San Antonio, officially the City of San Antonio, is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio, the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 2.6 million people in 2020. It is the most populous city in and seat of Bexar County. The city is the seventh-most populous in the United States, the second-largest in the Southern United States, and the second-most populous in Texas after Houston.
The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a pivotal event of the Texas Revolution in which American folk heroes James Bowie and Davy Crockett were killed. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.
The Espada Acequia, or Piedras Creek Aqueduct, was built by Franciscan friars in 1731 in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was built to supply irrigation water to the lands near Mission San Francisco de la Espada, today part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The acequia is still in use today and is an National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and a National Historic Landmark.
Mission San Francisco de la Espada is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, Texas, in what was then known as northern New Spain. The mission was built in order to convert local Native Americans to Christianity and solidify Spanish territorial claims in the New World against encroachment from France. Today, the structure is one of four missions that comprise San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
An acequia is a community-operated watercourse used for irrigation in Spain and former Spanish colonies.
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about 10 miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties: Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio, and Wilson.
Cibolo Creek is a stream in South Central Texas that runs approximately 96 miles (154 km) from its source at Turkey Knob near Boerne, Texas, to its confluence with the San Antonio River in Karnes County. The creek is a tributary of the San Antonio River, at the easternmost part of its watershed.
San Antonio Springs is a cluster of springs in Bexar County, Texas. These springs provide a large portion of the water for the San Antonio River, which flows from San Antonio to the Gulf of Mexico. The San Pedro Springs also feed into the San Antonio River.
San Pedro Springs is the name of a cluster of springs in Bexar County, Texas, United States. These springs provide water for San Pedro Creek, which flows into the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Springs also feed into the San Antonio River.
The Spanish Governor's Palace is a historic adobe from the Spanish Texas period located in Downtown San Antonio.
The City of San Antonio is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Texas and was, for decades, its largest city. Before Spanish colonization, the site was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic Payaya Indians were likely those who encountered the first Europeans.
Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares or simply Fray Antonio de Olivares was a Spanish Franciscan who officiated at the first Catholic Mass celebrated in Texas, and he was known for contributing to the founding of San Antonio and to the prior exploration of the area. He founded, among other missions, the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar, and the Acequia Madre de Valero.
Presidio de Béxar was a Spanish fort built near the San Antonio River, located in what is now San Antonio, Texas, in the United States. It was designed for protection of the mission San Antonio de Valero and the Villa de Béjar. The Presidio de Béxar was founded on May 5, 1718 by Spanish colonial official Martín de Alarcón and his party of thirty-five soldiers. The Villa de Béjar is known for being the first Spanish settlement of San Antonio and consisted of the families of the Presidio Soldiers and those of the prior expeditions. It also served to secure Spain's claim to the region against possible encroachment from other European powers.
The Conservation Society of San Antonio is located in the Bexar County city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. Founding members were Emily Edwards, who became the organization's first president, and Rena Maverick Green. The organization was formed on March 22, 1924, and officially incorporated on July 8, 1925. The Society is currently headquartered in the Anton Wulff House, which they saved from destruction in 1974. The home was built 1869–1870 by German immigrant Anton Wulff, who became the city's first Park Commissioner.
Acequia Park is located in the city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. There are picnic tables and restrooms, but alcohol is not allowed in the park. The origins of the park date back to Spanish missionaries, who worked with mission Indians to create a water system sourced by the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Conservation Society (SACS) purchased much of this acreage in 1957 to preserve the area's environment. Because the San Antonio River Authority planned to reconfigure the river channel, SACS joined local land owners in filing a successful water rights and water flow lawsuit against the Authority. In 1975, SACS deeded the property to the City of San Antonio with the stipulation that it be used as a public park.
The Anton Wulff House is located in the San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The house has been designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark; and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas (NRHP). Wulff House was the headquarters of the San Antonio Conservation Society from 1975 to 2022. The original occupant who commissioned its construction was German immigrant and businessman Anton Wulff. He was a city alderman, San Antonio's first park commissioner, and the man who designed the layout of the city's Alamo Plaza.
The Payaya people were Indigenous people whose territory encompassed the area of present-day San Antonio, Texas. The Payaya were a Coahuiltecan band and are the earliest recorded inhabitants of San Pedro Springs Park, the geographical area that became San Antonio.
Yanaguana was the Payaya people village in the geographical area that became the Bexar County city of San Antonio, in the U.S. state of Texas. Some accounts believe the Payaya also referred to the San Antonio River as Yanaguana, and it is sometimes promoted as such for the tourist industry. For a number of years, the city of San Antonio contracted with Yanaguana Cruises Inc. for an exclusive monopoly to operate tour barges on a select section of the river. The National Park Service has a designated "Yanaguana Trail" that runs along the river at Mission San Juan Capistrano. In 1933 Frederick C. Chabot of San Antonio formed the Yanaguana Society, specifically named for the Payaya village, to collect and preserve the early artifacts and history of the area. The organization lasted through 1960.
Acequia Madre de Valero is an 18th-century agricultural irrigation canal built by the Spanish and located in the Bexar County city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. When Martín de Alarcón founded San Antonio for Spain by establishing San Antonio de Valero Mission in 1718, Franciscan priest Antonio de Olivares and the Payaya and Pastia peoples, dug Acequia Madre de Valero by hand. It was vital to the missions to be able to divert and control water from the San Antonio River, in order to grow crops and to supply water to the people in the area. This particular acequia was the beginning of a much wider irrigation system. Acequia Madre de Valero ran from the area currently known as Brackenridge Park southward to what is now Hemisfair and South Alamo Street. Part of it that is not viewable by the public runs beneath the Menger Hotel. The acequia was restored in 1968 and that same year was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
The Johann and Anna Heidgen House is located in the Bexar County city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas. The structure was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2003. It is also known as the Heidgen-Zilker House. The house was built circa 1882 and has been used for a variety of purposes, including as a residence, as a youth organization facility, attorney's office, wedding venue, and at one time as a restaurant.
