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SAPL: Texana/Genealogy - San Antonio: A Chronology |
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A list of sources for this chronology may be found in the Texana/Genealogy Department. In some cases sources give conflicting dates of events. We have tried to verify these in order to be as correct as possible.
Father Damian Massanet celebrated mass on the feast day of St. Anthony and the location is hereafter known as San Antonio de Padua.
Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expeditions named San Pedro Springs and the San Antonio River.
1716
Domingo Ramon expedition established a presidio (military post).
1718
Mission San Antonio de Valero established on the west bank of the San Antonio River. Villa de Bejar established.
1719
Mission San Antonio de Valero moved to second site on the east bank of the San Antonio River near the site of the present St. Joseph’s Church.
1720
Fr. Antonio Margil de Jesus founded Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo.
1722
Presidio moved to present Military Plaza.
1724
Mission San Antonio de Valero moved to present location.
1731
Colonists from the Canary Islands arrived. First town council installed. East Texas missions moved here: Mission Concepcion kept its name; Mission San Jose de los Nazoris renamed San Juan Capistrano; San Francisco de los Neches renamed San Francisco de la Espada.
1734
Spanish Governor’s residence moved to San Antonio from East Texas.
1738
Cornerstone of San Fernando Church laid.
1744
Cornerstone of the first Valero church laid. This church collapsed before 1756.
1749
Home known as the "Governor’s Palace" completed.
1756
Second stone church (present Alamo chapel) begun. Present Mission Espada church completed.
1768
Cornerstone of current San Jose church laid.
1773
San Antonio de Bexar became the official capitol of Texas.
1789
First school (parochial) to teach children opened by Don Jose Francisco de la Mata.
1793
Mission San Antonio de Valero secularized by decree.
Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras stationed at Valero. Manuel Ignacio Rodriguez built first two-story building.
1813
Battle of the Alazan and Battle of Medina.
1818
Minor silver coins minted at the Garza House.
1822
Banco Nacional de Texas organized, first national bank west of the Mississippi.
1824
Missions Concepcion, San Jose, Capistrano, and Espada secularized.
1828
McClure’s, first Anglo-American school opened.
1835
Siege of Bexar.
1836
Texas declared independence. Alamo recaptured by Gen. Santa Anna. Battle of San Jacinto. Bexar County organized.
1837
Town council organized and first City Council meeting. Texas Legislature approved the incorporation of the "City of San Antonio."
1840
Council House fight.
1841
First modern bridge across river on Main Street (now Commerce St.) made of cypress and cedar logs.
1842
Col. Rafael Vasquez (March 5) and Gen. Adrian Woll (Sept.11) invaded San Antonio. Gen. Woll took the City Council to Mexico with him.
1845
First three-story building, the Plaza House, constructed. Albert Moye opened first saddler’s shop. Texas admitted to Union.
1846
First U.S. Post Office is established.
1848
First newspaper in San Antonio,"Western Texan" is published.
1850
Construction begun on the "Bat Cave," the city-county courthouse and jail. S. Menger and Sons established first soap factory in Texas. U. S. Army completed building of the Alamo and used it as a warehouse.
1851
Ursuline nuns open first school for girls in San Antonio.
1852
St. Mary’s College, for boys, founded. "Paine Chapel," the first Methodist church building started.
1853
"Zeitung," first German language newspaper published here. Casino Club formed.
1854
First volunteer fire company organized.
1855
"El Bejareno," first Spanish language newspaper published in San Antonio. First Board of Education established. City’s first brewery built by C. Degan.
1856
City’s corporate limits to include a square league divided into four wards. Cornerstone of St. Mary’s Catholic Church laid.
1857
First experiments in raising sorghum started here.
1858
First St. Mary’s Street bridge erected. Casino Club and Opera House completed on Market Street. Arsenal, first U.S. military building in San Antonio, established.
1859
German-English School established. Menger Hotel founded. Building of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church begun, but because of the Civil War, the first service in the completed church was Easter 1875. C. H. Guenther moved from Fredericksburg and opened a mill here.
1860
San Antonio Gas Company chartered and began supplying gas. San Antonio Literary Association first met. Cornerstone of First Presbyterian Church laid at Flores and Houston Streets.
1861
Feb. U.S. Army surrendered troops and property to Texas militia forces at San Antonio. U. S. troops from surrounding forts surrendered at "Battle of Adams Hill."
1863
Umbrella china trees introduced by C. L. Leger, Sr. Nearly all chinaberry trees here are descended from those two trees.
1865
The German-language newspaper "Freie Presse fuer Texas" established. First issue of the "San Antonio Express" newspaper published.
1866
Gas lights turned on in the plazas. First national bank in San Antonio, George W. Brackenridge’s San Antonio National Bank, is organized.
1867
"Beethoven Maennerchor" [German singing society] organized. First Baseball Club organized.
1868
Cornerstone of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church laid. J. B. Lacoste and associates started an ice factory on Losoya St. Clock tower erected on Ursuline Academy convent. First steam fire engine arrived.
1869
First Baptist Church building begun at Jefferson and Travis Streets.
1870
Forty acres donated to U. S. as present site of Ft. Sam Houston.
1871
Freedman’s Bureau built the first Negro public school. Mount Zion First Baptist Church founded.
1873
J. Joske & Sons founded on Austin St. San Fernando Church completed.
1874
San Antonio Street Railway Company organized. Congregation Temple Beth El organized. Santa Rosa Infirmary in operation. Bell for St. Mark’s arrived, originally a cannon from the Alamo. F. Groos & Co. (bank) organized. Maverick Clarke [Printing] Company went into business.
1876
Barbed wire introduced for the first time in San Antonio and Texas. Alamo Iron Works began at the corner of Presa and Market Streets. Construction of Quadrangle and Tower at Ft. Sam Houston. Military telegraphic communication between San Antonio and other military posts and Washington D. C. began.
1877
First passenger train reached San Antonio.
1878
Street Railway Company’s first mule-drawn car driven from Alamo Plaza to San Pedro Springs. Edison phonograph made its first appearance at the Alamo Literary Hall. First water mains to provide water. Curb hydrants installed to fill water troughs for horses.
1879
Cornerstone of German-Episcopal Church in La Villita laid. First telephone line in San Antonio installed, from City Water Works to pump house at the River’s head.
1880
Alamo Cement Company incorporated. Lone Star Brewery started, but not opened until 1884.
1881
First issue of "San Antonio Evening Light" newspaper. San Antonio Exchange (first public telephone company) opened. A. B. Frank Company opened to deal in wood & hides. William Richter opened a bakery. San Antonio Electric Co. incorporated, furnishing electricity in 1882.
1882
Main Avenue High School built.
1883
Cornerstone of Paine (Travis Park) Methodist-Episcopal Church laid. J. H. Kampmann Building begun (first four story building and first with an elevator in San Antonio). San Antonio City Brewery (Pearl) was established. First polo match in San Antonio held. Lucchese Boot Co. established. Alamo purchased by the State.
1884
Ben Thompson and King Fisher killed each other. Lone Star Brewing Co. opened for business.
1886
Jack Harris Vaudeville Theater destroyed by fire. City divided into eight wards instead of four. Grand Opera House opens. Geronimo and other Apaches held in the Quadrangle of Fort Sam.
1887
Copper pennies introduced here by Joske Bros.
1888
City-county hospital organized.Congregation Agudas Achim organized. San Antonio Missionaries became a charter member of the Texas League (baseball). St. Peter Claver Catholic Church founded.
1889
Cornerstone laid for present City Hall. Union Stock Yards built. Ferd Staffel Feed Co. began. Streets paved with mesquite blocks.
1890
Construction begun on the Southwest Texas Lunatic Asylum (Southwest Insane Asylum, San Antonio State Hospital). First electric streetcars replaced mule-drawn streetcars.
1891
City organized the Fire Department companies on a paid basis. First Battle of Flowers parade held.
1892
Construction began on current Courthouse.
1894
San Antonio Business Men’s Club organized. In 1936 the name was changed to San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
1896
San Antonio Drug Co. started. Bexar County’s legal newspaper the "Commercial Recorder" began publication.
1898
Our Lady of the Lake Academy (University) opens. Rough Riders encamped at Riverside Park. First building of St. Philip’s College built.
1899
City given gift of present day Brackenridge Park by George W. Brackenridge. Incarnate Word College (now University) moved to present location. Nathan Kallison opened store on So. Flores St. to make harnesses and saddles.
Tuesday Musical Club organized. Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad completed into San Antonio. All streetcar lines consolidated into the San Antonio Traction Company.
1903
Bexar County Medical Society’s first meeting. San Antonio Public Library opened. Physicians’ and Surgeons Hospital on Dallas St. built.
1904
An ordinance required automobiles to be numbered. Scientific Society of San Antonio formed.
1905
Fox Co. started photographic processing plant. Roegelein Co. founded. Cavalry and Artillery Posts built at Ft. Sam Houston. Daughters of the Republic of Texas assumed care of the Alamo.
1908
Congregation Rodfei Sholom organized. San Antonio Trunk Co. established on Alamo Plaza. Gibbs Building erected. Fire Department purchases first two mechanized pumpers to replace horse drawn ones. Electric Park opened.
1909
Order of the Alamo organized. St. Anthony Hotel, Gunter Hotel, and Crockett Hotel all opened this year.
1910
First flight in the first government-owned airplane by the first military-trained pilot, Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois occurred at Fort Sam Houston. Friedrich Refrigeration Company, Paul Anderson Co., and Sol Frank Military Uniform Co. all began this year. First Boy Scout troop organized.
1911
Lt. George E. Kelly killed in air crash at Ft. Sam Houston. Fiesta Association formed. Bedell Building erected. Cornerstone of Hermann Sons Hall laid.
1912
Rand Building completed.Widening of Commerce Street began.
1913
San Antonio’s Spanish language newspaper "La Prensa" began publication.
1914
Brady Building, Calcasieu Building, and Travelers Hotel completed. Battle of Flowers Association incorporated.
1915
Stinson family opened aviation school.
1917
Robert B. Green Hospital opened. Brooks Field and Kelly Field were in operation. San Antonio Public Service Company incorporated. Frost Bros. founded at 217 E. Houston.
1918
Piggly Wiggly opened S.A.’s first self-service grocery. "San Antonio Evening News" newspaper began. City acquired West End Lake [now Woodlawn] park.
1919
South Texas Building completed.
1920
Santikos Theatres moved from Waco to San Antonio.
1921
San Antonio Savings and Loan began, first of its kind in San Antonio. Worst flood in City’s history.
1922
USAA founded in the Gunter Hotel. First radio station (WJAE) broadcast, but lasted only a few months. Second radio station (WCAR) broadcast from 324 N. Navarro St. Later renamed KTSA. WOAI’s first broadcast (third radio station in San Antonio). Jewish Federation of San Antonio formed.
1923
San Antonio opened the country’s first junior high schools. Travis Building and Robert E. Lee Hotel opened.
1924
Conservation Society organized. Scottish Rite Temple dedicated. Mattie T. Landry organized the first Camp Fire Girls here.
1925
Old City Market House torn down. Columns, etc. copied in cast stone and used for San Antonio Little Theatre. Olmos Dam completed. City Water Board formed. San Antonio Junior College organized.
1926
Municipal Auditorium built as a memorial to the City’s World War I dead. Texas Cavaliers were formed. Aztec and Texas Theaters opened. Witte Memorial Museum opened to the public.
1927
First talking picture, "Don Juan" with John Barrymore was shown at the Aztec. Plaza Hotel (now the Granada) opened. First neon signs appeared. Dr. C. A. Whittier opened the first Black diagnostic and in-patient medical center.
1928
Milam Building, largest all-concrete structure in America (21 stories), and first air conditioned building in the world, opened. First air mail flight arrived at Winburn Field (Stinson Field). Construction began on the 31-story Smith-Young Tower. San Antonio Zoological Society organized. Frost Bank became the first air conditioned bank in the U. S.
1929
Robert Hugman presented his river improvement plan. Mexican Chamber of Commerce incorporated. San Pedro Playhouse opened. Nix Professional Building completed. Alamo National Bank Building opened. Sunken Garden Theater construction begun. Colored Library and Auditorium (now Carver Cultural Center) erected. First library branches at San Pedro Park and Roosevelt Park opened. New Majestic Theater opened to the public.
1930
Randolph Field dedicated. New San Antonio Public Library building replaced the Carnegie Library building. Work began on Thomas Jefferson High School. Classes started Feb. 1, 1932.
1931
The African American newspaper " San Antonio Register" was established.
1933
San Antonio became the first large city to convert all its electric streetcars to gasoline-driven buses.
1936
First parking meters installed.
1937
San Antonio River Authority created.
1938
Brooke General Hospital completed.
1939
Federal courthouse and post office dedicated on Alamo Plaza. City of Terrell Hills and Olmos Park incorporated. Symphony Society organized. La Villita is restored. Riverwalk beautification project began.
1940
Alamo Stadium finished and dedicated. Alazan and Victoria Courts built, first housing projects in U. S. constructed under federal sponsorship. Los Angeles Heights became the first suburb incorporated into the City. Cenotaph dedicated.
1941
San Jose Mission was named a National Historic Site. Lackland Army Air Base established as part of Kelly. First Cavalier "River Fete" held.
1942
Trinity University moved to San Antonio. City Public Service Board and Transit Company organized.
1946
Alamo Soil Conservation District organized.
1947
Luby’s Cafeterias founded at 517 No. Presa. Joe Ortiz became the first Rey Feo at Fiesta.
1948
First Fiesta Flambeau parade held.
1949
Record low temperature of zero degrees was experienced. Joe Freeman Coliseum opened. Alameda Theater opened to the public. First city expressway opened from Fredericksburg Road to Culebra (0.712 miles). WOAI-TV4 (now KMOL) was dedicated.
1950
First San Antonio Livestock Exposition held. Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute established.
1951
Construction began on Trinity University’s skyline campus.
1955
City reorganizes under a council-manager form of government.
1959
School of Aviation Medicine constructed at Brooks A.F.B.
1960
City’s first mall-Wonderland (now Crossroads) Shopping City opened.
1962
Riverwalk Commission established.
1964
Tesoro Petroleum Corp. was chartered.
1968
HemisFair ’68 opened. Institute of Texan Cultures opened. It becomes a part of University of Texas in San Anonio 1973.
1969
University of Texas at San Antonio was established.
1970
University of Texas Health Science Center of San Antonio graduated its first class. First Queen of Soul, Libby Barksdale, in Battle of Flowers Parade.
1972
River Corridor Committee established. Fifth Army Headquarters located at Fort Sam Houston.
1973
San Antonio Spurs began their first season.
1977
City charter was amended to allow single-member voting districts.
1978
McAllister Freeway opened.
1979
U. S. District Judge John H. Wood, Jr. was assassinated.
1983
Site of the Palo Alto College campus was selected.
1985
Record snow of nearly 13 inches. Fairmount Hotel moved.
1986
San Antonio recorded its hottest day, 108 degrees.
1987
Pope John Paul II visited San Antonio.
1988
Sea World of Texas opened. River Center Mall opened.
1992
Fiesta Texas opened. Southwestern Bell Corporation moved its headquarters here.
1993
"San Antonio Light" ceased publication. Alamodome opened.
1994
Present Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Baseball Stadium opened.
1995
Central Library at 600 Soledad opened.
1997
San Antonio native, Linda Finch flew around the world.
Compiled by the Texana/Genealogy Department of the San Antonio Public Library
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