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 Spanish and Mexican Land Grants
N 29° 18.240 W 098° 31.487
14R E 546150 N 3241760
In the center of the academic buildings of the TAMU-SA campus, near the Central Academic Building, is a large Texas historical marker telling that this campus is built on land that historically trace back to Spanish and Mexican land grants.
Waymark Code: WM151C9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/26/2021
Views: 3
Texas A&M University system, of which this campus is a part, had its beginning as the first land grant college authorized by the State of Texas. The Texas A&M University system has expanded into being a network of universities dotted across the state. It is appropriate and historical correct to acknowledge that the San Antonio campus of Texas A&M University is built on land which was granted to both Spanish and Mexican governments to individuals who then passed the land rights down to their descendants. It makes it even more important to realize that once again Texas A&M has built a university upon land that can be traced back to the original land grants given by these respective governments. It is consistent with the history of Texas A&M University system's origins.
Marker Number: 18170
Marker Text:
The Texas A&M University – San Antonio campus site was built on land that once was conveyed by Spanish and Mexican land grants and traversed by several branches of El Camino Real de Tierra Afuera del Oriente (also known as El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail). The first inhabitants of the area were Native Americans, who, at the time of discovery by Spanish explorers, were Coahuiltecans. The earliest grant for this site was made to Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in 1720, followed by a grant made to Mission San Francisco de La Espada, founded in 1731 following its transfer from East Texas. Eventually, interspersed within these mission lands were many private Spanish and Mexican land grants made to soldiers and citizens of Béxar. Vaqueros drove thousands of cattle from the mission and private ranch herds eastward to Louisiana in support of the American Revolution and Bernardo de Gálvez’s battles against the British along the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi river. In 1808, Juan Ignacio Pérez (1761-1830) received a large five-league Spanish land grant on both sides of the Medina River. In 1781, he married Clemencia Hernández and became involved with ranching. He purchased the old comandancia, later known as the Spanish Governor’s Palace, from the Menchaca family. Along with his military and political success following the Battle of Medina (1813) on these lands, he was also a leading cattleman of the region. Smaller Mexican grants were eventually made to José de los Ángeles (ángel) Navarro (1784-1836), brother of José Antonio Navarro, Alcalde of San Antonio de Béxar and land commissioner, and José Antonio de la Garza (b.1776), one of the largest landowners in San Antonio. A large portion of campus is situated on the Spanish land grant to Fernando Rodríguez, son-in-law of Juan Ignacio Pérez. Marker is property of the State of Texas (2015)
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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