About/History
From San Antonio CVB.

San Antonio captures the spirit of Texas. Now the eighth largest city in the United States, the city has retained its sense of history and tradition, while carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress. The city has always been a crossroads and a meeting place. Sounds and flavors of Native Americans, Old Mexico, Germans, the Wild West, African-Americans and the Deep South mingle and merge. Close to twenty million visitors a year delight in the discovery of San Antonio's charms.

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 and missionaries came upon the river in 1691, and because it was the feast day of St. Anthony, they named the river "San Antonio." The actual founding of the city came in 1718 by Father Antonio Olivares, when he established Mission San Antonio de Valero, which became permanently etched in the annals of history in 1836 as The Alamo where 189 defenders held the old mission against some 4,000 Mexican troops for 13 days. The cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texan revolution against Mexico. Located in the heart of downtown, today The Alamo is a shrine and museum. A tour of downtown San Antonio will uncover centuries of history.

Just northeast of downtown lies Fort Sam Houston, another "must-see" for history buffs. Military greats like Pershing, Stilwell, Krueger and Eisenhower all served at Fort Sam. San Antonio was also a training site of the Buffalo Soldiers, 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 home of the Fort Sam Houston Museum and the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum.

Frank Tolbert, a noted Texas historian and journalist, once said, "Every Texan has two homes his own and San Antonio." After your visit to San Antonio, we hope that you will consider San Antonio your second home and return again and again to experience all the city has to offer.

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