History
Gustav Blersch House
This house is one of three standing Antebellum structures in the King William Historic District. Gustav Blersch, a German immigrant, importer and retail dealer, built this two-story limestone home in 1860 with designer Gustave Freisleben and contractor John Hermann Kampmann. Blersch sold the property to banker James T. Thornton in 1871.
History
Halff House
Mayer Halff (1836-1905) immigrated to Texas from Lauterborg, Alsace Lorraine, France, in 1850. In partnership with his brother Solomon, he opened a mercantile business in Liberty and began a cattle ranching enterprise. They moved to San Antonio in 1864 and established M. Halff & Brother, a wholesale dry goods company.
Military
Hamilton P. Bee
Secretary 1st Texas Senate, Legislator 1849. Speaker of House 1854-1856. Served campaigns against Comanches. Lieutenant, Cavalry, Mexican War 1846. Confederate presidential elector 1861. Brigadier General State Militia 1861. Appointed same rank Confederate Army 1862. In command Western District, Texas, keeping vital cotton road open to Mexico.
History
Helotes
According to archeologists, human occupation of the Helotes area dates to about 7000 years before present, when small bands of Nomadic Indians who migrated seasonally in search of food and game camped in this vicinity. Early Texas pioneer John M.
History
Hendrick Arnold
Participated in the capture of Bexar, December 5 to 10 1835 - - - Born in Kentucky 1804 - Died November 9, 1849 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Idlewild Community (Ghost Town)
This farming community was a growing settlement in July of 1867 when a group of Indians on horseback attacked Romanus Gross, age 51, and his 19-year-old son George on land belonging to the elder Gross' son-in-law, Michael Kauffmann. A party of men from Castroville was in pursuit of the Indians, who had been accused of stealing horses. Both Grosses were shot in the side; George was scalped.
History
In Re Ricardo Rodriguez
In 1896, a court case involving Ricardo Rodríguez brought attention to questions of citizenship and voting rights for Mexican Texans. Although several actions had granted citizenship to large numbers of Tejanos during the 1800s, some sought to disenfranchise the group. In 1896, Rodríguez came before Federal District Judge Thomas S. Maxey to gain approval for his American citizenship request.
History
In this vicinity the Battle of Rosillo
In this vicinity the Battle of Rosillo was fought on March 28, 1813. Here the "Republican Army of the North" composed of Anglo-Americans, Mexicans and Indians defeated, with heavy loss of life, Spanish Royalists troops commanded by Manuel de Salcedo, Governor of Texas. The prisoners of war were brutally murdered shortly afterwards by order of Colonel Bernardo Gutierrez.
History
Incarnate Word College
Noted for quality educational programs, this institution grew from a teaching charter granted in 1881 to the sisters of charity of the incarnate word. In 1893 a boarding and day school known as incarnate word academy was established. By 1909 a collegiate program ha developed from the Academy, and the first bachelor's degree was conferred in 1910.
History
Italian American Community in San Antonio
Italian immigrants began arriving in San Antonio in the 1870s. By 1890 a number of families had established an Italian neighborhood northwest of downtown. In April of that year a small group gathered together in a fruit store at the corner of Commerce Street and Plaza de Armas to organize a benevolent association.
History
J.M. and Birdie Nix House
Alabama natives Joseph Madison and Birdie Lanier Nix moved to San Antonio in the early 1890s. J.M. was a businessman who built hotels and other structures. In 1899, the couple built twin houses at 434 and 432 King William. The Free Classic design of this house, the work of Atlee B.
Architecture
Jay Adams House
Developer Jay E. Adams came to San Antonio from Denver in 1888 to invest in real estate. His main focus was an area north of the city that he named Laurel Heights. To set the standard for construction, he built this three-story Queen Anne-style house designed by Solon McAdoo and Albert P. Woolley. The home is built of rusticated limestone and wood.
History
Jefferson Davis Smith
(1862-1940) Jefferson (Jeff) Davis Smith, son of Henry M. and Fanny (Short) Smith, was born in Kendall County, Texas. Jeff, age 9, and his brother Clint, age 11, were kidnapped by Lipan and Comanche Indians while herding sheep near their home in 1871. Jeff was reportedly bought by Apache Chief Geronimo and made to join his tribe.
History
John "Jack" Coker
(May 10, 1789-Jan. 4, 1861) Came from South Carolina to Texas in 1834. Served in Battle of San Jacinto in Texas War for Independence, 1836. Was one of a party with "Deaf" Smith that destroyed Vince's Bridge near Pasadena. This deed may have kept Santa Anna's army from retreat or reinforcement, thus insuring Texan victory.
History
John Salmon "Rip" Ford
Here Rests in Peace--John Salmon ("Rip") Ford May 26, 1815- November 3, 1897. Native South Carolinan, Pioneer doctor and editor, Republic of Texas Congressman, twice state Senator, Jack Hay's adjutant in war with Mexico, fearless Ranger Captain in border and Indian campaigns, Confederate colonel, Mayor of Austin and Brownsville, member Constitutional Convention of 1875, superintendent State Deaf…
History
John T. Floore Country Store
In 1945, as the Second World War drew to a close, John T. Floore, manager of San Antonio's Majestic Theatre, purchased land in this vicinity. He created the Floore Subdivision, planning it as a center for the community of Helotes, which had developed at the site of a centuries-old stream crossing for travelers. Floore and his wife originally operated a Red and White Store.
History
John W. Smith
Great early San Antonio leader, a native of North Carolina. Moved to Illinois, then to Missouri, where he was sheriff of Rawls County in 1824. Came to Texas with Green DeWitt in 1826 and settled at Gonzales. Smith moved to San Antonio in 1828 and was soon in banking-mercantile, brokerage-contracting business.
History
Jose Antonio Navarro
A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Born in San Antonio February 27, 1795. Died January 13, 1871. His wife Margarita De La Garza Navarro. Born October 17, 1801. Died July 8, 1861. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Jose Francisco Ruiz
(January 29, 1783 - January 20, 1840) One of two native Texans who signed Declaration of Independence and helped found Republic of Texas. Ruiz, born in San Antonio, son of a wealthy rancher, was educator in Spain. Upon returning home, he was appointed school teacher by order of the cabildo (city government). He marred Josepha Hernandez, of one of city's founding families; had two children.
History
Kelly Air Force Base
As World War I raged in Europe, the United States began to build up and expand its military aviation forces. In his search for a new army aviation training site, Maj. Benjamin Foulois found 700 acres of flat farmland with a water supply near the Missouri-Pacific rail line, then seven miles south of San Antonio. With the help of U.S.
History
King William Neighborhood
The King William neighborhood is located on the former farmlands of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). The 216-acre area, less than one mile from the former mission, includes two National Register districts. It is bounded generally by Cesar Chavez Blvd. on the north, Eagleland St. on the south, St. Marys St. on the east, and the San Antonio River on the west.
History
King's Highway - Camino Real - Old San Antonio Road
King's Highway - Camino Real - Old San Antonio Road. Marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the State of Texas A. D. 1918
History
Krause House/Mann's Crossing Post Office
Anton F. Krause and Johanna Roesler emigrated from Austria to Texas in 1854. Like many new arrivals, they walked most of the way from the Texas coast to San Antonio, where they were married in the San Fernando Church in May 1855. In 1875 they sold their San Antonio store and saloon and moved with their six children to southwestern Bexar County near Mann's Crossing.
History
L. B. Clegg House
A native of North Carolina, Luther Bynum Clegg (1873-1955) founded the San Antonio Printing Company. He commissioned noted architect Harvey Page (1859-1934) to design this house in 1901-02. Page later characterized the residence as one of his most interesting. Page is believed to have remodeled the structure after Roy M. Bitel purchased it from Clegg in 1925. Mrs.
Architecture
Locke Hill Auditorium
In 1934, the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an auditorium on the original Locke Hill school grounds. Federal workers constructed the limestone building out of stone from a nearby quarry. Built to address the county superintendent's call for school improvements, the auditorium served as a central community space.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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