San Antonio, Texas
Population: 1,144,646
Located in Bexar County
The gateway city to southern Texas, modern San Antonio remains as much vaquero as it is 'buckaroo' - where Spanish saludos are just as likely to greet your ears as the ubiquitous 'Howdy.' After 280 years of evolution, it has one of the Lone Star State's most stroll-worthy downtown areas, one whose Texican roots and Spanish origins are visible everywhere. It's the only city in the U.S. that has five original Spanish Colonial missions within its limits, where the mission churches still function. And, the aqueducts still carry water to local farmers. It's also probably the most important - or at least the most visible - melding of American and Mexican lives and cultures in the U.S. Locals joke that the mix is what lends San Antonio its laid back feel - everyone here's on San Antonio Standard Time. Nevertheless, it's not all 'mañana syndrome' in San Antonio: SA (as most locals call it) bustles as the nation's 10th largest city and the state's biggest tourism draw. San Antonio was established as a Spanish military garrison in 1718, though Europeans had been pestering the local Indian tribes since 1691. The original settlement, along San Pedro Creek, was moved to what's now downtown San Antonio in 1724 as the Misión San Antonio de Valero, later to be renamed the Alamo. During the 1810-1821 Mexican Revolution, common interests in securing freedom from Spain had Americans fighting alongside Mexicans in several key battles. At the war's end, though Texas became a Mexican state, 3500 American settlers quickly moved into the area. After the seven month Texas War for Independence from Mexico (1835-1836), San Antonio boomed as a cattle town. European migrants, including vast numbers of Germans and Czechs, began settling the area. In 1879, Fort Sam Houston was established by the U.S. Army. The city's subsequent growth was largely due to military presence; 'Fort Sam' was joined by Kelly Air Force Base in 1917, followed by Lackland, Randolph and Brooks Air Force bases. Today, all the city's easygoing atmosphere can't hide that it's a major trade zone, and a nationally known college town, with significant beer, petroleum and livestock industries, in addition to emerging biotechnology and high-tech companies.
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