Corpus Christi History by Murphy Givens

Alamo savior left a lasting legacy

Clara Driscoll in her book "In the Shadow of the Alamo" described the old mission: "Out of the chaos of crumbling stone, rusting iron, fading colors, and defaced carvings stands one picturesque edifice . . . marked by the scars of battle and stained with the blood of brave souls who fought and died in its defense . . . This crumbling ruin is the chapel of the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, named the Alamo - Spanish for cottonwood - from the trees along the river."
   After the turn of the 20th century, the liquor-warehouse owners of the Alamo property made a deal to sell the grounds, including the convent portion of the old mission, to prepare a site for a hotel.
   Clara Driscoll and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas began a fierce campaign to raise $75,000 the owners wanted for the property. Clara and the DRT came up with $25,000 for a down payment, but they did not have the remaining $50,000 by the deadline. Clara signed five notes for $10,000 each, after which she was called, "The Savior of the Alamo." The Legislature eventually repaid her.
   In 1904, her book, "Girl of La Gloria," was published, followed by "In the Shadow of the Alamo." Two years later, she married a former legislator from Uvalde, Henry Sevier, and they moved to New York City, where they lived next to Theodore Roosevelt. Sevier became financial editor of the New York Sun and she wrote a musical - "Mexicalla" - which opened in the Schubert brothers' Lyric Theater.
   Her father died in 1914 and Clara and Hal Sevier moved back to Austin, where he started a newspaper, the Austin American, and she began to build Laguna Gloria. In 1928, she was elected to the Democratic National Committee, which began her lifetime involvement in Democratic Party politics. She was a confidant of Franklin D. Roosevelt and a major supporter of John Nance Garner.
   Robert Driscoll Jr. died in 1929, after a leg infection required two amputations. Corpus Christi businesses closed to mourn his passing. He had become a leading figure behind Corpus Christi's efforts to get a deepwater port. After her brother's death, Clara returned to manage the family business, and manage she could. The Driscoll holdings included ranchlands in five South Texas counties. The estate's lawyers advised her to lease the land and sell the cattle.
   "No," she said, "I'll keep the cattle and the land, every foot of it." In 1932, she formed the Corpus Christi chapter of the DRT. It was called, as it is today, the Clara Driscoll chapter. That fall, her husband was appointed ambassador to Chile. The couple returned five years later, and were soon divorced.
   Put up money for NAS
   When Corpus Christi was being considered for a navy base in 1939, she heard that $50,000 had been put up by the Chamber of Commerce to buy a site. She sent a telegram from California, saying, "Corpus Christi must realize that establishment of a naval training school is too great an opportunity for the future growth of our town to lose. Will match any donation two to one."
   She built the Driscoll Hotel on the bluff in 1942, where she occupied a penthouse apartment on the 20th floor until her death, at age 64, on July 17, 1945. Her bequest was to use the Driscoll wealth to create the Driscoll Foundation to operate a children's hospital. It was a great fortune put to a great use. As it was with her effort to rescue the Alamo, it proved to be a farsighted thing to do. Historical details of any life recede into shadows, but the story of Clara Driscoll lives on.
   This is the second of two parts.
  
  
  

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