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San Marcos City Council hears proposal for Dunbar neighborhood history walk
Summary
Community members and city arts staff described a multi-year plan to install markers and digital content honoring the Dunbar neighborhood, with community submissions, research review committees, and an inaugural installation targeted for fall 2026 pending budget approval.
The San Marcos City Council heard a proposal on Nov. 5 for a multi-year Dunbar neighborhood history walk that would place markers and host archival material online to recognize people, businesses and places important to the neighborhood’s past.
Charlotte Wattney, creative and marketing manager in Destination Services, told the council the city recommends concentrating markers at the sidewalk loop in Dunbar Park to include nonphysical places and to create a single destination for visitors. Wattney said submissions will be gathered from current and former residents, researched for accuracy and kept on a running list for future installations. “The project will be more robust than just placing markers in the park,” Wattney said.
The presentation said markers would be rectangular plaques on raised platforms with an art element such as tile or mosaic; accompanying material (photos, audio, video and biographical summaries) would live on smtxarts.com and a project sign with a QR code would direct visitors to additional information. Wattney said two committees have been formed: a project development committee to draft guidelines and plan outreach, and a submission review committee to verify nominations using local knowledge and research.
Speakers from the Dunbar Sisters Foundation urged council to include community voting as part of selecting initial inductees. Midi Miller, speaking on behalf of the Dumbar Sisters Foundation, said the group is considering a ballot-style process to let people choose which businesses, churches and individuals should be featured. “We would like to present at least 10 or 15 people and let the community vote on it,” Miller said. Deborah E. Giles Webster urged the council to “say their names” and offered specific historic examples and nominees the committee has already collected.
Councilmembers asked logistical questions about how to reach former residents who no longer live in San Marcos and whether the city would support a ballot process. Presenters said they plan to use online forms, social media, email lists and door-to-door flyers to reach potential nominators and that the inaugural year would likely include a larger set of installations (the team suggested roughly 10 markers to start) with additions in subsequent years.
Wattney said the project timeline lists the inaugural installation for fall 2026 and that the arts and historic commissions must complete reviews and budget approvals before fabrication and installation. Council members and presenters emphasized community-led research and review to ensure accuracy and neighborhood ownership of the project.
The council provided consensus to continue developing the project and staff said they would return for any required budget approvals.
