Question: What celebrated philanthropist was known as the “Savior of the Alamo”?
Answer: Clara Driscoll. The daughter of a wealthy rancher, she was born near present-day Bayside in 1881 and received a private school education in Texas, New York City, and France.
When she returned to Texas at the age of 18, she was alarmed to learn that Alamo’s Long Barrack, which was owned by local merchants, could be sold to developers and turned into a hotel. She worked with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) to raise awareness of the issue and used much of her own money to purchase the structure in 1905. The state of Texas later reimbursed her for the purchase and granted custodianship of the entire Alamo grounds to the DRT.
