San Antonio Early History! (Tyler, Leon Valley: living in, gardens, design)

[samustang91]

does anyone know about "Salado Valley". I saw it in a map.

[wCat]

SAMustang.....I think we both saw it on the same map. I mentioned it in a reply to Jason regarding the Pape property now owned by the Van Buren family.

If you turn right off Broadway where it dead ends into Wetmore, there is a little group of old small buildings on the left along the airport property. That is just about where Bitters Road came through the Airport before it was added. That intersection is approximately where Salado Valley was. Those little building may have been what's left of Salado Valley. I don't think it was much, other than maybe a little grocer/Post Office....much like Wetmore and Fratt, Tx. Little farming intersections that have been swallowed up by development and the city.

If I had the time, I'd go to the County and research maps. That is my favorite thing to do when I have NOTHING else going on. How fun would that be to dig up little tidbits of info that could eventually be lost forever! Archeology on paper!!!

[satx56]

Originally Posted by wCat

SAMustang.....I think we both saw it on the same map. I mentioned it in a reply to Jason regarding the Pape property now owned by the Van Buren family.

If you turn right off Broadway where it dead ends into Wetmore, there is a little group of old small buildings on the left along the airport property. That is just about where Bitters Road came through the Airport before it was added. That intersection is approximately where Salado Valley was. Those little building may have been what's left of Salado Valley. I don't think it was much, other than maybe a little grocer/Post Office....much like Wetmore and Fratt, Tx. Little farming intersections that have been swallowed up by development and the city.

If I had the time, I'd go to the County and research maps. That is my favorite thing to do when I have NOTHING else going on. How fun would that be to dig up little tidbits of info that could eventually be lost forever! Archeology on paper!!!

Is that little Post Office still there on Wetmore? In the curve I think.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by satx56

Is that little Post Office still there on Wetmore? In the curve I think.

Yes it is! At Wetmore and Thousand Oaks. It was still being used as a Post Office a few years ago. Not so sure about it now. It's so overgrown. I used to oogle over the junk shop stuff in the yard, imagining what I'd turn it into!

[gy2020]

wCat, back in the 80's I was a friend of an archeologist from UTSA who was working on the Alamo. I got to know him pretty well and through research I was able to uncover the battlefield of "The Battle of the Medina" (1810). I found a tree that had a cross at the base and this was where some of the combatants were buried. I located it due south off 281 S. I think that is Atascota County. The initial battle took place along the Medina River near 281 in Bexar County, and then the Spanish feinted back about 10 miles and lured the rebels in. The Spanish (including Lt. Santa Anna) were waiting behind hills on two sides. As the rebels entered following some Spanish soldiers, the main group attacked from two sides and the rebels didn't have a chance. Kind of like a William Wallace thing.

[samustang91]

I didnt know there was small towns in the north side in the early 1900s.

[satx56]

I read sometime back about the ranch that Southwest Research built on. Don't remember anything I read now. Quite a few years back, maybe 20 or so, they moved a really nice old mansion off that property. Think it was deteriorating and someone wanted to preserve it. Anybody recall that?

[wCat]

Originally Posted by satx56

I read sometime back about the ranch that Southwest Research built on. Don't remember anything I read now. Quite a few years back, maybe 20 or so, they moved a really nice old mansion off that property. Think it was deteriorating and someone wanted to preserve it. Anybody recall that?

You are talking about the famous ESSAR Ranch owned by Tom Slick. There was a thread about 6-8 months ago discussing it. Someone posted a picture of the mansion. There are several people here who work at there or used to work there that could tell explain a lot about the property.

If you don't know about Tom Slick, he's sooooo worth reading up on. One of San Antonio's unsung heroes .....or maybe starting to be forgotten with the younger generations. He has lots of family still in San Antonio, but the sort of fly under the public radar. Tom Slick was truly a man before his time. He died in a small plane crash in the early 60's in the Northwest. He was a true adventurer and brilliant entrepreneur .....but always on the cutting edge of science. Some thought he was a bit "crazy"....but he wasn't afraid of public scrutiny. His ideas in the 50's were way beyond the 20th Century. I wonder what he'd think of the state of the world today. AMAZING man!!!!

Being an architect junkie.....I personally think it was a sacrilege for them to tear down that mansion! UGH!

[wCat]

Originally Posted by samustang91

I didnt know there was small towns in the north side in the early 1900s.

SAM......without going into a lot of research, it's hard to know what was considered a "town". It would have to be legally incorporated to be considered a "town"......but in a loose sense, there were lots of little communities that dotted all around Bexar county outside the city limits.

Live Oak
Leon Springs
Bacones Heights
Helotes
Shavano Park
Hollywood Park
St. Hedwig
Universal City
Converse
Jusdon
Windcrest
Castle Hills
Elmendorf
Wetmore
Fratt
Atkins
....just to name a few and not necessarily much older than 50-60 years. Alamo Heights was actually platted in the late 1800's, but the city was not incorporated until 1926.

Some were nothing but post offices for the outlying farming areas....and then grew in population....and then were incorporated later.

Others were just names of "neighborhoods". Some grew and some have disappeared.

[ChrisSA_wxatUIW]

Originally Posted by wCat

I can't wait to see them! (my kids run when I pull out the maps! )


Here's a map of San Antonio in 1909. The large green area to the upper right that says 'drill grounds' is Fort Sam Houston Army Post. Directly across to the left is Brackenridge Park. Right above that is a little tributary with a circle and that denotes the source of the San Antonio River. The branch that runs into that is Olmos Creek. That's the current campus of the University of Incarnate Word. Alamo Heights would be right above that.

You can see that they were attempting a "grid" by this time, but the main streets were already in place. It looks more like a crazy quilt to me!

Oh...also Courtesy of the Texas State Archives General Land Office web site.

acutally the headwaters are in Incarnate Word so that's the site right there. And that east-west street right there must be Hildebrand or it's predecesor