By the late 1880s, the historic San Antonio missions were falling into disrepair and becoming subject to vandals. De Zavala's initial efforts were towards saving these historical structures, in particular the Mission San Antonio de Valero otherwise known as the
Alamo. The public entrance known as the Alamo's mission chapel was already owned by the
State of Texas, which had purchased the building from the
Roman Catholic Church in 1883 and had given custody to the City of San Antonio. The city had made no improvements to the chapel structure, and ownership did not include the Long Barrack, which was owned by wholesale grocer Gustav Schmeltzer. Italian-born sculptor
Pompeo Luigi Coppini of the
Alamo Cenotaph fame, related that Adina, accompanied by Pompeo's wife Elizabeth di Barbieri Coppini, "went out every day with our horse and buggy, calling on all the merchants of the town for some contributions of bricks, lumber, cedar posts, or wire to repair fences. These articles, in lieu of money, were to be used in repairing all the missions, the chapel of the Alamo included." The De Zavala chapter of the DRT in 1902 organized the Congress of Patriotism, with the aim of creating a "Texas Hall of Fame" museum in the Alamo Long Barrack (or convento). Adina and her group convinced Gustav Schmeltzer to give the historical society first option to buy the structure if it went up for sale. She was notified in 1903 that the owners were considering a sale to a hotel syndicate. De Zavala enlisted heiress and historical preservationist
Clara Driscoll to put up financial backing for the purchase. On January 26, 1905,
Governor S.W.T Lanham signed legislation for state funding to preserve the Alamo property. The state reimbursed Clara Driscoll and, on October 4, 1905, the governor formally conveyed the Alamo property, including the convento and the mission church, to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. A divide erupted between two factions of the DRT, and the general public as well, over how the Long Barrack property was to be used. Driscoll and others believed it was not part of the original structure and should be turned into a park. De Zavala was convinced the property was where the major portion of the historic battle had taken place. In supporting research, Adina conducted numerous interviews with families and acquaintances of men who died in the Alamo. In 1906 she obtained an affidavit from Juan E. Barrera, a San Antonio resident born in 1839, stating that the Long Barrack "are still standing just as they were when I was a boy." The building's lease was due to expire on February 10, 1908, and rumors floated that the property might next be rented to a vaudeville company. Two days before the expiration of the lease, Adina engaged three guards for the property and had a telephone installed in the rat-infested warehouse. New padlocks were also installed. On the evening of February 10, 1908, Sheriff John W. Tobin arrived with deputies in tow, an injunction barring De Zavala from interference, and assorted stakeholders of the outcome. The guards were served with the injunction for the cause. The siege lasted three days and attracted spectators and newspaper coverage from around the country. Once her attorneys had worked out an agreement to temporarily turn the structure over to the governor, Adina emerged. By 1911,
Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt ordered the Long Barrack be restored to its original condition as it was in mission days. During the 1912 restoration, workers uncovered foundational work that verified De Zavala's instincts that the structure had indeed been an original part of the Alamo. However, when Governor Colquitt left the state on business in 1913, De Zavala's efforts were slighted when Lt Governor
William Harding Mayes permitted the demolition of the upper-story walls of the Long Barrack. ==Death and recognitions==