Borglum, John Gutzon de la Mothe — Handbook of Texas (TSHA)

Source: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/borglum-john-gutzon-de-la-mothe Ingested: 2026-07-26 (WebFetch extraction of the Texas-period content)

Evidentiary note for this wiki: this authoritative Texas-focused biography — which catalogs even Borglum’s failed projects — never mentions glass, bottles, Beeville, or Three Rivers. It is ingested primarily as documented silence against the Smith (1989) claim that Borglum joined the Three Rivers Glass design staff, and as the anchor for his actual Texas chronology.

Texas period (1925–1941)

• In 1925 Borglum “moved to Texas to work on the monument to trail drivers commissioned by the Trail Drivers Association.”
• He resided at the historic Menger Hotel, San Antonio, which “in the 1920s was the residence of a number of artists.”
• Trail Drivers Monument: model completed 1925; financial constraints delayed casting until 1940, at a quarter of the planned size; it stands before the Texas Pioneer and Trail Drivers Memorial Hall adjacent to the Witte Museum, San Antonio.
• Corpus Christi waterfront: Borglum planned the redevelopment of the bayfront; the plan failed. The model for its statue of Christ was later modified by his son and erected on a mountaintop in South Dakota.
• During his Texas years he showed “an interest in local beautification” and “promoted change and modernity, although he was berated by academicians.”

What does NOT appear

The terms glass, bottle, Beeville, and Three Rivers do not appear anywhere in the entry.