San Antonio

San Antonio, located at the head of the San Antonio River in Bexar County in south central Texas, is on Interstate Highway 10 (east-west) and Interstate highways 35 and 37 (north-south). The city is also served by five U.S. highways, numerous state highways as well as Interstate (Loop) 410 and State Loop 1604, San Antonio International Airport, Stinson Airport, Union Pacific Railroad, and daily AMTRAK train service. San Antonio, also known by such titles as the Alamo City, the Mission City, the River City, and Military City, U.S.A. (which the city trademarked in 2017), has a 300-year history that stretches back to Spanish Texas with the establishment of a presidio, town, and five Franciscan missions along the San Antonio River. The city’s strategic role in two separate struggles for independence—the fight for Mexican independence in 1811–13 and for Texas independence in 1835–36—resulted in bloody conflict but also eventually entrenched San Antonio’s standing as a state and national symbol of the battle for self-government. During the second half of the nineteenth century, San Antonio, as the largest city in Texas, supported a diverse native and immigrant population and further perpetuated its reputation as a crossroads of cultures. The city prospered as a center of agricultural and ranching activities, and its growing industry, advances in transportation, establishment of educational institutions, and strong connection to the military carried it firmly into the twentieth century and the post-World War II era. In recent decades San Antonio has become a top tourist destination.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.