1.12 - Mexican San Antonio

In 1821, Mexico finally won its independence from Spain. In 1824, the new nation promulgated one of the most enlightened constitutions in the world, establishing a federal republic with clearly-defined civil liberties and checks and balances. San Antonio appeared to be on track to recover from the trauma of 1813 and to emerge from the poverty that old Spanish system had left behind. And the key to their prosperity, they believed, was immigration.

Recommended resource: Stephen Harrigan, They Came from the Sky

Map of San Antonio in 1836 as reconstructed by John D. Rullman, c.1912

c. 1912 - John D. Rullman, city engineer and surveyor, compiled this map from old city and county maps as well as firsthand accounts from private citizens. Through this map, Rullman attempted to reconstruct the City's wards or barrios, streets, acequias, and land ownership within San Antonio de Béxar as it was at the time of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.