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Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program

Get to Know San Antonio

Any city is the result of many years of accumulated layers of history. In Texas, that history is usually fairly short, as most of its towns and cities did not develop significantly until the mid-1800s, but some towns reveal a much longer history.

The Spanish built San Antonio according to very specific 1593 rules set by the Spanish crown for laying out new towns. Called the “Law of the Indies,” these rules dictated the way the plaza was built, the position of important buildings, and street patterns among many other things.

But long before the first Spanish explorer appeared, the San Antonio River was home to Payaya Indians whose name for it translated by some as “sacred waters.”

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