GREENERPASTURE Free Family History Since 1999
Add your family to this place
Related place research & reading
Seasonal stories & historical reading

Flag associated with San Antonio, Texas, USA History of San Antonio, Texas, USA

Journey back in time to San Antonio, Texas, USA

Explore the history, people, photographs, newspapers, postcards, and genealogy connected to San Antonio, Texas, USA.

ABOUT THE PLACE

About San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas, USA - San Antonio, Texas, USA - San Juan de Capistran, (3rd Mission) Built 1718, San Antonio, Texas
The Alamo is located in San Antonio. It is where Texas defenders fell to Mexican General Santa Anna and the phrase Remember the Alamo originated. The Alamo is considered the cradle of Texas liberty and the state's most popular historic site. 50states.com

San Antonio Christmas: In San Antonio, luminaries are placed all along the River Walk, a paved walkway alongside the San Antonio River, and an old custom called "Las Posadas" is acted out.
"Las Posadas represents the journey that Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth to Jerusalem on a winter night 2000 years ago. Two young people are chosen to play the roles of Mary and Joseph. They follow the luminaries up to a house and knock on the door. Joseph asks the owner if they can stay there for the night. The owner refuses to let them in, because the house is full. They knock at several more houses until finally someone lets them come in to stay the night. The house where the couple is invited was chosen before the celebration, and has a doll in a manger, representing Jesus. When the couple arrives at the house, they and the people who have followed sing Christmas carols and eat the food provided by the "innkeeper." worldholidaytraditions.com
Source
Continue exploring:Vintage imagesLocal historyGenealogy
Have family roots in San Antonio?Add your family to this place
MAP
San Antonio, Texas, USA Open in Bing Maps ↗
Use Bing Maps to explore this place and its surroundings.
ADVERTISEMENT
VINTAGE SAN ANTONIO

San Antonio Nostalgia: Vintage Photos, Ads, and Postcards

San Antonio, Texas, USA - San Juan de Capistran, (3rd Mission) Built 1718, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Postcard
Pinterest
San Juan de Capistran, (3rd Mission)
Built 1718, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA - West Commerce Street
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Postcard
Pinterest
West Commerce Street
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Mission De La Purisima Conceptoin, First Mission, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Postcard
Pinterest
Mission De La Purisima Conceptoin, First Mission, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Beautiful San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Postcard
Pinterest
Beautiful San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Visit the Alamo
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Advertisement
Pinterest
Visit the Alamo
GENEALOGY SHOP

Genealogy Gifts & Finds

Discover gifts inspired by San Antonio, plus books and genealogy resources for exploring your family history.

FEATURED GIFTS

Gifts Inspired by SAN ANTONIO

SAN ANTONIO, Texas Vintage Postcard Ceramic Mug

SAN ANTONIO, Texas Vintage Postcard Ceramic Mug

Elevate your morning routine with a touch of nostalgia and hometown pride. Our ceramic mug, adorned with a Vintage Postcard design featuring West Commerce Street and The Alamo in San Antonio, TX, is here to warm your heart as you sip your favorite brew.

View gift
Visit the GreenerPasture Store for more gift ideas
BOOKS & RESOURCES

Books & Genealogy Resources Related to SAN ANTONIO

Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio
Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, the Struggle for Texas
United Tastes of Texas: Authentic Recipes from All Corners of the Lone Star State
American Cookery: The Historic Colonial Cookbook First Published in 1796

Find More Books for San Antonio, Texas

Explore books and research materials related to San Antonio, Texas.

Books about San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio genealogy booksTexas genealogy resources
Get TODAY's Amazon Deals NOW!Find the BEST GENEALOGY-related stuff!
LOCAL HISTORY

Discover San Antonio: History, News, Travel, and Stories

Explore the events, newspaper stories, people, and moments that shaped San Antonio through the years.

Add History, News, or a Local Story
1718 - San Antonio, Texas founded
wikipedia.org
1842 - March 5 - Over 500 Mexican troops led by Rafael Vasquez invade Texas, briefly occupy San Antonio and then head back to the Rio Grande.
historyorb.com
1854 - San Antonio de Bexar
San Antonio de Bexar, a thriving post- town, capital of Bexar co., Texas, on San Antonio river, 110 miles S. W. from Austin City. This wealthy town has been much improved within a few years, and the population of the adjacent country has increased rapidly. Many of the residences are truly beautiful, particularly around Fort Alamo, which is in the immediate vicinity. Sec Fort Alamo. San Antonio contains a United States arsenal, and several churches and seminaries. Two news papers are published here. It is one of the termini of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf railroad, (projected.) Population in 1850, 3396; in 1803, estimated at 6000.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
1868 - THE TERRIBLE HAIL-STORM IN TEXAS - LOSS $500,000.
The San Antonio Express, of May 21, gives the following particulars of the late disastrous hail-storm:

"Our city is a perfect wreck; every house in it has received some damage; many are in complete ruins, with nothing but fragments of walls standing. The hail-stones penetrated the best roofs, going through tin roofs like cannon balls. All the windows facing to the north have been smashed in, even window shutters and doors were broken down. The appearance of the city could not have been worse under a severe bombardment. Trees are stripped of their leaves and branches, which lie piled up in the yards and streets - the sides of houses exposed to the hail have the appearance of having withstood a thousand discharges of grape and canister. The roofing of the entire city is perforated like a sieve. The hailstones were of irregular shape and all sizes, as if a mass of ice had broken above our devoted heads, and driven by a tornado to the earth. One hailstone was found weighing over five...
Read more
1870 - The postmaster at San Antonio, Texas, was not long since puzzled by the receipt of a letter from New Orleans,
directed to "My Mammy, living in the City of San Antonio." One day, however, a small, fierce looking old woman appeared at the post office window, saying, "Mister, have you got any letters there from my Johnny?" The letter addressed to "My Mammy" was at once given her at a venture, and the suspicion that it was intended for her proved correct.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
June 25, 1870
1889 - A unique chair made of the horns of Texas cattle was lately sent from San Antonio to the White House.
It is the gift of a San Antonio banker to President Harrison, and cost its donor $1,500. The horns are riveted with gold, and there are a number of gold plates used in its construction. From one of them glistens a very handsome diamond.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
March 30, 1889
1894 - FIRE RECORD. SAN ANTONIO BLAZE.
San Antonio, Tex., Feb. 13. - A destructive fire, resulting in a total loss of about $35,000 worth of property, occurred here early this morning. The flames started in the rear of the Central hotel at 3 o'clock, and before the fire department responded that building was doomed. The fire quickly spread to the St. Leonard hotel, which adjoined the Central, and soon obtained such headway that it was impossible to save that structure.

The Central hotel was an old two-story building and the St. Leonard a three-story structure. Both hotels were filled with guests, many of whom narrowly escaped being burned in their rooms.

Firemen Ed Hargrove and A. Sebastian were buried under falling walls and were seriously injured. They were rescued in about thirty minutes, and both were unconscious for some time. Their injuries are internal.

The new courthouse in process of construction, is situated near the Central hotel, and the stone walls were damaged to the extent of $15,000, with $10,000...
Read more
1895 - San Antonio
San Antonio, a city, the capital of Bexar co., Tex., is on San Antonio River, 80 miles S.W. of Austin. It is near lat. 29° 30' N., Lon. 98° 25' W. It was in 1890 the most populous city of the state except Dallas. It contains a court-house, a United States arsenal, 4 national banks, 4 other banking-houses, 2 large Roman Catholic colleges or seminaries, a Roman Catholic cathedral, 11 churches, and many fine residences. Three daily and 3 or 4 weekly news papers are published here. San Antonio is surrounded by a fertile country, of which cattle, cotton, wool, and hides are the staple products. It is on the Southern Pacific, International & Great Northern, and Aransas Pass Railways, 256 miles W. of Galveston. Here are military head quarters, with a quartermaster's depot. San Antonio has extensive water-power, several flouring-mills, breweries, and tanneries. It is built on the site of Fort Alamo, celebrated in the history of Texas. It has a large public park, called San Pedro. Pop. in...
Read more
Show more local history, news & stories
1906
San Antonio, a city, the capital of Bexar co., Tex., is on the San Antonio River, which here receives the San Pedro, 80 miles SW. of Austin, on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio, the International and Great Norther and other railroads... The city is surrounded by a fertile country, of which cattle, cotton, wood, and hides are the staple products. It is one of the leading cattle, horse, and mule markets of the country and has large flouring-mills, breweries, foundries and machine-shops. The city is of a distinctly Spanish cast and contains a number of plazas (Alamo Plaza, Plaza de las Yalas) and the attractive San Pedro and Breckenridge parks. Among its notable buildings are the Federal building, court-house, the cathedral of San Fernando, opera-house, and the Alamo (Church of the Alamo), part of the structures of an old Franciscan mission, the defence of which, in 1836, is a noted event in the history of the state. The city has several collegiate and academic institutions and...
Read more
1910 - The first military air flight in a Wright brothers' plane took place in San Antonio

www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ usstates/ txtimeln.htm
1920 - PLANE HITS POLE, TWO ARE KILLED
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, May 21. - Lieutenant Alvin M. St. John, of Memphis, Tenn., and Private Carl L. Cubler, of Elgin, Illinois, were instantly killed this afternoon when a plane they were flying crashed into a flagpole and then into a building at Kelly field.
Billings Gazette
Billings, Montana
May 22, 1920
1928 - January 1 - 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio
historyorb.com
January 1, 1928
January 31, 1949 - The temperature at San Antonio, TX, plunged to a record low of one degree below zero.
WeatherForYou.com
January 31, 1949
1949 - December 11 - WOAI TV channel 4 in San Antonio, TX (NBC) 1st broadcast
historyorb.com
1968 - MONORAIL AT FAIR STOPPED.
San Antonio (AP) - HemisFair and mini-monorail officials declined official comment Monday while an investigation began into Sunday's monorail train smashup that killed one person and injured 48 others.

Thirteen of the victims hospitalized overnight Sunday were still being treated late Monday.

William Jackson, director of operations at HemisFair, said only that a preliminary report by an insurance company investigative team may be forethcoming in two to three days.

Until the report is made, he said, the colorful trains will not operate.

Repairs were being made Monday to the track from which 11 cars spilled onto asphalt pavement and into a shallow lagoon and a flower bed.

Jackson said that until the investigation is completed, no statements will be made concerning the cause of the accident.

Witnesses and officers said the accident occurred when one of the mini-monorail trains struck another from behind and the impact derailed 11 cars.

Two of the small cars landed in ...
Read more
1985 - FOUR KILLED IN EXPLOSION. ICE PLANT GUTTED BY AMMONIA BLAST; 21 PEOPLE INJURED.
San Antonio, Texas (AP) - Investigators poking through the remains of a gutted ice plant tentatively blamed an ammonia leak for an explosion that killed four people and injured at least 21.

Deputy Fire Chief Jim Miller said the blast Wednesday "evidently was caused by an ammonia leak" at the downtown plant, owned by Lone Star Ice and Food Stores and Southern-Hencke.

All but one of the injured were treated at hospitals and discharged for ammonia burns or inhalation of fumes, officials said. DELFINO MUNOZ, 31, one of at least 15 firefighters hurt at the explosion site, was held overnight for observation, said Baptist Hospital spokesman Ruben Garansuay.

The dead were identified as MACARIO MARTINEZ, 55, of San Antonio; JESUS RIOS ACOSTA, 31, of San Antonio; ASCENCION ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ, 33; and RITO CAZARES, 55, said investigator Eva Hickman of the Bexar County medical examiner's office

"There wasn't a whole lot to work with," said Alfred Lozano, an Emergency Medical Service...
Read more
Here's a list of places to go and things to do in San Antonio:
The Alamo: A must-visit historical site, this former mission is where the famous Battle of the Alamo took place. It's a symbol of Texan independence and a great place to learn about the state's history.

San Antonio River Walk: Stroll along the beautiful River Walk, a network of scenic pathways along the San Antonio River. You'll find shops, restaurants, and entertainment along the way.

The Pearl District: This trendy area is home to the famous Culinary Institute of America, as well as a variety of restaurants, shops, and the Pearl Farmers Market on weekends.

La Villita Historic Arts Village: Located on the River Walk, this historic arts village is filled with local art, crafts, and unique shops. It's a great place to find souvenirs.

San Fernando Cathedral: The oldest continuously operating church in Texas, San Fernando Cathedral is an iconic San Antonio landmark. The nightly light show, "The Saga," is a must-see.

Natural Bridge Caverns: Just outside the city, you can...
Read more
GENEALOGY IN SAN ANTONIO

Discover YOUR Roots: San Antonio Ancestry

Explore ancestors connected to San Antonio through births, deaths, marriages, cemeteries, and local genealogy resources.

LOCAL ANCESTORS

Ancestors Connected to San Antonio, Texas, USA

Explore people connected to San Antonio through 37 birth/death records and 4 marriage records.

Explore local ancestors
Updated: 10/28/2024 3:04:30 PM
COMMUNITY

Discussion & Local Contributions

Share corrections, memories, local history, or family connections that may help other researchers.

Back to topSearch this place again
↑ Back to San Antonio