History and Heritage
Riverside Park came into being in 1939 when W.R. McCright, mayor of Victoria, and the owner of the Victoria Advocate George French realized that the city needed its own municipal park. The park’s initial site plan was drawn in 1940 by R.H.H. Hugman, the original designer of the San Antonio Riverwalk.
Riverside’s history does not begin just in 1939 but stretches back almost two centuries to 1725. Spanish missionaries settled in the area of Victoria and began building Mission Espiritu Santo on Tonkawa Bank along the Guadalupe. While the site was moved further north on the Guadalupe River, the site on the bank continued to be used by the Tonkawa.
A century later, Empresario Martin De Leon founded his colony near present day Riverside Park. Jacob Fox and Nathan Grover are included in this group, who would go on to become successful community leaders of Victoria. Adam Hiller, a local soldier of the Texas Infantry during the Texas Revolution, also settled in this area. Along the park’s boundaries, Hiller’s House remains intact and is a registered Texas Historical Landmark open to the public as an event venue, meeting space, nature education area and museum.
Soon began the Texas Revolution. After the Goliad Massacre, Texan survivors fled from Mexican soldiers and would have met a grave fate without help. And help came. Margaret Wright earned a reputation for courage during the Texas Revolution when she secretly aided the Texan survivors. Wright would move back and forth from her home to the river—claiming she was getting water—to deliver supplies such as food, medicine, even a stolen gun from the nearby stationed Mexican troops. Sam Houston, President of the Texas Republic gave a speech in Victoria, naming Margaret Wright as the “Mother of Texas.”
In 1840, Comanche warriors atop horses rode across the river and assaulted the settlement of Victoria, stealing thousands of livestock. The people managed to get away while the town burned to the ground, escaping with only six deaths as the war party rode on to be defeated by the Texas Rangers and end what was the very last Comanche Raid in Texas History. While a tragedy, Victoria of course, survived on to continue growing and expanding.
A Park that is Inclusive and Unique
One of the strongest and most important traits of Riverside is the sheer amount of activities and features provided. Some of the most popular features are the disc golf course, the public golf course, the Texas Zoo, the Pump House restaurant, and, of course, the Riverside Stadium.
The foliage itself can be enough of an attraction and reason to visit this park. When the park was still young, over 200 pecan trees were planted so that today, a walk, bike ride, or drive is filled with the scenic beauty of this homage to the state tree. Besides the many pecan trees, Riverside is famous for its Memorial Rose Garden. The garden is the home of 1,050 rose bushes of 105 different types of roses.
The Riverside Stadium is a crowning achievement in the park and it has history dating back to the park’s beginnings. The stadium was built to house the Victoria Rosebuds, a popular minor league team in the 1950s. Today, the stadium is still in constant use by many teams, including Texas Collegiate League team the Victoria Generals, the University of Houston at Victoria’s college team, and local high school teams.
Community Support
Riverside Park flourishes and thrives with the help and involvement of local businesses as well. The Riverside Stadium was put together with the help of by many local businesses, and different organizations have added to the park’s quality by providing different features. Another important addition to Riverside is the Challenged Athletes Dream Complex. The field was constructed by the Challenged Athletes Dream Foundation.
The land along the Guadalupe River has survived struggles like the Comanche raid and the Texas Revolution and carried on stubbornly to become something not just useful, but beautiful and proud. Riverside Park has thrived because of its community and in return, the park gives its patrons a scenic escape, countless exciting and interesting activities.