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Post by Kevin Young on Jan 25, 2011 10:11:36 GMT -5
Herrera was the matriarch of a historic Bexar County ranch By Elaine Ayala eayala@express-news.net Published: 10:51 p.m., Friday, January 21, 2011 Read more: www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Herrera-was-the-matriarch-of-a-historic-Bexar-971186.php#ixzz1C3nA2ZmGHortensia De La Garza Herrera, whose historic ranch about 20 miles south of San Antonio along the Medina River contains two of the last remaining jacales in Bexar County dating to the 1830s, died Dec. 22 of complications related to Alzheimer's disease. She was 89. Herrera and her late husband, Adolph Casias Herrera, were known for donating historic artifacts found on their ranch, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Among them are the portones, or outer gates of the Alamo mission, now on loan to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin; an early cross from San Fernando Cathedral, which was preserved in the ranch's chimney; and keys from the Alamo now in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library. The San Antonio Conservation Society has nominated the 38-acre Blas María Herrera and María Antonia Ruiz Herrera Ranch to be on Texas' most endangered species list, given the deterioration of its structures, including an open-air pavilion and two wood-frame buildings. The group has awarded the ranch a $17,000 grant to stabilize the larger jacal, or thatched-roof hut, said Conservation Society President Rollette Schreckenghost.“Hortencia was so passionate about this project,” she said. “She encouraged it.”Its two jacales, one of which was used as a residence, are regarded as architecturally significant in that they are representative of early Tejano settlements. The land, which has been in the family as far back as 1774, was part of a large Spanish land grant. In 1838, it belonged to Francisco Antonio Ruiz, an alcade, or mayor, of San Antonio during the Texas Revolution. Blas María Herrera and María Antonia Ruiz Herrera became owners in 1845. The ranch eventually passed to Adolph Casias Herrera. Herrera and her husband did not live on the property but spent all their Easter celebrations and their 25th wedding anniversary there. She was one of seven girls born to Francisco and Candelaria de la Garza. Though they came to San Antonio, where their daughter was born, they moved back to Montemorelos, Nuevo León, southeast of Monterrey, Mexico, where they had orchards. She graduated from Lanier High School in the late 1930s, said daughter Stella “Evie” Patton, and worked for a short time at a Pace farms on the West Side. She met her future husband, then a foreman at the company, and married him in 1940. They were together until his death in 1999. “My mother was the typical Hispanic mother,” Patton said. “She ensured her husband and three daughters never wanted for love and affection. We attended Catholic schools and went to Mass every Sunday. She was the homemaker in every sense of the word.” Read more: www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Herrera-was-the-matriarch-of-a-historic-Bexar-971186.php#ixzz1C3m0Q5Dg |
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 25, 2011 13:19:40 GMT -5
Thanks for posting this, Kevin. Quite a legacy.
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Post by cantador4u on Jan 26, 2011 23:35:45 GMT -5
Quote: "Among them are the portones, or outer gates of the Alamo mission, now on loan to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin; "
Can anyone tell me where these gates were located at the Alamo please? Were they gone at the time of the battle or removed later? What do they look like?
- Paul Meske
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
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Post by TRK on Jan 27, 2011 7:22:51 GMT -5
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Post by Kevin Young on Jan 27, 2011 11:29:49 GMT -5
28
Hindes, V. Kay
1998 The Herrera Gate: An Archival, Architectural, and Conservation Study
In November, 1984, the Herrera Gate, a badly weathered yet extremely rare example of late Spanish Colonial woodwork, was found on the Medina River in southwestern Bexar County, Texas. Located on property owned by Adolph Herrera of San Antonio, the gate was located at the historical site of 41BX672, one of a series of early historic sites owned or occupied since possibly as early as the late-eighteenth century by the historically prominent Ruiz and Herrera families in the lower Medina River valley. However, the oral history tradition of the Herrera family states that the gate "came from one of the missions" (Adolph Herrera, personal communication; notes and tape on file, Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio). Additionally, according to Mr. Herrera, sometime after the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, the family obtained scrap lumber from the Alamo. This lumber was brought to site 41BX672, the Herrera’s Medina River property. Thus, circumstantial evidence associated with the site strongly suggested that the gate may have come from Mission Valero (the Alamo).
Subsequently, the gate was moved to the Institute of Texas Cultures in San Antonio. Architectural, archival, and conservation studies were begun on the gate. Spanish Colonial architectural styles, periods, and methods were investigated with an emphasis on historical gates and gateways of the five San Antonio Missions: San Antonio de Valero, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción, San Juan Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada. Studies using primary sources describing these gates and gateways provided substantive information on descriptive types, functional forms, sizes, and locations, and confirmed that this type and size of gate had been present at the San Antonio missions. The gate’s craftsmanship and configuration suggest a probable origin in the mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth century. Extensive archival studies revealed that the natural resources and woodworking tools needed to have produced this type of architectural element were locally available. In addition, highly skilled and knowledgeable carpenters capable of constructing such joinery have been identified.
The specific origins of the gate have not been determined. The primary evidence for its original provenience remains the oral history tradition of the Herrera family. Research has substantiated that the family owned property at the missions, but the evidence linking the gate to the Mission Valero remains circumstantial. This large gate doubtless served as a main entrance to a substantial structure or complex, most probably Valero or one of the other San Antonio missions.
Conservation studies discuss the treatment and stabilization of the Herrera Gate. Also, metal, paint, and wood species analyses are outlined. The wood was identified as Prosopis sp., or mesquite, a tree which is ubiquitous in central and south-central Texas.
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