San Antonio, Texas, Bexar County seat. (original) (raw)

Bexar County Seat, South Texas

29� 25' 30" N, 98� 29' 38" W (29.425, -98.493889)

I-10, I-35 and I-37
US 90, Hwys 283, 181, 16
79 miles S of Austin
35 miles S of New Braunfels
271 miles S of Dallas/Fort Worth
75 miles SE of Frederickburg
197 miles W of Houston
Population: 1,434,625 (2020)
1,327,407 (2010) 1,144,646 (2000) 935,933 (1990)

San Antonio Texas 1886 Bird's Eye View
Click on image to enlarge
Wikicommons

Our Favorite San Antonio Attractions

"As a casual tourist you'll be dazzled by this romantic atmosphere - and the history, and the music, the food, my God. It's an easy city to love." - Walt Lockley

Photo courtesy Chia-Wei Wang, August 2006

Mission Concepcion
Photo Courtesy Lori Martin, July 2001

San Antonio, Texas Chronicles

• Texas' Tobacco Road by Clay Coppedge
• On the Road with Basse Express by Michae Barr
  By 1960, Basse Express diesel trucks made the 70 mile one-way trip from San Antonio to Fredericksburg in a couple of hours hauling everything from thumb tacks to toilet paper.
• August Seimering and the Forty-Eighters by Michael Barr
  "... In 1865 Siemering established a German language newspaper called Freie Presse fur Texas (Texas Free Press). The Freie Presse served a growing population of German speakers in San Antonio and the Hill Country. That same year Siemering established the San Antonio Express. Today as the Express-News, it is the 4th largest newspaper by circulation in Texas..."
• San Antonio 365: On This Day in History by David Martin Davies & Yvette D. Benavides. Book review by Dr. Kirk Bane
• San Antonio's Majestic Theater by Michael Barr
• Custer at the Alamo by Mike Cox
• The Popularity of Polo by Michael Barr
  "Polo came to Gillespie County from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. No sport teaches horsemanship like polo, and the cavalry units at Fort Sam fielded some of the best polo teams in the country...
  Polo still has a following in Western Texas. The sport is popular and quietly fashionable in certain affluent areas of San Antonio and the Hill Country where men and women admire fine horses and appreciate horsemanship."
• A Mustang at The Polo Club by Michael Barr
  By 1885 San Antonio was a depot for polo ponies. Polo players and their representatives from both sides of the Atlantic converged on Narciso Leal's Livestock Exchange at 226 Dolorosa Street to buy Texas mustangs.
• Early Days of Texas Polo by Michael Barr
• A Short History of Beer in Texas by Clay Coppedge
• The San Antonio Council House Fight by Jeffery Robenalt
  In March of 1840, a meeting took place in old San Antonio between representatives of the government of the Republic of Texas and the Penateka Comanches to discuss terms of a peace treaty. The disastrous results of this meeting would soon lead to the Great Comanche Raid of 1840 and the Battle of Plum Creek.
• Eyewitness to the Council House Fight by Murray Montgomery
• San Antonio's Blue Book by C.F. Eckhardt
  'The Blue Book.' Those three words stir up quite an image among those who delve into the more esoteric history of 19th and early 20th Century America. 'The Blue Book' is the legendary directory of a city's 'red light' district....
• San Antonio's Blue Book by Mike Cox
• National Dish of Texas by C. F. Eckhardt
  - Chili con carne is the national dish of Texas. It was invented in Texas by Texas natives-literally-and it's made right only in Texas...
• Sam Houston's Daughter by Mike Cox
• Fannie Porter of San Antonio by Maggie Van Ostrand
  If even half the legends passed down through generations are true, the Old West was a riotous and exciting place. Whether heroes or desperadoes, these legendary people all seem to have either been born in, traveled through, or fought for the great Republic of Texas... But they didn't fight, shoot, and rustle all the time. They needed rest. They needed relaxation. They needed love. And Fannie Porter of San Antonio supplied these diversions. This is her story.
• Early Movie Making by Mike Cox
  The Star Film Company was the first movie company to do any substantial business in Texas. Owned by French producer Gaston Melies, the company came to San Antonio, where he set up shop adjacent to the Hot Wells Hotel early 1910...
• Texas' Favorite Ghost Story - San Antonio's Overworked Ghost Children by Raoul Hashimoto
• San Antonio's Humble Oil Company Vintage photos
• Brown's Humble Service Station, 1938
  On S. New Braunfels Avenue. Vintage Photos
• Earl Abel's - San Antonio Landmark by Mike Cox
• The Little Engine That Couldn't: The Fredericksburg & Northern Railroad by C. F. Eckhardt
  "... Even after the War, with much improved roads and a much lessened Indian problem, it still took freight wagons the better part of a week to travel from San Antonio to Fredericksburg... The people north and west of San Antonio wanted and needed a railroad..."
• Runaway scrapes by Mike Cox
  Thousands of people die every year in traffic crashes, but the horse and buggy era had its injurious and fatal accidents as well.
• The Altgelts of Comfort, San Antonio (and Argentina)
  "[Ernst Hermann Altgelt] established the city's first "suburb." He named the first street in it "King William" (for German King Wilhelm).... He built the first house on that street and, its' still occupied."
• Early Railroad Trip from San Antonio to El Paso by Mike Cox
• The Good Docs of San Antonio by Mike Cox
  Texas' best-known physician, and a lady charlatan in San Antonio
• Sister Elaine's Music by Michael Barr
  An internationally acclaimed musician, Sister Elaine is well known for her extensive work in musical composition. She studied music at Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio. At age 19 she joined the Sisters of the Divine Providence and took the name Sister Elaine.
• Grand Rock Treasure by Mike Cox
• Pan Zareta: Queen of the Turf by Clay Coppedge
  Pan Zareta, the greatest filly in horse racing history, set records at race tracks in three countries over the course of six years. She was inducted in the Fair Ground's Racing Hall of Fame in New Orleans, the National Museum Racing's Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York and in the Texas Race Horse Hall of Fame at Retama Park in San Antonio.
• Ad Toepperwein, Trick Shot Artist by Michael Barr
• The "Peculiar Emblem" of Texas by Clay Coppedge
• Not so great escapes by Cay Coppedge
  "... A Nazi POW named Hans Peter Krug, who escaped from a camp in Canada in 1942, was captured in Texas. Armed with a list of contacts to help him reach Mexico and Germany, he made it to San Antonio before a hotel clerk recognized him from a wanted poster..." more
• Checking In With John Ostrow by Michael Barr
• German Artists Draw First Hill Country Images by Michael Barr
  "... Hermann Lungkwitz drew and painted detailed images of Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, San Antonio and Sisterdale... he moonlighted as a photographer in San Antonio. He painted scenery for the San Antonio Casino Club theatrical productions, and he gave private lessons in drawing and painting..."

Family Trip to San Antonio

• Hop on down to San Antone by Jase Graves
  These days, getting all three of my semi-grown daughters together for a family activity is like herding cats who have cars, jobs at coffee shops and their own debit cards. So, when our girls were able to pencil us in for a quick weekend trip to San Antonio, my wife and I jumped at the chance... more

State Parks & Lakes

• Hill Country State Natural Area
  In Bandera and Medina Counties. 45 miles NW of San Antonio.
• Government Canyon State Natural Area
  210/688-9055
  12861 Galm Rd San Antonio TX 78254
• Honey Creek State Natural Area
  830/438-2656
  Approximately 30 miles north of downtown San Antonio in western Comal County.
  c/o Guadalupe River State Park
  3350 Park Road 31 Spring Branch TX 78070
• Victor Braunig Lake
  Highway 37, 17 miles south of San Antonio
• Calaveras Lake
  Off Loop 1604, 20 miles south of San Antonio
• Medina Lake
  40 miles northwest of San Antonio

San Antonio Tourist Information

• San Antonio Visitor Information Center
  317 Alamo Plaza, 1-800-447-3372 www.sanantoniocvb.com
• The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
  602 E. Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX 78205
  Phone: (210) 229-2100 www.sachamber.org/

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