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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.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- SAN ANTONIO DE VALERO MISSION
- OLIVARES, ANTONIO DE SAN BUENAVENTURA Y
- ALAMO
- FRANCISCANS
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- New Dallas NBA team franchised (1980)
- Cyclone hits Mobeetie (1898)
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