Old San Pedro Springs

The springs were public ground from the start. When King Philip V granted six leagues to San Antonio in 1729, the springs and the land around them were declared public land for all settlers, and after the Canary Islanders arrived an acequia was dug from the main lake to their settlement. The city dedicated the park as a public square on November 6, 1852, which makes it the oldest park in Texas. Frederick Law Olmsted visited in 1854 and found "a wooded spot of great beauty" with a restaurant and beer garden. Army camels were stabled here in 1856.

What the plaque says

Old San Pedro Springs--near this site--noted camping spot 5 miles from city. Used by U.S. Army, Mexican War, 1846-48. Often scene of summer picnics and political speeches, 1850's. On surrender to confederate Texas of all federal troops in state, it was site of prisoner of war camp for a short time. For Quarters, prisoners built dugouts and brush arbors. Later, campsite for confederate soldiers moving toward western frontier, for troops of Arizona-New Mexico campaign, for units coming from the Rio Grande to new assignments, and for raw recruits in camps of instruction. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Spanish Governor's Palace — 1.5 mi
  The last visible piece of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar: a presidio captain's house with a 1749 keystone, a century as shops and saloons, and a romantic 1930 restoration.
• San Fernando Cathedral — 1.5 mi
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.
• Casa Navarro State Historic Site — 1.6 mi
  The adobe and caliche-block home of José Antonio Navarro, a native-born signer of the 1836 declaration, and the last remnant of the Tejano neighborhood called Laredito.
• The Alamo — 1.6 mi
  Mission San Antonio de Valero before it was a fort: a church its builders never finished, a thirteen-day siege in 1836, and the Army gable of 1850-52 that became its emblem.

More markers nearby

• Committee on Public Safety — steps away
• 9th Cavalry at San Pedro Springs — steps away
• The Woman's Club of San Antonio — 0.3 mi
• Monte Vista Historic District — 0.5 mi