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 This converted hotel is now home to the Meadows Center For Water And The Environment | |
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| Legal status | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Study, preservation, and presentation of freshwater ecology |
| Headquarters | San Marcos, Texas, United States |
Executive Director | Robert E. Mace |
| Website | www.meadowscenter.txstate.edu/ |
TheMeadows Center for Water and the Environment, formerlyAquarena Springs and later theAquarena Center, is an educational center inSan Marcos, Texas. It seeks to preserve the uniquearcheological andbiological resources of Spring Lake.
Formed from more than 200artesian springs, Spring Lake is one of the world's largest aquifer fed systems. A state antiquities landmark, this site is also believed to be one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America.
The Meadows Center provides educational programs, recreation, hands-on activities and collaborative projects that encourage visitors, scientists and students to learn about Spring Lake's habitat, endangered species and water/environmental resource management issues.
There are glass-bottom boat rides, and the Discovery Center provides educational displays allowing people to view native animals and fish. Snorkeling and diving programs are offered with an educational emphasis and interpreter led field trips.
The Meadows Center develops programs and techniques for ensuring sustainable water, economic resources as well asecosystem health. The center is used byTexas State University, and its multidisciplinary departments are involved with water resource management studies and research.
The Meadows Center at Spring Lake Hall houses the Texas Stream Team, a volunteer program that monitors the water quality offreshwater systems throughout the state.
The center was established in 1994 when Texas State, formerly Southwest Texas University, purchased land that was previously used as an amusement park, including Spring Lake, then an artificial freshwater reservoir.
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TheSan Marcos Springs are theheadwaters of theSan Marcos River.
Aquarian Center was designated as a "critical habitat," subject to theEndangered Species Act, because the springs are home to thefountain darter, theTexas Blind Salamander, theSan Marcos Salamander, theSan Marcos gambusia, andTexas Wild Rice. The San Marcos gambusia may be extinct as none have been seen since 1983.
The site contains more than 200springs with water from theEdwards Aquifer and that discharge an average of 123 million US gallons (470,000 m3) of water daily, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in North America.Artifacts discovered in digs conducted from 1979 to 1982 date back 12,000 years.
The first Europeans to visit the springs were probablySpanish explorers in 1689. The springs were an important stop on theOld San Antonio Road and theChisholm Trail. In 1847, formerRepublic of Texas vice presidentEdward Burleson purchased the land surrounding the headwaters of the river and built a cabin on the hill overlooking the headwaters. Two years later Burleson built adam just below the springs to power a mill. This dam, which created Spring Lake, still exists today.
Spring Lake has been visited by notable individuals includingRobert E. Lee,Jay Gould, andHelen Miller Shepard.[1]
A.B. Rogers purchased the property in 1926 and his son, Paul, developed ahotel there in 1928 and introducedglass bottom boats to the lake.
In the 1950s, construction of a submarine theater and largespillway at one end of the lake to produce aswimming pool led to the opening of Aquarena Springs, anamusement park, at the site in 1951. Other features of the park were the Alpine Swiss Sky Ride (aVon Roll skyride), anIntamin 220 foot Sky Spiral that moved vertically above the lake and rotated 360°, and "Ralph, the Famous Swimming Pig" and "mermaid" performers that could be viewed from the submarine theater.[2] The park also included a coin-operatedarcade in which human visitors would "compete" in games likeTic-tac-toe against chickens, whose "moves" in the game were determined by pecking lights which appeared only on the chicken's side of the machine. At its peak, Aquarena Springs attracted 350,000 visitors annually.
Aquarena Springs was on the cover ofPopular Mechanics and was featured inLife.[3]
Since Aquarena Springs' closure, a documentary,Aquarena Springs and Ralph the Swimming Pig, was created in 2011 by Bob Phillips.[4][5]
The Mermaid Society of Texas, founded in 2016, now hosts an annual promenade and festival for the river, celebrating Aquarena's mermaids.[6]
In 2021, theTexas Congress passedSenate Concurrent Resolution No. 9, recognizing Aquarena Springs, the Aquamaids, and Ralph the Swimming Pig, and San Marcos as the Mermaid Capital of Texas.[7][8]
The site was acquired by Texas State University-San Marcos in 1994. Soon after, the demolition of Aquarena Springs' facilities commenced, finally concluding with the Submarine Theater and Sky Spiral in 2012.[9]
The new Meadows Center was created with an emphasis on habitat reclamation and environmental goals, adding a Wetlands Boardwalk in a shallow area of Spring Lake. Theboardwalk, made of recycledplastic lumber, floats on the water and circles a marshy area that showcases the flora and fauna of awetlandecosystem.
The main aim of the center is research.
The MCWE participates in underwater archaeology. It led the search forHenry Morgan's lost fleet, and played a role inrediscovering theSatisfaction in 2011. while exploring caves in Mexico, Spring Lake, and shipwrecks.
The center uses unmanned aircraft (Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle) to capture photos and gather information for projects related to fisheries, wildlife, and watershed management and restoration.
The Meadows Center is dedicated to the sustainable management of the world's freshwater resources.
They oversee the Spring Lake Management Plan, which is designed to protect healthy ecosystems, provide research and educational opportunities, and offer access for service activities. As active partners in the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, they help ensure minimum continuous spring flows of the Comal and San Marcos Springs.
The Aquarena Springs Amusement Park was the actual location of the resort in the 1978 filmPiranha, directed byJoe Dante.
29°53′35″N97°55′53″W / 29.89304°N 97.93128°W /29.89304; -97.93128
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