Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) - San Antonio, TX, USA - Orientation Tables on Waymarking.com

Founded in 1718, the Mission San Antonio de Valero is the oldest mission built in the area that has now become San Antonio in Bexar County. The Mission San Antonio de Valero was therefore 118 years old by the time the famous Battle of the Alamo was fought in the struggle for Texas to gain independence from the Republic of Mexico. By 1836, when the Alamo battle was fought, the common reference to the mission was by the name of Alamo. The Spanish word "alamo" means cottonwood and the mission was called that because of the cottonwood trees that grew in abundance along the nearby San Antonio River. But most people now associate the Alamo with the Battle of the Alamo and how the famous loss at the Alamo eventually lead to the victory at San Jacinto, where General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna. The boundary of the Mission San Antonio de Valero was actually much larger than what is represented by the 4 acres of Alamo Plaza that tourist can see and visit. It had its own dam along the San Antonio River that fed water into an acequia, an irrigation system that watered the crops grown by the indiginous Indians to which this mission was built to minister. The Alamo was used as the position of defense against Santa Anna's army because it was originally built as a fortress and had a supply of water and food supplies. Over the years it was used for various purposes or left to decay. It was not until Clara Driscoll bought it to keep it from being destroyed for commercial retail and gave it to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas that it got preserved and restored to represent the importance this mission has in Texas history. This orientation table is in the northwest corner of the open plaza area in front of the famous chapel. It is next to the street, by the long barricks. Orientation tables are useful in helping visitors see the overall layout of the area and to spot features they might find interesting that they otherwise might have overlooked.

Artist / Creator: George Nelson Date of creation: 1996 Location / Access: In the northwest corner of the Alamo plaza. It is close to the street near the corner of the long barricks. The address is 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX.

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