San Antonio History, Texas

 In the Valley of the San Antonio River around the area of San Pedro Springs, there used to be Native Americans inhabiting the land.  Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who was a Native American shipwrecked captive, visited what is known today as Texas in 1536.  He described and saw the river that we know today as the San Antonio River.

 A Spanish group of missionaries and explorers found the Native American settlement and river on June 13th, 1961.  The Spanish Council of War gave permission for the development of a fortified fort on a site by the river in 1716, and a fort was established on the river by the Domingo Ramón expedition.  There was also permission given for Father Olivares to found a Catholic Mission by the site.

 Martin de Alarcón, who was the Texas governor in 1718, reinforced the fort, recognizing the 10 soldiers, along with their families, as being the official beginning of the site.  The San Francisco de Solano Mission was moved to merge with the Mission San Antonio de Padua that same year, and Father Olivares gave the merged mission the new name of Mission San Antonio de Valero.  The mission, villa, and fort contained the municipality of San Antonion de los Llanos, which means San Antonio of the Plains.  In 1719, the next year, the Mission moved to another site to the eastern bank of the river.

 The fort was moved in 1721 by the Marquis de Aguayo to the site where it is now, which is on the Plaza de Armas.  This was made the permanent quarters where the soldiers would stay.  Five years later, in 1726, the population of the official settlement was 200, which included 45 soldiers and their families.  In 1724, the Mission was moved again to its final site because of a hurricane that flooded its prior location; it was moved to the Alamo Plaza.

 On March 9, 1731, at 11:00 in the morning, 16 Canary Islands families arrived at the Fort of San Antonion de Bexar.  The King of Spain decreed that they establish the La Villa de San Fernando, and the first Texas civil government was founded as well.  Each of the families were given noble titles by the King of Spain, and many of their descendants still live in San Antonio today.

 San Antonio has substantially grown over the years, and unlike many of the larger cities in the country, this city is not totally surrounded by suburban cities.  Under the law of Texas, San Antonio has extraterritorial jurisdiction over a lot of the unincorporated and surrounding land.

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