San Antonio de Valero Mission Founded

[Craig Tx]

From the Texas State Historical Association

Mission, precursor of the Alamo, founded at San Antonio


On this day in 1718, San Antonio de Valero Mission was founded by Franciscan father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares at the site of present-day San Antonio. Four days later the nearby San Antonio de Béxar Presidio and the civil settlement, Villa de Béxar, were established.

The mission, originally located west of San Pedro Springs, survived three moves and numerous setbacks during its early years. After a hurricane destroyed most of the existing buildings in 1724, the mission reached its latest site on the east bank of the San Antonio River.

After the mission was secularized in 1793 it became the Alamo. Due to its rudimentary fortifications, the abandoned mission became an objective of military importance in the conflicts of the nineteenth century, and it changed hands at least sixteen times.

Portions of the mission's structures have survived as part of the Alamo Battlefield Shrine.


Craig