1691 On June 13, feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, San Antonio River was discovered and named by the Spanish; governor of Spanish colonial province of Texas makes contact with Coahuiltecan Indians.
1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero (later nicknamed the Alamo) founded; presidio San Antonio de Béxar established to protect it and other missions to be built nearby.
1720 Mission San José founded.
1731 Missions Concepción, San Juan Capistrano, and Espada relocated from East Texas to San Antonio area; 15 Canary Island families, sent by Spain to help populate Texas, establish the first civil settlement in San Antonio.
1793-94 The missions are secularized by order of the Spanish crown.
1820 Moses Austin petitions Spanish governor in San Antonio for permission to settle Americans in Texas.
1821 Mexico wins independence from Spain.
1835 Siege of Béxar: first battle for Texas independence from Mexico.
1836 The Alamo falls after 13-day siege by Mexican general Santa Anna; using "Remember the Alamo!" as a rallying cry, Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Republic of Texas established.
1845 Texas annexed to the United States.
1861 Texas secedes from the Union.
1876 Fort Sam Houston established as new quartermaster depot.
1877 The railroad arrives in San Antonio.
1880s King William, first residential suburb, is developed by German immigrants.
1939-40 Works Project Administration builds River Walk, based on plans drawn up in 1929 by architect Robert H. H. Hugman.
1968 HemisFair exposition.
1975 The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) opens campus in north San Antonio.
1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed in San Antonio.
1998 Opening of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art, a three-story, $11-million addition to the San Antonio Museum of Art.
1999 San Antonio Spurs outgrow the Alamodome; funding approved for the new SBC Center. Spurs win the first of many NBA championships.
2002 Opening of SBC Center, new home to the Spurs, the rodeo, and more; now called AT&T Center. Silver Ventures purchases the shuttered Pearl Brewery property and begins its renovation and adaptive reuse projects.
2008 The Culinary Institute of America’s third campus opens in the Pearl Brewery complex.
2009 Museum Reach stretch of the River Walk completed.
2013 Mission Reach section of the River Walk completed.
2015 San Antonio Missions declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
2017 San Antonio designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
2018 300th anniversary of the city’s founding. Citywide celebrations and projects include the completion of Phase One of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
