Panel on board in bid to preserve ranch area
Updated 12:12 am, Thursday, September 19, 2013
A portion of one of the state's oldest family-owned ranches won support Wednesday for a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
City Archaeologist Kay Hindes said the nomination covers dozens of acres that include stone ruins, a family cemetery, a late-1700s jacal, or hut, and the “Paso de Dolores,” a river crossing from the Spanish colonial era near the El Camino Real de los Tejas. The nomination, funded by the National Park Service, is being coordinated through the Texas Historical Commission.
“This is one of the most significant Spanish colonial sites within the city” and one of the few ranches of its time “with any level of archaeological investigation,” Hindes said in an interview.
The land was part of an area acquired by the city for the proposed Applewhite reservoir, which was twice defeated by voters in the 1990s. A hiking trail runs near the jacal, which is enclosed by a security fence and is in a “fairly precarious condition,” Hindes said.
Being placed on the national register could help preservationists secure funds for restoration, she said. The jacal is believed to be one of five such structures that once stood on the ranch owned by the family of Juan Ignacio Perez, a military and political figure and leading cattleman in San Antonio. The Perez Ranch, which has been called various names, including El Rancho de Perez, once covered more than 20,000 acres.
In voting to support the nomination, commissioners called the site extremely important and thanked the San Antonio Conservation Society for its efforts since 2011 to stabilize the jacal, to prevent further decline from exposure to wind, rain and other elements. Hindes said preservation experts have studied ways to try to restore the jacal, a likely shelter for ranch workers who herded goats and cattle.
In other business, the commission supported a finding of historic significance for a house in the Oak Hills neighborhood on the North Side. Built around 1960, the split-level home at 4006 Shady Oak has a terrace with panoramic views of the city and a mid-century modern design by Rudolph A. Marten that reflects influences of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, according to a staff report.
The commission also gave conceptual approval of a bronze bust honoring architect Robert H.H. Hugman, who began efforts in the 1920s to beautify the San Antonio River downtown. He is known as the father of the River Walk.
The Paseo del Rio Association, which is funding the project, must return with a final design for consideration by the commission and city departments that regulate the River Walk. The bust would be placed near the Commerce Street Bridge.