SAN ANTONIO

city, seat (1837) of Bexar county, south-central Texas, U.S., at the headwaters of the San Antonio River on the Balcones Escarpment. One of the largest cities in Texas, it is the focus of a metropolitan area that includes Universal City, Castle Hills, Alamo Heights, Leon Valley, Schertz, and Windcrest. San Antonio was founded May 1, 1718, when a Spanish military expedition from Mexico established a presidio (garrison) and a mission on the site of a Coahuiltecan Indian village. The site, on the river's west bank, was a stopping place on the trail through the Texas wilderness to French trading posts in Louisiana. In 1731 settlers from the Canary Islands laid out a town near the Spanish presidio, and together with the Mission San Antonio de Valero (also established in 1718 across the river) it became known as San Antonio de Bjar (Bxar). The mission, called the Alamo (Spanish: cottonwood tree), was secularized in 1794 and became a military post. At the time of the Mexican Revolution of 1821, San Antonio was, along with Goliad and Nacogdoches, one of three established Spanish communities in Texas. In August of that year, Stephen F. Austin arrived in the city, then seat of the Spanish government in Texas, and obtained a permit for the admission of 300 U.S. families into the territory. During the Texas Revolution (1836), the high moment in Texan history was the siege of the Alamo, when its defenders were massacred by Mexican troops under General Santa Anna. At that time it was still the foremost city of Texas, with 2,500 inhabitants. During the last decades of the 19th century San Antonio, as the starting point for the Chisholm Trail, became a major cattle centre, where herds were assembled for the overland drives to the railheads in Kansas. The city's modern character is flavoured with Spanish influence. It is 150 miles (241 km) from the Mexican border at Laredo, on one of the most travelled routes to Mexico. Much of its population is of Spanish-Mexican descent, and many are Spanish-speaking or are bilingual. Military installations largely account for San Antonio's rapid growth after 1940. Fort Sam Houston (1879), inside the city, is the headquarters of the 5th Army and site of the Academy of Health Sciences, the army's basic school for medical personnel. Also in the city is the Air Force Aerospace Medical Center. Nearby are four air bases. Kelly, the oldest (established 1917), was the advanced flight-training centre of the Air Force but is now concerned with logistics, security, and other services. Adjacent to Kelly is Lackland, a training base for recruits and officer candidates. Randolph Air Force Base, 19 miles northeast, is headquarters of the Air Training Command. Brooks, 7 miles south-southeast, is the site of the Aerospace Medical Division for postgraduate training and advanced research. San Antonio's economy is now well balanced between government, business, manufacturing, education, and tourism. The city is the seat of St. Mary's University (1852), Trinity University (1869), Incarnate Word College (1881), Our Lady of the Lake University (1896), San Antonio College (1925), and the University of Texas at San Antonio (1969). Tourist sites include the Alamo and other Franciscan missions (notably San Jos , a few miles south), the reconstructed Spanish Governor's Palace, La Villita (a section of reconstructed Spanish settlement), and the formally channelled and landscaped San Antonio River, which winds through the downtown area. HemisFair Park, the site of San Antonio's 1968 world's fair, is linked to the central city by canal and used for conventions, exhibitions, and sporting events; its Institute of Texan Cultures traces nationalities of Texas. San Fernando Cathedral (completed 1873) is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric. The Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute contains a notable collection of modern French paintings, and the Witte Memorial Museum houses Texan artifacts. The city's annual fiesta is held in April. Inc. 1809. Pop. (1990) city, 935,393; San Antonio MSA, 1,324,749; (1994 est.) city, 998,905; (1995 est.) San Antonio MSA, 1,460,809.