of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). One of the first markers in 1897 was over the grave of Ben Milam who had died in 1835 while leading volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in San Antonio. In 1900, the De Zavala chapter formed Auxiliary, De Zavala Chapter, Daughters of the Republic of Texas for those who were not eligible to join the regular DRT. In 1910, the auxiliary legally severed itself from the DRT and became an independent organization, with chapters in Crockett, Refugio, New Braunfels, San Patricio and Goliad. Between 1922 and 1935, the association researched and marked 28 historic sites in San Antonio and 10 elsewhere in the state. The organization disbanded when De Zavala died in 1955. Saving the Alamo By the late 1880s, the historic San Antonio missions were falling into disrepair and becoming subject to vandals. De Zavala's initial efforts were towards saving these historical structures, in particular the Mission San Antonio de Valero otherwise known as the Alamo. The public entrance known as the Alamo's mission chapel was already owned by the State of Texas, which had purchased the building from the Roman Catholic Church in 1883 and had given custody to the City of San Antonio. The city had made no improvements to the chapel structure, and ownership did not include the long barracks, which was owned by wholesale grocer Gustav Schmeltzer. Italian-born sculptor Pompeo Luigi Coppini of the Alamo Cenotaph fame, related that Adina and his wife Elizabeth di Barbieri Coppini, "went out every day with our horse and buggy, calling on all the merchants of the town for some contributions of bricks, lumber, cedar posts, or wire to repair fences. These articles, in lieu of money, were to be used in repairing all the missions, the chapel of the Alamo included." The De Zavala chapter of the DRT in 1902 organized the Congress of Patriotism, with the aim of creating a "Texas Hall of Fame" museum in the Alamo long barracks (or convento). Adina and her group convinced Gustav Schmeltzer to give the historical society first option to buy the structure if it went up for sale. She was notified in 1903 that the owners were considering a sale to a hotel syndicate. De Zavala enlisted heiress and historical preservationist Clara Driscoll to put up financial backing for the purchase. On January 26, 1905, Governor S.W.T Lanham signed legislation