St. Mary’s, founded in 1857 by Joseph F. Smith, nephew of Texas provisional Gov. Henry Smith, flourished from 1850 to 1886 as a viable port city and was once the county seat of Refugio County. The bustling town attracted entrepreneurs and businessmen, including wealthy rancher, banker and developer Robert Driscoll. There, on April 2, 1881, Clara Driscoll was born to Robert and Julia Fox Driscoll. Descended from Irish pioneers who settled in the Power and Hewetson land grants, with both grandfathers having fought in the Texas revolution, she was educated at private schools in Texas, New York City and France because of her father’s success in the Corpus Christi area. After almost a decade of study abroad, she returned to Texas and, with an appreciation for historic preservation, joined the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and immediately began work to save the Alamo, which had fallen into disrepair. In 1903, she purchased the Alamo with her own money, earning the title “Savior of the Alamo.” She also became a successful writer of short stories and musicals, gave Laguna Gloria to the Texas fine arts association, served as a democratic national committee-woman for Texas for 16 years, held office in many organizations, and before her death established the Driscoll foundation to provide medical care for indigent children. She died on July 17, 1945, in Corpus Christi and was buried in San Antonio’s Alamo Masonic Cemetery next to her family.