The Alamo
PLAY VIDEOContributed by Jade Evenstadm, Pierre Gutierrez and Christopher KingAbout the AlamoThe Alamo was first built as a Spanish mission under the name Misión San Antonio de Valero in the year 1718. However, natural disasters caused the mission to be torn down or destroyed and rebuilt multiple times until it was secularized post-independence from Spain. The mission became known as the Alamo at the start of the 19th century, a name derived from a grove of nearby cottonwood trees (cottonwood=álamo in Spanish) and a company of Spanish Lancers known as the Alamo Company. The Alamo was occupied by Texian forces during the Texas Revolution. After the legendary Battle of the Alamo, the mission was left in ruins until the US Army turned it into a supply depot in 1846 and made several major renovations to it. In 1861 the Confederate army gained control of the Alamo after forcing federal troops out of Texas and held it until the end of the Civil War. The US Army regained use of the Alamo post-war until 1876 when Fort Sam Houston was built. After decades of disrepair, historical preservationists mobilized to rescue the Alamo and open it to the public.The Alamo Throughout the Years (Videos):1940s: 1940s Alamo Video 2:11 to 2:181950s: 1950s Alamo Video 0:12 to 0:26 1980s: 1980s Alamo Video 2:04 to 2:20Today: The Alamo Today 0:04 to 0:12
La Villita
Contributed by Mariah Cavanaugh, Genesis Hernandez and Grayson GinderOriginally, La Villita was the location of a Coahuiltecean village. La Villita means “little village,” and that is precisely what it was when it became the first neighborhood in San Antonio. Officially titled the Villa de San Fernando, La Villita began as a residential neighborhood (barrio) for the first families of European origin to settle in San Antonio. Its inhabitants lived in jacales (thatched-roof huts) until 1819 when a flood hit, destroying all of the jacales. The neighborhood rebuilt, this time with stronger adobe houses. La Villita, the Presidio, and the surrounding missions formed the core of Spanish colonial San Antonio de Bejar, now known as San Antonio. La Villita was also part of “the missions lower farmlands” and was sought out by farmers because of its highly-fertile soil, though flood risk remained high in this area until the construction of the dam upriver in the 1920s. From the 1880s to the 1890s the area was mostly a mixed-race residential neighborhood. La Villita had no shortage of boarding houses or saloons, and because of that, it was a popular drinking spot for those in nearby communities. One of La Villita’s more famous residents was General Martín Perfecto de Cos, the brother-in-law of Antonio López de Santa Anna. In 1835 he was living at 513 Villita street, and it is there that he signed his Articles of Capitulation on December 11, 1835. This means that the house is one of the most important buildings in Texas history because it is the first document recognizing Texas' defeat of Mexican army and government officials. A year later in 1836, La Villita was used by General Santa Anna for his cannon line during the battle of the Alamo.La Villita fell into disrepair, but was restored in 1939 by a city ordinance on October 12th. The project was started by Mayor Maury Maverick who sought to preserve San Antonio’s oldest dwellings. Numerous buildings in La Villita were restored by the National Youth Administration during the 1939 city ordinance. During World War II, La Villita was converted into a Red Cross Center. For the last 75 years, La Villita has served as a community hub where New Year's celebrations, multiethnic holidays are celebrated. The boutiques and restaurants in the restored buildings attract visitors from around the world.https://www.sanantonio.gov/Mission-Trails/Mission-Trails-Historic-Sites/Historic-Districts-Neighborhoods/La-Villita-Historic-District/La-Villita-Historic-District-Expanded (Links to an external site.)https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hpl01 (Links to an external site.)https://www.lavillitasanantonio.com/About
Main Plaza
Contributed by Mariana Sandoval In 1573, Philip II, King of Spain, declared in his decree, "Laws of the Indies" that all new towns must have a central plaza. When the fifty-six settlers arrived in San Antonio in 1731, they followed this decree and the Main Plaza, formerly called the Plaza de las Islas/Plaza Mayor, was created. The Main Plaza was the religious, political, and civic focal point for San Antonio de Bexar.The plaza had two interconnected blocks: the plaza, itself, and the cathedral. The Church of San Fernando (not known as San Fernando Cathedral until 1874) is on the east side of the plaza square. For decades, the celebration of feast days and other religious events were held in the square. One of the more colorful religious events that the people of San Antonio participated in to celebrate feast days was "El Gallo Corriendo," or the "Running Rooster." This celebration involved a horseback rider carrying a rooster while being chased by other horseback riders in efforts to steal the rooster- whoever had the rooster, in the end, was the winner.Casas Reales, the center for civilian government, faces opposite to the church. It was here that Moses Austin submitted petitions for the American colonization of Texas in 1820. It was also here that Santa Anna arrived in 1836 to begin the Siege of the Alamo. The building was vacated as the municipal headquarters by 1850.As retail in the region began to boom, the Main Plaza started to commercialize. The saloons and gambling halls were the most popular addition to the Main Plaza in the 19th century- even drawing in people like Wyatt Earp.The Main Plaza remained the communal core of San Antonio until the late 19th century with the arrival of the streetcar which allowed people to create and travel to more distant social hubs throughout the city. In 2006, the city sought to revive the plaza and to make it the "Heart of the City" once more. The city has made many renovations to the Main Plaza including the addition of 30 historical plaques that tell stories of the vibrant historical events that have occurred in Main Plaza throughout 300 years. Today, the Plaza still holds live concerts with regular performances from Mariachi Corazon de San Antonio; religious events like the Passion of the Christ recreations during the Lent season; political rallies; and other civic activities such as farmer's markets. The Main Plaza continues to serve as a focal point for the people of San Antonio since its founding.
San Fernando Cathedral
Founded in 1731, The San Fernando Cathedral has been the center of of San Antonio since its doors first opened. Naturally, it was the religious center of the Spanish colonial settlement of San Antonio de Bejar. Until Texas became independent from Spain, the only officially recognized religion by the crown was Catholicism. Because of this, services of all denominations were hosted here until Texas became independent in 1845. However, the Cathedral's history is not purely religious. During the siege of the Alamo in 1836, General Santa Anna of the Mexican Army raised a flag of “no quarter”, or no mercy, from the cathedral’s tower. (In 1836, the cathedral was much smaller than it is today, and only one tower existed on the building--on its left side. Today, the original tower has been replaced with a Gothic style tower on both the left and right sides of the facade.) This flag signaled the beginning of the siege. Following the Texans’ defeat, their ashes were interned in a crypt located just inside the south entrance to the cathedral. Today the cathedral remains an important focal point of the city. Hundreds of weddings, baptisms and funerals take place at the cathedral every year. Notably, the funeral of Henry B. Gonzalez- the first Mexican American elected from Texas to serve in US Congress- was held at the cathedral in 2000.
Military Plaza
Contributed by Mariah Cavanaugh The original name was “Plaza de Armas” which translates to “Military Plaza”Military Plaza has been the site of much bloodshed over the centuries. San Antonians supported Mexican Independence war launched in 1810 by Father Miguel Hidalgo. In January of 1811 Las Casas, a retired militia captain led a group of army sergeants to stage a coup in San Antonio, Texas where they arrested the Spanish Governor of Texas, Manuel Maria de Salcedo. Manuel was able to convince a revolutionary soldier to let him go and six weeks later Governor Salcedo led a group of officers into Monclova, Mexico where Casas was captured and executed. His head was placed on a pole in Military Plaza as a warning to other revolutionaries.In 1813, when San Antonians rose up to fight en masse for independence from Spain, they marched from Military Plaza to the Medina River so as not to endanger innocent civilians by staging a battle in town. The revolutionaries were massacred and those captured were marched back to Military Plaza where they were executed. In one day, San Antonio lost most of its adult male population, including leading citizens. This was the bloodiest day in San Antonio's history--not the Battle of the Alamo as commonly supposed.· 1876 Barbed-wire salesman John Gates rented the plaza and constructed a corral to demonstrate the effectiveness of his new product, barbed wire. He filled the corral with Longhorn cattle and demonstrated their inability to escape. His demonstration was so successful it led to the opening of his company, American Steel and Wire. In the early 1900s he invested $20,000 in his friend’s Beaumont oil rig and named it the Texas company, which later came to be known as Texaco.· Lore is a large popular part of the history of the Spanish Governor’s Palace (Comandancia). Perhaps one of the most haunted parts of the Governor’s Palace is the old, original patio near the rear of the building where the “Tree of Sorrows” is located. Before City Hall was built, the Comandancia was the site of municipal government. People were judged, tried and hanged here. It is alleged that 36 criminals were hung from the “Tree of Sorrows”· The old City Hall building was dubbed the "bat cave" because of the number of bats that roosted in its eaves and walls. Construction of the new City Hall, right in the middle of Military Plaza put an end to San Antonio's signature open-air markets boasting such colorful characters as the Chile Queens who prepared flavorful tacos for the muleteers and cart-drivers and farmers selling their produce and handicrafts in the plaza. These characters were forced further west to what is known today as "Market Square."
Casa Navarro State Historic Site
Contributed by Jade EvenstadJosé Antonio NavarroThe son of Don Angel Navarro, a San Antonio merchant and leading citizen, and María Josefa Ruiz, a descendant of Spanish nobility, José Antonio Navarro was a famous figure in Texas history and Tejano-rights activist. Navarro was greatly influenced by his uncle, José Francisco Ruiz, and they often had to flee Texas due to their revolutionary activities.Navarro was one of three Mexican signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was also elected to Texas Congress to represent Bexar, and was the only Hispanic at the Convention of 1845, where he voted for the annexation of Texas to the United States. During his time in office, Navarro spoke out against the illegal land-grabs occurring when a large influx of Anglos moved into Bexar and transferred land from Tejanos to themselves. Navarro, despite being the only Tejano and forced to speak through an interpreter as he did not know English, was quite successful in protecting Tejanos from these land-grabs and from racism. Navarro was also very witty and eloquent, and in 1869 published "Apuntes Históricos Interesantes," a collection of essays in a San Antonio newspaper that reminded Angle historians and "new" settlers in Bexar of the valor of Tejanos and their role in the revolutions that led to creating the San Antonio they knew. Navarro was commemorated with the naming of Navarro County. Casa Navarro, his original home, has been preserved as a historic site. Referenceshttps://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna09Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas by James E. Crisp and edited by Jesús F. De la Teja
Former House and Store of Leading San Antonio Citizen Don Angel Navarro
Contributed by Jade EvenstadDon Angel Navarro"I came here as a merchant to this Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar"Don Angel Navarro, originally from Corsica, was a prominent merchant and citizen in early San Antonio upon settling there in 1777 after a series of moves around Europe and the United States. He served as the town's first elected alcalde in 1790 and donated funds to city projects, including the cemetery he was eventually buried in. Don Angel Navarro built a house and shop on the corner of Flores and Presidio (now Commerce St) in what is downtown San Antonio today. Navarro was also a slaveholder, and one of his slaves, Maria Gertrudis de la Peña, sued for her freedom in 1785 on the basis that she was an Indian and could not be enslaved. After eight years of slavery and being passed between masters, she ended up in San Antonio at the house of Don Angel Navarro and was promised her freedom after three years of servitude. After enduring abuse from the Navarro family, de la Peña was freed after winning her case. Don Angel Navarro was also involved in a lawsuit of his own 10 years later (April 21,1795) in which he demanded that the San Jose Mission make payments towards the the loan he gave them in the amount of 745 pesos."qualification of the Justice with which I demand the Mission of San Jose in the aforementioned Province, the payment of seven hundred and forty five pesos"ReferencesProceedings considering the freedom of Maria Gertrudis de la Peña, 2/11/1768, Béxar Archives, Box 2C22, Volume 45.Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas by Donald E. Chipman and Harriett Denise Josephhttps://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna17http://www.thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/casa-navarro/history/angel-navarro-corsicans-journey-bexarhttp://www.cah.utexas.edu/projects/bexar/image_lg.php?doc=e_bx_006593&rel=e_bx_009728http://www.cah.utexas.edu/projects/bexar/gallery_doc.php?doc=e_bx_011074
Market Square
PLAY VIDEO Historic Market Square was given as a gift to the original settlers “for their use and entertainment” by the King of Spain in 1730. Throughout the early years the plaza was a lively hub of marketplaces, where vendors sold fresh produce, beef, venison, wild turkeys, honey and pecans. The market square moved in the 1890s from Main Plaza to its current location. This was to make room for the increase of new settlers. Immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and Europe came to San Antonio to incorporate their own flavor into the Mexican culture of the Market. During the 1930s, San Antonio native Emma Tenayuca became a prominent civil rights activist. In 1938, the teenaged Tenayuca led thousands of pecan shellers on a march to protest proposed pay cuts. San Antonio served as the center of the U.S. pecan shelling industry, and typical salaries ranged 2-3 dollars per week. The strike was one of the first successful actions in the Mexican-American history that began to help move the US closer to equality.Market Square hosts major Mexican American celebrations, including Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day. It also hosts multicultural festivals representing the great diversity of San Antonio. On October 7th the iconic restaurant Mi Tierra turned 77. The Cortez family acquired this restaurant for only $150 dollars and it originally only held ten tables. Today this restaurant is open 24 hours/day. It seats 600 people and employs some 550 workers. Over the years has become a downtown Tex-Mex institution for locals and tourist. Its murals tell the Hispanic history of San Antonio and its mariachi bands play traditional Mexican music.
