Pan American Round Table

🏛️The era

In the early twentieth century, Texas and Mexico were closely tied by trade, family and a long shared border. Then, beginning in 1910, the Mexican Revolution tore through Mexico. Years of upheaval, violence and shifting governments pushed large numbers of people north across the border in search of safety, and border communities and cities like San Antonio felt the effects directly.

This was also a time when American women were stepping more boldly into public life. Women's clubs, charitable societies and reform organizations were flourishing across the country, and women were campaigning for the vote. Clubwork let women take on civic projects, build networks and shape public opinion, even before they had full political rights.

The year of the founding, 1916, was a tense moment in U.S.-Mexican relations. Conflict along the border had led to American military involvement in northern Mexico. Against that backdrop, a group of women choosing to build friendship across the hemisphere was a striking and hopeful act.

👥People & events

Florence Terry Griswold was born in 1875, a native Texan who grew up along the Mexican border. That upbringing likely gave her a close understanding of life on both sides of the line. When the Mexican Revolution sent refugees into Texas, she worked to help them. That work in a time of crisis led directly to what came next.

On October 16, 1916, Griswold and 21 friends met at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, a landmark near the Alamo that had long hosted important gatherings. There they founded the Pan American Round Table. Its purpose was to unite women in mutual knowledge, understanding and friendship across the Western Hemisphere, an idea that reached well beyond a single city or country.

The idea spread. Local groups called tables took root in many places, and by 1989 there were 166 of them in 16 countries. Members supported libraries and awarded scholarships, practical projects that turned a hope for understanding into books on shelves and students in classrooms.

Griswold died in 1941, but the organization she helped start outlived her by decades. That's a testament to how well the idea of friendship among women across borders met a lasting need.

🇺🇸Its place in the American story

The Pan American Round Table is an early example of what could be called citizen diplomacy. Governments negotiate treaties, but ordinary people build the everyday ties of trust and understanding between nations. These women set out to do exactly that, at a time when relations between the United States and its neighbors were often strained.

It is also an important chapter in women's history. Founded and led by women, the movement shows how women used club networks to reach across national lines and take on public roles long before they had equal political power. It fits the larger Progressive Era pattern of women organizing to improve their communities and the wider world.

Finally, the story reflects San Antonio's and Texas's place as a bridge between the United States and Latin America. Shaped by Spanish, Mexican and American history, the city was a natural birthplace for an organization dedicated to friendship across the Americas.

🧭If you visit

The Menger Hotel, where the founders met, stands in the heart of downtown San Antonio beside Alamo Plaza. Picture 22 women gathered here during a troubled year, deciding to answer division with friendship. It's a quieter kind of history than the battle remembered next door, but a meaningful one.

This marker fits easily into a walking tour of downtown San Antonio. The Alamo, the River Walk and the city's many historic buildings are all nearby, so you can pair a stop here with a stroll through more than two centuries of the city's past.

For families, this is a nice chance to talk about how people can build bridges between countries. Ask your kids what it might mean to make friends with someone who lives in another country and speaks another language. The idea behind this marker is still very much alive.