Pigdom – A Shrine to Swine
Pigdom – A Shrine to a Swine
Houston, Texas
(no longer exists)
submitted by: Bill Miller
One of my favorite RoadsideWonders contributors is back with a funny, touching, and just plain fantastic contribution. We may not be able to visit it any longer; but it’s fun to look back on this unique Houston-area “wonder”.
From Bill:
This one is chock full of Texas weirdness. The diving pigs of San Marcos! Disabled boy saved by swimming pig! The story is told well in this article, but to sum it up, a Houston lady bought one of the famous diving pigs of San Marcos’s Aquarena Springs and brought her home to Houston.
Priscilla the pig became a minor celebrity when she rescued a disabled boy from drowning. After that, Victoria Herberta turned her house into a purple shrine called Pigdom in honor of Priscilla. It stayed that way from the late 80s until 2010 when the she passed away. I took these pictures in 2003.
Wendy: I visited a number of sites to research this entry. Rather than reinventing the wheel, hear Victoria tell the story in her very own words in the video below.
I could go down an entire rabbit hole about Aquarena Springs – the former tourist park where Priscilla started her swimming career in San Marcos, Texas. Aquarena was similar to several other Mid-Century mermaid-themed resorts, including Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs seen here on RoadsideWonders, except Aquarena also had swimming pigs! Those days are gone and it is now a nature center. See links below if you want to fall down the rabbit hole too!
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Flying Pigs and Mermaids: Crumbled Theme Park Reborn as Nature Center
Pigs are so SMART and wonderful. Amazing creatures. We should let them vote.
I really appreciate this article. In the mid 80’s I worked at the fire station on Elgin. We used to shop at a grocery store near to Pigdom and we would stop by there to say hello from time to time. Years later when I had children, I tried taking them there but the pig and house were gone. I’ve always told them about this place, now I have pictures to show.
Lance, awww, that would have been cool to share with your kids. Thanks for sharing your memories 🙂