Photo Essay By Kaylin King
In San Marcos, Texas there sits a closed park that used to be a popular attraction to the community. The park is Stokes Park with Cape’s Camp. This camp used to be open to the public for recreation activities like grilling, camping and gathering on the San Marcos River right off I-35. Though since the May 2015 central Texas floods hit the area the city of San Marcos deemed the dam unsafe for leisure activity and closed the park indefinitely. Park closure signs are put up at the entrance to the park as well as inside and on Thompson Island. 
The outhouse for park goers still stands outside the fence though it remains locked, curious critters have made their way inside through holes they have created. There is also a three phase apartment complex sitting point two of a mile from Cape’s Camp entrance. 
The reason why Cape’s Camp is closed is because of the safety concerns this dam brings to recreation activities. Since the central Texas floods starting in May 2015 the dam has taken the most destruction. 
There used to be a cement structure connecting the camp to Thompson Island but the central Texas floods of May 2015 and Halloween floods of 2016 the structure has been completely destroyed. 
Along with the outhouse one of the only remaining structures left from flooding is the grill in the middle of the park. This grill attracted many people to Cape’s Camp on a hot summer’s day but since the park’s closure people have used as a place to put trash which eventually ends up in the river. 
The dam when first built in 1867 created Mill’s Race. Mill’s Race is historical to the City of San Marcos because of the kayak races held on the river. The ditch or as we call it the Millrace has an irrigation record that was filed September 9th, 1895 by a well known Veteran Dr. William Alexander Thompson that currently forms Thompson Island. When the land was donated to the state of Texas the donors were promised the historic place would be preserved. Now that Mill’s race has been here for over 150 years the environment around has flourished and now is home to the world’s most endangered species. 
The dam was built in 1867 and when it first was built the water passed through it, rather than over it as it is now. Cape’s Dam is actually a weir- where it lets water pass. Through all the floods and rising water levels the water passes over the weir. 
In March of 2018 after the most recent flood, the San Marcos City Council voted to remove the dam for concerns in recreation, safety of people and endangered species in the river. The US Fish and Wildlife Service was going to fund the removal of the dam. Since the removal of the dam would get rid of Mill’s Race the people of San Marcos have put up a fight to make Mill’s Race a historical landmark. Though it has since been denied and the fight still stands. 
In the March of 2018 a flood that hit central Texas completely destroyed the footbridge linking the mainland to Thompson Island. A month after the flood took down the bridge the city of San Marcos completely removed the bridge severing ties to Thompson Island. 
There is no set date to re-open Cape’s Camp or Thompson island. Park Rangers regularly check in on the park to ticket anyone trespassing. Tickets can be up to 300 dollars for just being in the closed park, being caught in the park more than once can lead to being arrested. Trespassers be warned.
