Hidden Room in San Antonio Yields a Treasure for Library
By Michael Kelley Nov 10, 2010Every librarian dreams of the moment in San Antonio when the workmen broke down the wall.
"It was a real Nancy Drew moment," Teresa Jensen, manager of the San Antonio Public Library's central library, told LJ.
Inside this walled-over, closet-sized space on the third floor of the library's former home, the workmen discovered November 5 a trove of material crying out for organization and preservation:
-- a 1615 King James version of the Bible;
-- World War II posters from Japan and elsewhere;
--Civil War documents and photographs relevant to San Antonio history.
And much more.
"I have to say that you don't get this kind of an opportunity very often," Jensen said, "and it really was a great treat. We were really excited to go into this room."
Searching for an answer
The mystery, for Jensen and other staff members, is why were the materials put there and then forgotten about?
"It couldn't have been librarians who threw this stuff in there because we would have been way too organized for that," Jensen said.
The material is being sorted and cleaned of years of dust and mouse droppings.
"We were very much the amateurs," Jensen said. "We did not bring our white gloves. We needed more than anything a vacuum cleaner and wet wipes."
Some of the material is now in a storeroom and some of it is displayed on tables in the Texana Genealogy department, the library's local history and special collections section, under the direction of Frank Faulkner.
The collection was discovered in the library's old building, which the library still owns and which is located about six blocks south of the current library. In 2006, the building was leased to the National Western Art Foundation, which is retrofitting the building. Previously, it had housed the Harry Hertzberg Collection and Circus Museum (a bequest to the library).
"I was surprised," Faulkner said. "I had been in the building and helped close it out in 2001. And there were two or three of us who went over every nook and cranny of that building, and all of a sudden we are told there's a room that we didn't even know existed."
Shedding light on the Civil War
Both Faulkner and Jensen pointed to a letter dated February 1861 as an example of the collection's historical significance. It is a letter from a Frank Wood to his sister, and it was written just before Texas seceded from the union.
Wood, whose identity Faulkner is trying to track down, described the surrender of the U.S. arsenal in San Antonio to Confederate sympathizers. The men "saw the Star Spangled hauled down and the Lone Star raised, and they were in tears," he wrote. He feared bloodshed.
"There are limited original accounts of this event," Faulkner said.
The staff is examining library clippings and records to try and sort out the history of the hidden room. Their best guess at this point is that it was covered over sometime in the 1950s, based on a 1952 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine found in the room.
They also may have the Bible, which is coverless and missing the first 17 chapters of Genesis, evaluated for its potential worth.
"It appears to me somewhat uncommon," Faulkner said.
The library is still formulating the ultimate disposition of the material, but Jensen says the overarching value is already clear.
"It reinforces the idea that the library is a hidden treasure that we really want to bring to life for everybody."
Other items found:
World War II posters from Canada, the Free French, the Philippines and the United States;
An 1861 proclamation from the governor of the Territory of New Mexico calling out the militia to repel Confederate troops invading from Texas;
General Orders by Confederate Major General J. Bankhead Magruder outlining strategies to export Texas cotton past the Union blockade;
A photo album belonging to Union officer Colonel Town containing not only family pictures, but also photographs of the Union commanders, including General Ulysses S. Grant; General Philip Sheridan; and General George Gordon Meade;
Engravings and photographs, including scenes from old San Antonio.
