San Antonio has always been a crossroads. Sounds and flavors of Native Americans, Old Mexico, Germans, the Wild West, African Americans and the Deep South mingle and merge here. It’s a special place that has managed to retain its sense of history and tradition while carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress. Each year, close to 8 million visitors delight in the discovery of San Antonio’s charms.
Texas History 101
For history buffs, San Antonio is a mecca. Native Americans first lived along the San Antonio River, calling the area Yanaguana, which means “refreshing waters” or “clear waters.” A band of Spanish explorers andmissionaries came upon the river in 1691, and as it was the feast day of St. Anthony, they named the area “San Antonio.”
The actual founding of the city came in 1718, when Father Antonio Olivares established the Mission San Antonio de Valero. This site became permanently etched in the annals of history in 1836 as the Alamo, when 189 defenders held the old mission for 13 days against some 4,000 Mexican troops. The cry “Remember the Alamo!” became the rallying point of Texas’ revolution against Mexico. Located in the heart of downtown, today the Alamo is a both a museum and a shrine.
Shortly after the Battle of the Alamo, Texas became an independent republic. San Antonio was incorporated as a city in January 1837. After the Civil War, it 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 cattle drives. The cattle paths would later become major paved thoroughfares radiating from the city. When the railroad arrived in 1877, San Antonio, formerly without a transportation system, entered a new era of economic growth.
During the early 1900s, the population exploded. San Antonio was the largest cityin Texas off and on in the late 1800s and early 1900s, due to the influx of Hispanic, German and southern Anglo Americans. However, it wasn’t until 1940 that San Antonio expanded beyond its originalborders. Although the first Texas skyscraper and several tall buildings were built herein the early 20th century, vertical construction did not continue, and the city’s center of population moved steadily northward.
The city has been an important military center since World War II; it’s home tofour major military installations, including Fort Sam Houston, constructed in 1876.Fort Sam Houston lies just east of downtown and is another “must-see” for historybuffs. Military greats like Pershing,Stilwell, Krueger and Eisenhower all served at Fort Sam. San Antonio was also a training site for the Buffalo Soldiers, the famed African-American cavalry fighters who helped bring peace to the Western frontier a century ago. Today, Fort Sam is headquarters for the Fifth U.S. Army and the Health Services Command and is the home of the Fort Sam Houston and U.S. Army Medical Department museums.
Although the military has been a powerhouse throughout the last century, tourism, educational institutions, agribusiness, technology, aerospace and medical research have rounded out the economy.
Once a small settlement, San Antonio has grown into one of the country’s major metropolitan centers. City leaders carefully plan growth and economic development with San Antonio’s history in mind.
For more information about San Antonio, contact The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce at (210) 229-2100, or visit online at www.sachamber.org.
