Cape’s Dam should be a recognized landmark
To the Members of the San Marcos Historic Preservation Commission;
Please acknowledge this letter of support in favor of voting for the designation of Cape’s Dam as a local historic landmark.
In addition to the historic significance of Cape’s Dam as one of the earliest developments toward the viability of San Marcos as a lasting town and community in the State of Texas, it also provides a recreational benefit as well, that adds to our overall quality of life, as San Marcos residents.
The Cape’s Dam mill race and waterfall have provided many hours of enjoyment to me personally over the 40 years that I have been a San Marcos resident, as well as to tens and even hundreds of thousands of Texas residents and visitors to our area.
The area has also adapted as a “natural” habitat in its present configuration to a significant portion of flora and wildlife, due to its age of over 150 years. To fill in the mill race with dirt would be a travesty, as well as a lapse in planning and judgment, going forward.
If Cape’s Dam were to be repaired, it would restore the flow to the mill race and return the waterfall to its original grandeur as a thing of beauty on the San Marcos River, rather than allowing the pool below it to become a stagnant, fermenting mud hole.
Additionally, it is incomprehensible that the destruction of Cape’s Dam and the mill race could be allowed due to the earlier San Marcos City Council vote, which flies directly in the face of and against the expressed wishes of the Stokes family, who so generously donated the land as a park, to be enjoyed in perpetuity, as it was understood.
Please let common sense and reason prevail in your vote, and take this vital step in saving this historic and recreational resource. Our river is delicate and precious; we should preserve it with the respect and care that it so rightfully deserves.
I speak for San Marcos, now and for generations to come.
Sincerely,
David M. Newman
San Marcos Resident, Voter, Taxpayer, Advocate
