Cape’s Dam and San Marcos River | By Margaret Howard at approx. 3:30 PM on December-11-1984
“When I was still a student at Southwest Texas (now Texas State) I went to an amazing museum in New York. I walked the halls and saw fantastic works of art, historic artifacts…”
I wanted to take a moment today to thank the Heritage Association of San Marcos for reaching out in their recent letter to the San Marcos City Council to ask that the plans to remove Capes Dam be reconsidered.
It is difficult in today’s political climate to express an opinion either as an individual or as a group without expectation of some kind of unpleasant response. In my opinion, it is better to let it be known that you made a stand rather than let something precious fall away.
When I was still a student at Southwest Texas (now Texas State) I went to an amazing museum in New York. I walked the halls and saw fantastic works of art, historic artifacts and recreations of scenes from history.
One exhibit that struck me was an Egyptian temple. Some of the original stones were used to recreate the temple in exactly the same manner as it had been in ancient times and fiberglass and plaster used to fill what was missing.
It was elaborately painted and grand, but sad, because it was gone. I’m sure pictures of what the temple looked like when modern anthropologists came along exist somewhere, but the temple itself only lived now in memory, through its replica and faded pictures in museums.
I remember thinking as we left how amazing it would be to be able to reach out and experience that history in its place.
I’m not going to Egypt anytime soon. If I was I probably wouldn’t be allowed to go gallivanting around any ancient temples, but there is a bit of history right here in San Marcos that anyone can go experience, our beautiful river.
The removal of Capes Dam would take a bit of that away forever. Sure, it would live on in dusty photos in a museum and the river would still be a destination, but it’s a tangible part of our living history.
I applaud your effort at preserving all of the San Marcos unique history and taking a stand for this specific structure. Keep up the good work Heritage Association of San Marcos.
This is why your organization exists.
Sincerely,
Christie Maycock
Ms. Maycock is a San Marcos resident and a small downtown business owner.
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Well said, Christie. I have seen this same thing that you describe. Always sad to only be able to appreciate history thru pictures + recreated exhibits. The original magic is lost forever. While I understand that change is inevitable, it is my hope that we constantly strive to honor, respect and preserve our history to the utmost of our abilities. Future generations will thank us.