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72-724: The Colorado in its name refers to the Colorado River of Texas, not the state of Colorado . In the line's early days, it was often called the Harrisburg Road or the Harrisburg Railroad . In 1868, it changed owners and became the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad ( reporting mark GHSA ). It was the oldest component of the Southern Pacific system ( reporting mark SP ). Since

144-541: A dozen subfreezing nights each year, typically seeing snow, sleet, or freezing rain about once every two or three winters, but accumulation and snow itself are very rare. Winters may pass without any frozen precipitation at all, and up to a decade has passed between snowfalls. According to the National Weather Service , there have been 32 instances of snowfall (a trace or more) in the city in the past 122 years, about once every four years. Prior to 2021 snow

216-768: A maximum of 52.28 inches (1,328 mm) and a minimum of 10.11 inches (256.8 mm) in one year. See or edit raw graph data . The U.S. Census Bureau 's 2020 census determined San Antonio had a population of 1,434,625 residents in 2020. In 2019, the American Community Survey estimated San Antonio had a racial makeup of 88.4% White, 6.6% Black and African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race and 1.7% two or more races. Ethnically, 64.5% were Hispanic or Latin American of any race. In 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup

288-480: A notice on May 16, 1840, entitled "Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad," that claimed, "A large number of laborers are engaged at present in throwing up the track and preparing for rails at an early season, and a greater number will soon be employed." The first successful attempt to establish a Harrisburg Railroad line was Texian General Sidney Sherman , a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto . In 1847, Sherman purchased from

360-559: A quality that only New Orleans could rival in what he described as "odd and antiquated foreignness." Following the Civil War, San Antonio prospered as a center of the cattle industry. During this period, it remained a frontier city, with a mixture of cultures that was different from other U.S. cities. German immigrants founded smaller surrounding towns such as New Braunfels , Castroville , Boerne , Comfort , Fredericksburg , and Bulverde , all towns far out from San Antonio. However,

432-704: A total of 56 persons. They joined the military community established in 1718. The immigrants formed the nucleus of the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, the first regularly organized civil government in Texas. Several older families of San Antonio trace their descent from the Canary Island colonists. María Rosa Padrón was the first baby born of Canary Islander descent in San Antonio. During the Spanish–Mexican settlement of Southwestern lands, which took place over

504-574: A transitional humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ) that borders a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSh ) towards the west of the city featuring very hot, long, and humid summers and mild to cool winters. The area is subject to descending northern cold fronts in the winter with cool to cold nights, and is warm and rainy in the spring and fall. San Antonio falls in USDA hardiness zones 8b (15 °F to 20 °F) and 9a (20 °F to 25 °F). San Antonio receives about

576-614: Is a dialect of German that evolved when the German language was separated from Germany. Texas German is best described as an anglicized-German dialect with a Texas twang. Many older generations in New Braunfels and Fredericksburg still speak Texas German to this day. In 1877, following the Reconstruction Era , developers constructed the first railroad to San Antonio, connecting it to major markets and port cities. Texas

648-479: Is also located in Northwest Side. Companies with headquarters in the area include Valero and NuStar Energy . The South Side area of San Antonio is characterized by its predominantly Latino and Hispanic neighborhoods, an average above 81 percent. Large growth came to South Side when Toyota constructed a manufacturing plant . Palo Alto College and Texas A&M University–San Antonio are located in

720-696: Is also the location of upper-middle-class neighborhoods (Deerfield, Churchill Estates, Hunter's Creek, Oak Meadow, and Summerfield). Northwest Side is the location of the main campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio , the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio , and the Northwest Campus of the University of the Incarnate Word , which includes the Rosenberg School of Optometry. The Medical Center District

792-469: Is at the westernmost limit for both Cabbage palmetto ( Sabal palmetto ) and Spanish moss . The native Eastern Subterranean Termite ( Reticulitermes flavipes ) is a common structural pest here. The Formosan Termite ( Coptotermes formosanus ) is an invasive pest originally from the Far East . Researchers at Texas A&M University consider it to be economically devastating. San Antonio has

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864-619: Is generally understood to cover the northern half of the "Downtown Loop"—the area bordered by Cesar Chavez to the south. Due to the size of the city and its horizontal development, downtown accounts for less than one half of one percent of San Antonio's geographic area. The Strip (north of Downtown) houses a concentration of clubs and bars catering to the LGBT community. North Central is home to several enclaves and upscale neighborhoods including Castle Hills , Shavano Park, Hollywood Park , Elm Creek, Inwood , Stone Oak , and Rogers Ranch. The area

936-920: Is joined by five significant tributaries : the Concho River , Pecan Bayou , the Llano River, the San Saba River and the Pedernales River. Beals Creek is also a tributary fed by arroyos such as the Sulphur Springs Draw , the Johnson Draw , and the McKenzie, Seminole, Monument, Mustang, and Midland draws. San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( / ˌ s æ n æ n ˈ t oʊ n i oʊ / SAN an- TOH -nee-oh ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony "), officially

1008-469: Is land and 4.5 square miles (11.7 km ) of it is water. The city's gently rolling terrain is dotted with oak trees, forested land, mesquite, and cacti. The Texas Hill Country reaches into the far northern portions of the city. San Antonio sits on the Balcones Escarpment . Its altitude is approximately 662 feet (202 m) above sea level . The city's primary source of drinking water

1080-604: Is the Edwards Aquifer . Impounded in 1962 and 1969, respectively, Victor Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake were among the first reservoirs in the United States built to use recycled treated wastewater for power plant cooling, reducing the amount of groundwater needed for electrical generation. Downtown San Antonio, the city and metro area's urban core, encompasses many of the city's famous structures, attractions, and businesses. The central business district

1152-532: The City of San Antonio , is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio , the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 2.6 million people in the 2020 US census . It is the most populous city in and the county seat of Bexar County . The city is the seventh-most populous in the United States,

1224-509: The Civil War stopped construction towards Austin, the citizens of Columbus, Texas , constructed a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (4 km) branch track on their own, connecting their town to the rail at Alleyton to avoid being passed by. With the financial collapse of Texas during Reconstruction , the line failed. Fortunate in that it had been constructed using standard gauge , its track and rolling stock were purchased and reincorporated as

1296-795: The Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay . The Colorado River originates south of Lubbock , on the Llano Estacado near Lamesa . It flows generally southeast out of the Llano Estacado and through the Texas Hill Country , then through several reservoirs including Lake J.B. Thomas , E.V. Spence Reservoir , and O.H. Ivie Lake . The river flows through several more reservoirs before reaching Austin, including Lake Buchanan , Inks Lake , Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (commonly referred to as Lake LBJ), and Lake Travis . The Llano River joins

1368-631: The Harrisburg Town Company the unused town lots previously allocated to the failed Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad . He planned to finance the railroad with the proceeds of 1272 unsold lots totaling 3,617 acres (1,464 ha) in Harrisburg, Texas. The plan was to form a strategic relationship with Galveston, bypassing Houston for freight from the Brazos River valley. After finding northern investors, he succeeded in chartering

1440-472: The San Pedro Springs area. They called the vicinity Yanaguana , meaning "refreshing waters". In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon the river and Payaya settlement on June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua . They named the place and river "San Antonio" in his honor. It was years before any Spanish settlement took place. Father Antonio de Olivares visited

1512-627: The San Saba River , near its confluence with the Colorado River. Nearly defenseless and viewed by the Comanche tribe as a territorial invasion, the mission was sacked in 1758 by about 2,000 Comanches and their allies. The Comanche were not effectively challenged on the upper Colorado River for nearly a century. The river is an important source of water for farming, cities, and electrical power production. Major man-made reservoirs on

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1584-657: The Texas Revolution . In a series of battles, the Texian Army succeeded in forcing Mexican soldiers out of the settlement areas east of San Antonio, which were dominated by Americans. Under the leadership of Ben Milam , in the Battle of Bexar , December 1835, Texian forces captured San Antonio from forces commanded by General Martin Perfecto de Cos , Santa Anna's brother-in-law. In the spring of 1836, Santa Anna marched on San Antonio. A volunteer force under

1656-455: The U.S. state of Texas . It is the 11th longest river in the United States and the longest river with both its source and its mouth within Texas. Its drainage basin and some of its usually dry tributaries extend into New Mexico . It flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Ballinger , Marble Falls , Lago Vista , Austin , Bastrop , Smithville , La Grange , Columbus , Wharton , and Bay City , before emptying into

1728-658: The 1996 merger, the former Southern Pacific operates under the Union Pacific name. The old Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado right-of-way was renamed the Union Pacific-Glidden Subdivision, operating between Alleyton, Texas and the former Harrisburg, Texas, which was annexed by Houston. Andrew Briscoe initiated the first attempt to establish a railroad from Harrisburg, Texas, to the Brazos and Colorado Rivers. Houston's Morning Star published

1800-433: The 2010 U.S. census, San Antonio's median income for a household was $ 36,214, and the median income for a family was $ 53,100. Males have a median income of $ 30,061 versus $ 24,444 for females. The per capita income for the city is $ 17,487. About 17.3% of the population and 14.0% of families are below the poverty line . Of the total population, 24.3% of those under the age of 18 and 13.5% of those 65 and older were living below

1872-475: The 2019 American Community Survey, there were 512,273 households and 319,673 families. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.83. Of the local population, 201,960 were married-couple households and 172,741 were female households with no spouse or partner present. An estimated 85,462 households were single-person. Roughly 218,249 residents in San Antonio were foreign-born residents. For every 100 females, San Antonio had 97.1 males. At

1944-595: The Americas , SeaWorld San Antonio , the Alamo Bowl , and Marriage Island . Commercial entertainment includes Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Morgan's Wonderland amusement parks. According to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city is visited by about 32 million tourists a year. It is home to the five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion San Antonio Spurs . It hosts

2016-557: The Canaries to Texas by way of Havana and Veracruz . By June 1730, 25 families had reached Cuba , and 10 families had been sent to Veracruz before orders from Spain came to stop the re-settlement. Under the leadership of Juan Leal Goraz , the group marched overland from Veracruz to the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar, where they arrived on March 9, 1731. Due to marriages along the way, the party now included 15 families,

2088-694: The Colorado at Lake LBJ near Kingsland , and the Pedernales River joins at Lake Travis near Briarcliff . After passing through Austin, the Colorado River continues flowing southeast until emptying into Matagorda Bay on the Gulf of Mexico, near Matagorda . The Colorado River, which means 'red' or 'reddish' river in Spanish, was frequently confused by Spanish explorers with the Brazos River to

2160-594: The Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad. The route was directed towards San Antonio , rather than Austin, using the Columbus branch as part of the new main line . The new owners also constructed the first telegraphs along the route. After reaching San Antonio, the road was continued to El Paso , where it met the Southern Pacific and ensured that that line's transcontinental route would use

2232-489: The Germans were then drawn to San Antonio for work, and many buildings and streets still bear German names such as Wurzbach, Huebner, and Jones Maltsberger, and Wiederstein. The German impact on San Antonio was great, in the early 1900s it is estimated that at least 1/3 of San Antonio was ethnically German. Many descendants of German immigrants in San Antonio spoke Texas German up to the fifth or sixth generations. Texas German

Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-712: The Highland Lakes: Lake J. B. Thomas near Snyder , E.V. Spence Reservoir near Robert Lee , and O.H. Ivie Lake near Ballinger. Flood control and use of the Colorado River is managed by two agencies established by the Texas Legislature : the Upper Colorado River Authority and the Lower Colorado River Authority . There are 11 major reservoirs along the Colorado River. The Colorado River

2376-465: The San Antonio area, resulting in widespread flooding and 12 fatalities. Tornadoes within the city limits have been reported as recently as February 2017, although they seldom occur. An F2 tornado lands within 50 mi (80 km) of the city on average once every five years. San Antonio has experienced two F4 tornadoes, one in 1953 and another in 1973. The 1953 tornado resulted in two deaths and 15 injuries. In San Antonio, July and August tie for

2448-605: The United States . San Antonio is approximately 75 miles (121 km) to the southwest of its neighboring city, Austin , the state capital , about 150 miles (240 km) from the Mexico-United States border , about 190 miles (310 km) west of Houston , and about 250 miles (400 km) south of the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The city has a total area of 465.4 square miles (1,205.4 km ); 460.93 square miles (1,193.8 km ) of San Antonio's total area

2520-589: The United States into the territory; they mostly occupied land in the eastern part. In 1835, when Antonio López de Santa Anna unilaterally abolished the Mexican Constitution of 1824 , violence ensued in many states of Mexico . which led to many short-lived independent republics. This, in addition to Mexico's abolition of slavery, and cultural differences between the Texians and the Mexicans, led to

2592-406: The annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo , one of the largest such events in the U.S. The U.S. Armed Forces have numerous facilities in and around San Antonio; Fort Sam Houston , which has Brooke Army Medical Center within it, is the only one within the city limits. Lackland Air Force Base , Randolph Air Force Base , Kelly Air Force Base , Camp Bullis , and Camp Stanley are outside

2664-708: The area. The East Side of San Antonio is home to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo , the Frost Bank Center , and the Freeman Coliseum . This area has the largest concentration of Black and African American residents. The West Side is predominantly Hispanic/Latin American and working class, with pockets of wealth in the northwest and far west. African Americans are also located in parts of San Antonio's West Side. The West Side has undergone gentrification as of 2019. It includes

2736-459: The average warmest months, with an average high of 95 °F (35 °C). The highest temperature ever recorded was 111 °F (44 °C) on September 5, 2000. The average coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature ever was 0 °F (−18 °C) on January 31, 1949. May, June, and October have quite a bit of precipitation. Since recordkeeping began in 1871, the average annual precipitation has been 29.03 inches (737 mm), with

2808-656: The cause of Texas freedom and "Remember the Alamo" became a rallying cry in the Texian Army's eventual success at defeating Santa Anna's army. Juan Seguín , who organized the company of Tejano patriots, who fought for Texas independence, fought at the Battle of Concepción , the Siege of Bexar , and the Battle of San Jacinto , and served as mayor of San Antonio. He was forced out of office due to threats on his life by sectarian newcomers and political opponents in 1842, becoming

2880-683: The city limits. San Antonio is home to four Fortune 500 companies and the South Texas Medical Center , the only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region. San Antonio is also one of the largest majority-Hispanic cities in the United States, with 64% of its population being Hispanic . At the time of European encounter, the Payaya people lived near the San Antonio River Valley in

2952-574: The city until the 18th. The February 15–20, 2021, North American winter storm dropped another 1–2 inches (2.5–5 cm) on the city on the 16th. San Antonio and New Braunfels , 40 miles (64 km) to the northeast, are some of the most flood-prone regions in North America. The October 1998 Central Texas floods were among the costliest floods in United States history, resulting in $ 750 million in damage and 32 deaths. In 2002, from June 30 to July 7, 35 in (890 mm) of rain fell in

Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-406: The city's population was distributed as 28.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. In San Antonio, 48% of the population were males, and 52% of the population were females. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males. At

3096-418: The city's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race. According to the 2000 U.S. census , the city proper had a population of 1,144,646, ranking it the ninth-most populated city in the country. San Antonio has a relatively lower cost of living compared to most Texas and U.S. major cities and a strong job market. However, due to San Antonio's low density and relatively small suburban population,

3168-500: The city). In 1990, the United States Census Bureau reported San Antonio's population as 55.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.0% Black or African American, and 36.2% non-Hispanic white. The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and The Alamo became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2015 and the city was designated a UNESCO "City of Creativity for Gastronomy" in 2017, one of only 26 gastronomy creative cities in

3240-422: The command of James C. Neill occupied and fortified the deserted Alamo mission. Upon his departure, the joint command of William Barrett Travis and James Bowie were left in charge of defending the old mission. The Battle of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836. The outnumbered Texian force was ultimately defeated, with all of the Alamo defenders killed. These men were seen as "martyrs" for

3312-547: The company by act of the Texas legislature on February 11, 1850, and organizing it on June 1 of that year. Jonathan F. Barrett was the company's first president, and the company included some of the leading men of the state: General Sherman himself, Hugh McLeod , John G. Tod , John Angier , William Marsh Rice , Ebenezer Allen , William A. van Alstyne , James H. Stevens , Benjamin A. Shepherd , and William J. Hutchins . Surveying began in 1851 near Buffalo Bayou . The roadbed

3384-485: The current boundaries of Mexico; they fell into internal conflict and turmoil with neighboring entities. San Antonio grew to become the largest Spanish settlement in Texas; it was designated as the capital of the Spanish, later Mexican, province of Tejas . From San Antonio, the Camino Real (today Nacogdoches Road), was built to the small frontier town of Nacogdoches . Mexico allowed European American settlers from

3456-541: The diverse neighborhoods of Avenida Guadalupe, Collins Garden, Las Palmas, Prospect Hill, Rainbow Hills (Marbach), San Juan Gardens, Loma Park, Loma Vista, Memorial Heights, and Westwood. It is also home to the historic Our Lady of the Lake University and St. Mary's University . Natural vegetation in the San Antonio area (where undisturbed by development) includes oak-cedar woodland, oak grassland savanna, chaparral brush, and riparian (stream) woodland. San Antonio

3528-529: The following century, Juan Leal Goraz Jr. was a prominent figure. He claimed nearly 100,000 sq miles (153,766 acres) as Spanish territory and held some control for nearly three decades; this area stretched across six present-day states. San Antonio was designated as Leal Goraz's capital. It represented Mexican expansion into the area. With his robust military forces, he led exploration and establishing Spanish colonial bases as far as San Francisco, California . Widespread bankruptcy forced Leal Goraz Jr.'s army back into

3600-518: The last Tejano mayor for nearly 150 years. In 1845, the United States finally decided to annex Texas and include it as a state in the Union. This led to the Mexican–American War . Though the U.S. ultimately won, the war was devastating to San Antonio. By its end, the population of the city had been reduced by almost two-thirds, to 800 inhabitants. Bolstered by migrants and immigrants, by 1860 at

3672-399: The metropolitan area ranked just 30th in the United States, with a population of 1,592,383 in 2000. San Antonio has a large Hispanic population with a significant African American population. The 2011 U.S. census estimate for the eight-county San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area placed its population at 2,194,927. The 2017 estimate for Greater San Antonio was 2,473,974, making it

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3744-655: The mission complex. Differences between Alarcón and Olivares resulted in delays, and construction did not start until 1718. Olivares built, with the help of the Payaya and the Pastia people , the Misión de San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) , the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar , the bridge that connected both, and the Acequia Madre de Valero . The families who clustered around the presidio and mission were

3816-696: The mission. On February 14, 1719, the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo proposed to the king of Spain that 400 families be transported from the Canary Islands , Galicia , or Havana to populate the province of Texas. His plan was approved, and notice was given the Canary Islanders ( isleños ) to furnish 200 families; the Council of the Indies suggested that 400 families should be sent from

3888-422: The new hub. Later, the City of Houston annexed Harrisburg, making the former town a neighborhood within Houston, some of which was developed as the Port of Houston. At the end of 1924 (before adding SA&AP), it operated 1,380 miles (2,220 km) of railroad on 1,890 miles (3,040 km) of track. Colorado River (Texas) The Colorado River is an approximately 862-mile-long (1,387 km) river in

3960-444: The north. The European discoverer of these two neighboring rivers called the present Colorado River the Brazos de Dios , and called the present Brazos the Colorado River. The two names would later be reversed. The upper Colorado River was controlled by Comanches from the early 18th century to the late 19th century. In 1757, Spanish Texas attempted to establish an outlying Catholic mission ( Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá ) on

4032-410: The older historic buildings were demolished in the process of this modernization. Since the late twentieth century, San Antonio has had steady population growth . The city's population has nearly doubled in 35 years, from just over 650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.2 million in 2005, through both population growth and land annexation (the latter has considerably enlarged the physical area of

4104-413: The poverty line. In 2019, households had a median income of $ 53,571 and a mean income of $ 72,587. An estimated 16.8% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. The city of San Antonio and its metropolis was rated the poorest in 2019. A Gallup study in 2015 determined 4% of the city and Greater San Antonio identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender . In 2016, San Antonio scored

4176-412: The regional divide between South and Central Texas , San Antonio anchors the southwestern corner of an urban megaregion colloquially known as the Texas Triangle . Downtown Austin and Downtown San Antonio are approximately 80 miles (129 km) apart, and both fall along the I-35 corridor. This combined metropolitan region of San Antonio–Austin has approximately 5 million people. San Antonio

4248-464: The river include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls , Lake Travis, Lake Austin , Town Lake now called Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Collectively, these lakes are known as the Highland Lakes . In addition to power plants operating on each of the major lakes, waters of the Colorado are used for cooling the South Texas Nuclear Project near Bay City. The Colorado River Municipal Water District owns and operates three reservoirs upstream of

4320-455: The sale of town lots in Harrisburg, so the railroad and the town were part of the same enterprise. The Harrisburg Railroad brought the city some prosperity, but the Tap connected Houston to the B.B.B.C. lines in 1858 and after Charles Morgan 's Texas and New Orleans Railroad completed a connection between Houston and New Orleans in 1880, even the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio line sold their properties within Harrisburg and moved to

4392-486: The second-largest in the Southern United States , and the second-most populous in Texas after Houston . Founded as a Spanish mission and colonial outpost in 1718, the city in 1731 became the first chartered civil settlement in what is now present-day Texas. The area was then part of the Spanish Empire . From 1821 to 1836, it was part of the Mexican Republic . It is the oldest municipality in Texas, having celebrated its 300th anniversary on May 1, 2018. Straddling

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4464-418: The site in 1709, and he was determined to found a mission and civilian settlement there. The viceroy gave formal approval for a combined mission and presidio in late 1716, as he wanted to forestall any French expansion into the area from their colony of La Louisiane to the east, as well as prevent illegal trading with the Payaya. He directed Martín de Alarcón , the governor of Coahuila y Tejas , to establish

4536-470: The southern portion of Texas rather than the north. Sometimes the line is represented as originating in Houston . While the extant tracks currently have their eastern terminus at the Port of Houston , this location was within the boundaries of Harrisburg, Texas when the Harrisburg Railroad was originally developed. In the mid-19th century, the two cities were several miles apart and in stiff competition with one another. In fact, railroad raised capitol through

4608-404: The start of Villa de Béjar, destined to become the most important town in Spanish Texas . On May 1, the governor transferred ownership of the Mission San Antonio de Valero (later famous as The Alamo) to Fray Antonio de Olivares. On May 5, 1718, he commissioned the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar ("Béjar" in modern Spanish orthography) on the west side of the San Antonio River, one-fourth league from

4680-438: The start of the American Civil War , San Antonio had grown to a city of 15,000 people. In the 1850s Frederick Law Olmsted , the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City, traveled throughout the Southern and Southwest U.S., and published accounts of his observations. In his 1859 book about Texas, Olmsted described San Antonio as having a "jumble of races, costumes, languages, and buildings", which gave it

4752-435: The third-most populous metro area in Texas (after the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and Greater Houston ) and the 24th-most populous metro area in the U.S. About 405,474 households, and 280,993 families resided in San Antonio. The population density as of 2010 was 2,808.5 people per square mile (1,084.4 people/km ). There were 433,122 housing units at an average density of 1,062.7 per square mile (410.3/km ). The age of

4824-404: The world. With the increase in professional jobs, San Antonio has become a destination for many college-educated persons, most recently including African Americans in a reverse Great Migration from northern and western areas. Over 31,000 migrants who requested asylum have been released by the Border Patrol into the city in 2019 during the National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of

4896-603: Was 23.4% non-Hispanic white, 63.9% Hispanic or Latin American of any race, 6.5% Black and African American, 3.2% Asian, and 2.3% multiracial or some other race. According to the 2010 U.S. census , 1,327,407 people resided in San Antonio city proper, an increase of 16.0% since 2000. The racial composition of the city based on the 2010 U.S. census is as follows: 72.6% White ( non-Hispanic whites : 26.6%), 6.9% Black or African American , 0.9% Native American , 2.4% Asian , 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander , 3.4% two or more races , and 13.7% other races . In addition, 63.2% of

4968-463: Was graded by Benjamin Franklin Terry , who would later lead Terry's Texas Rangers . The next year, the first locomotive, the General Sherman , was received and the first track laid. By August 1853, twenty miles (32 km) had been completed to Stafford Point . The charter called for the line to connect Harrisburg to the state capitol at Austin . The line reached Richmond on the Brazos in 1855, Eagle Lake in 1859, and Alleyton in 1860. Although

5040-407: Was most recently seen on December 7, 2017, when 1.9 inches (4.8 cm) of snow coated the city. On January 13, 1985, San Antonio received a record snowfall of 16 inches (41 cm). During the February 13–17, 2021, North American winter storm , San Antonio was blanketed with 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) of snow. The cold air which accompanied this storm caused massive rolling blackouts throughout

5112-402: Was named by a 1691 Spanish expedition for the Portuguese priest Saint Anthony of Padua , whose feast day is June 13. The city contains five 18th-century Spanish frontier missions, including The Alamo and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park . Together these were designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2015. Other notable attractions include the River Walk , the Tower of

5184-491: Was the first state to have major cities develop by railroads rather than waterways. In Texas, the railroads supported a markedly different pattern of development of major interior cities, such as San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth , compared to the historical development of coastal port cities in the established eastern states. At the beginning of the 20th century, the streets of the city's downtown were widened to accommodate street cars and modern traffic. At that time, many of

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