| Page Views: 2,796 Last Visit to San Antonio: - | The pride of south Texas. by rsleisk - last update: May 5, 2006 |
Go and see the diorama of the battle inside the museum...the Texans never had a chance. |
|  | Historical Info The area was first explored by the Spanish in 1691 and 1709, which they named the San Antonio River and San Pedro Creek. The town grew out of San Antonio de Béxar Presidio, founded 1718, and the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, chartered by Canary Islanders in 1731.
Beginning in 1718, five Spanish missions were located along the river. The presidential captain's house (later the Spanish Governor's Palace) was completed on Military Plaza in 1749, and San Fernando de Béxar Church was built by 1758. In 1773 San Antonio de Béxar became the capital of Spanish Texas. In 1778 the settlement had a population of 2,060, including mission Indians.
San Antonio declared for Mexican independence in 1813; it was recaptured by Royalist forces after the battles of Alazán Creek and Medina and the population was decimated.
During the Texas Revolution, San Antonio was the site of several battles, including the siege of Bexar (December 1835) and the battle of the Alamo (March 6, 1836), which made it one of the most fought-over cities in North America at that time.
After Texas entered the Union, growth became rapid, as the city became a servicing and distribution center for the western movement of the United States. The census showed 3,488 in 1850 and 8,235 in 1860, when San Antonio had become for the time the largest town in Texas (ahead of Galveston).
Germans made up a large part of this growth; German speakers outnumbered both Hispanics and Anglos until after 1877.
After the Civil War, San Antonio prospered as a cattle, distribution, mercantile, and military center serving the border region and the Southwest. The city was the southern hub and supplier of the cattle trail drives. An important wool market developed with the importation of merino sheep to the adjacent Hill Country. |
Everything is BIG in Texas.... San Antonio has succeeded in merging its past into the new in each generation. Old Spanish walls remain beside modern glass towers, with rows of Victorian mansions a block away, a combination that lends the city a charm sought out by millions of visitors.
San Antonio did not expand beyond its original Spanish charter land until 1940. In 2000 San Antonio was the third largest city in the state and was the ninth largest city in the in the US, with a population of 1,144,646. | | |
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| Pros: | "Big city, with a small town feel" | | Cons: | "Hot days of Summer!" |
rsleisk's San Antonio Travel Tips
 Comments for rsleisk about San Antonio | | | | |
Maria250 Fri Feb 29, 2008 21:36 UTC
Great page!! Wish I had checked it prior to my travel. Regards from my neck of the woods. | TheWanderingCamel Mon Mar 6, 2006 14:26 UTC
San Antonio has such mixed memories for me - I was there on 9/11. Loved the city tho', esp. the missions. leyle | Maillekeukeul Wed Jun 22, 2005 17:50 UTC
I don't know SA, but still, as a French basketball player is famous there, I reckon it should be a safe place for me to stay !!! ;-D | deecat Sun Nov 7, 2004 01:04 UTC
These pages are brimming with helpful information abou San Antonio. Super restaurant and nightlife tips. Concise yet thorough, interesting, intelligent text..bravo! |
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