/405/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.