Judge Wolff Donation

Last week, Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff donated his personal collection of political records and artifacts to A&M-SA's Archives & Special Collections at the Presidio Gallery.

The collection, contained in 36 boxes, includes documents related to significant historical events during Judge Wolff's tenure as Mayor of San Antonio from 1991 and 1995. These events include his attempt to have NAFTA signed in San Antonio; his campaign against the closure of San Antonio's military bases by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission; the City's response to escalating gang and drug violence in the early 1990s; his attempt to bring professional baseball to San Antonio; and state, city and local conflicts over the Edwards Aquifer and Applewhite Reservoir.

Materials conveyed to A&M-SA also include six boxes of unprocessed documents reflecting Judge Wolff's service as City Councilman from 1987 to 1991. This collection reveals his efforts to represent his constituents in District 8 while promoting economic development, improved infrastructure and new modes of transportation throughout the region. Also of note are documents addressing the need for reliable water and energy sources within San Antonio and Bexar County.

These two collections are valuable to researchers because they provide primary source materials on the political, economic and cultural climate in San Antonio during the 1980s and 1990s.