Capturing the spirit of Texas, San Antonio is a Mecca for history buffs. From its Native American occupation to Spanish explorers’ discovery, old missions, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Old West, this beautiful city’s history and attractions can entertain visitors for days.

When Spanish expeditions first explored the area in 1691 and 1709, a small Indian community called the Yanaguana already occupied it, established in the San Pedro Springs area. The first Spanish explorers named the San Antonio River after the feast day of St. Anthony.

Father Antonio Olivares founded the city in 1718 by establishing Mission San Antonio de Valero.

Soon, five Spanish missions, chartered by the Canary Islanders, were located along the river. The presidial captain’s house (later the Spanish Governor’s Palace) was completed on the Military Plaza in 1749, and San Fernando de Béxar Church was built by 1758. In 1773, San Antonio de Béxar became the capital of Spanish Texas.

By 1778, the settlement’s population of more than 2,000 comprised poor Indians and settlers, and visitors described it as “miserable.”

By 1795, all the missions had been repurposed, and Mission San Antonio de Valero became a military barracks. Later, it became known as the Alamo. During the Texas Revolution, San Antonio was the site of several battles, including the siege of Bexar in December 1835 and the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, making it one of North America’s most fought-over cities. In the Battle of the Alamo, 189 defenders held the old mission against some 4,000 Mexican troops for 13 days. The cry “Remember the Alamo” soon became the rallying point of the Texan revolution against Mexico.

After the Mexican forces evacuated, the Republic of Texas organized Bexar County in December 1836, and San Antonio was chartered as its seat in January 1837. A failed attempt to negotiate the release of captives held by Comanche Indians resulted in yet another battle in the streets of San Antonio, referred to as the Council House Fight of 1840. San Antonio was seized twice during the Mexican invasions of 1842, and its population fell to about 800 in 1846.

After Texas entered the Union, growth accelerated as the city became a service and distribution center for the West. By 1850, the city had increased to nearly 3,500, and a decade later, to more than 8,000.

In 1861, local militia forced the surrender of the federal arsenal in San Antonio, even before the state seceded on March 2. San Antonio then served as a Confederate depot, where several Confederate units were formed. After the Civil War, San Antonio prospered as a cattle, distribution, mercantile, and military center serving the border region and the Southwest.

The city served as the southern hub and supplier of cattle trail drives. Importing merino sheep to the adjacent Hill Country created an important wool market. With the coming of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway in 1877, San Antonio, formerly without a transportation system, entered a new era of economic growth.

The population exceeded 20,000 in 1880. In 1881, a second railroad reached the city, and by 1900, five different railroads had encroached upon it. By this time, San Antonio had become the largest city in the state, with more than 50,000 residents.

As the city grew and expanded, San Antonio merged its past with each generation’s modernization. Old Spanish walls remain beside modern glass towers, with rows of Victorian mansions a block away, a combination that lends the city a charm sought out by millions of visitors.

Nearly twenty million visitors today delight in discovering San Antonio’s charms a year.

A tour of downtown San Antonio will uncover centuries of history, including:

— La Villita, one of the original settlements in the area, comprised Spanish soldiers and their families.

— The Spanish Governor’s Palace, which was the seat of government when San Antonio was the capital of the Spanish Province of Texas

— The San Fernando Cathedral, where construction began in 1731 by Canary Islanders

— The Jose Antonio Navarro State Historical Park, home of Navarro, a central figure in the formation of Texas

— Market Square, the largest Mexican marketplace outside of Mexico

— Steve’s Homestead is a mansion open to the public in the King William Historic District.

San Antonio is also famous for its Riverwalk, the Alamo, the five-time NBA Champion Spurs basketball team, the Tower of the Americas, and being home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks.

The city’s jewel is Paseo del Rio, or River Walk, which meanders through downtown and is lined with shops, bars, restaurants, and the Arneson River Theater. During the Christmas and New Year holidays, this attraction becomes an impressive festival of lights.

The downtown area also features HemisFair Park (home of the Tower of the Americas and the Institute of Texan Cultures, La Villita, El Mercado, and the city’s most widely recognized landmark, the Alamo.

Other places of interest include Brackenridge Park (home of the San Antonio Zoo), the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, the Witte Museum, and the McNay Art Museum.

Every April, San Antonio hosts Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day celebration of the city’s diverse cultures and the heroes of the Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, featuring over 100 events held throughout the city. Visitors can also experience cowboy culture every February at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo; year-round, they can see the 40-foot-tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall.