The first state meeting of the venerable Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) occurred in Lampasas in 1892. The DRT would become one of the most prominent historic heritage groups in the state of Texas, by virtue of their special status as the official custodians of the Alamo.
The DRT lost full control of the Shrine of Texas liberty in 2012, when Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson kicked them out of the Alamo for mismanagement of funds and failing to properly maintain the Alamo. The State General Land office took over and is addressing problems identified in a highly-critical investigation done by the Texas Attorney General.
Blasterz have always been uncomfortable with the DRT's telling of the story of the Alamo, which conveniently left out the contributions of black and Hispanic Texans. Generations of Texas schoolchildren learned from the DRT that the defense of the Alamo was a whites-only affair, when in reality it was NOT.
The DRT have also, in our view, inappropriately commercialized the Alamo. The DRT's Alamo gift shop inside Alamo Hall has always made us a little queasy.
Here is the WOAI-TV news story about the final takeover from the DRT: (
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Daughters of the Republic of Texas kicked out of the Alamo
SAN ANTONIO - After 107 years of service to the Alamo, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (the Alamo Mission Chapter) have been told to move out of Alamo Hall.
The chapter had earlier lost its custodianship of the historic property amid allegations of mismanagement.
In an email to members the chapter's president said they were asked to vacate in light of the attorney general's scathing report. In the report released last month the DRT was accused of mismanaging money and failing to properly preserve and maintain the Alamo.
The Texas General Land Office now overseas the famous landmark. They told the Express News the chapter could no longer “continue to enjoy free, exclusive, long-term use of state property for private chapter business.”
The chapter also came under scrutiny last month when San Antonio police investigated a reported theft of a copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence from the chapter's office in Alamo Hall.
DRT Chapter President Sharon Skrobarcek said the group would pack up its office on the grounds after the new year." [end]
The 38-page Attorney General's report that started it all can be found here: (
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The Executive summary is pretty tough stuff, although it does express some appreciation for the DRT at the end:
"EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report reflects the Office of the Attorney General’s (“OAG”) conclusions and factual findings after conducting a comprehensive, year-and-a-half-long investigation into the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (“DRT”). The OAG’s investigation concluded that the DRT failed to fulfill its fiduciary duty to the State of Texas as trustee of the historic Alamo.
Specifically, the DRT did not properly preserve and maintain the Alamo, misused state funds for the organization’s own benefit, failed to recognize or address conflicts of interest, and allowed its own organizational prerogatives to interfere with its duty to act in the best interests of the State of Texas and the Alamo.
Additionally, when legislative committee hearings were convened to review the DRT’s stewardship of the Alamo, testimony by the DRT’s representatives was less than forthright and failed to disclose material information to the Texas Legislature.
Because the OAG is the state agency charged with providing oversight to nonprofit organizations in the State of Texas, the DRT’s more general conduct as a Texas nonprofit corporation also fell within the scope of the investigation. In that regard, this report concludes that the DRT’s leadership has imperiled the organization and its nonprofit mission by failing to exercise sound business judgment, violating state laws that govern nonprofit corporations, contravening the organization’s own bylaws, and maintaining an ineffective governance structure that should be modernized to comport with standard best practices for nonprofit organizations.
The OAG’s investigation into the DRT was formally opened in June of 2010 and concluded in October, 2011. In the wake of significant public scrutiny, highly publicized structural problems at the Alamo, and legislative testimony detailing misconduct by the DRT’s leadership, the 82nd Legislature enacted a law transferring control of the Alamo to the General Land Office (“GLO”). Pursuant to that 2011 law, the GLO assumed control over the Alamo and executed an agreement that allowed the DRT to continue its longstanding relationship with the historic site.
Because the DRT’s prior misconduct was addressed legislatively, the OAG agreed to defer to the Legislature’s policy-making prerogative and is therefore not pursuing remedial legal action against the DRT. However, at the request of the Texas Legislature and in the interest of transparency, the OAG prepared this report to document improprieties that were uncovered during the investigation into the DRT.
The factual findings contained in this report are based upon the vast amount evidence reviewed by the OAG during the course of its investigation. That evidence includes documents the OAG obtained from the DRT via Public Information Act requests, interviews with witnesses, legislative hearing transcripts, correspondence with the DRT, and independent research by investigators. Further, in an effort to ensure the Legislature is informed about more recent developments at the Alamo Complex, this report documents remedial efforts that the GLO has implemented since it took custody of the Alamo.
Finally, notwithstanding the misconduct uncovered during the investigation, this report recognizes that the DRT and its members have committed countless volunteer hours to serving the Alamo and the State of Texas. Indeed, generations of DRT members have demonstrated tireless commitment to the Alamo. Accordingly, it should be noted that the misconduct detailed in this report is largely attributable to the DRT’s leadership—and that conduct should not detract from the individual DRT members who tirelessly and selflessly served the Alamo for over a century." [end]