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History of Alamo Plaza From Its Beginning to the Present
No full textPrevious histories of the Alamo area have primarily emphasized the old mission chapel and the battle of the Alamo which occurred in 1836. Little attention has been given to the surrounding area which was actually the larger part of the old mission and the place where most of the events occurred. This work is a brief history of the plaza from its beginning to the present time including some of the events which influenced its development.
From open countryside to a peaceful mission courtyard; a bloody battlefield; a neglected area; a teeming transportation center with stagecoaches arriving and departing with great clatter; and finally to a commercial center; the transition of the plaza took over two hundred years. Now the plaza is the setting for important civic events and the location of the most famous monument to Texas independence, the Alamo
James P. Newcomb, Texas Unionist and Radical Republican
No full textJames P. Newcomb\u27s life spanned turbulent times in Texas. From the Nova Scotian\u27s arrival in Texas in 1839 until his death in 1907, Newcomb witnessed many major changes in his adopted state. As he grew older, he played an increasingly important part in the state\u27s affairs. Although intended to be a warts-and-all biography, this thesis concentrates on Newcomb\u27s involvement with newspapers and politics from the time of his first venture in journalism in 1854 until his appointment as Texas\u27 Secretary of State in 1870. Reconstruction receives extended treatment because it was during this period that Newcomb emerged from relative obscurity and assumed a leading role in the direction of Texas\u27 political life.
As editor of three ante-bellum San Antonio newspapers, Newcomb wrote knowledgeably of Texas government, but he was not one of the state\u27s guiding spirits. The theme of his papers was unionism, a cause which Newcomb championed until forced to flee to California in mid-1861. On the West Coast he prospected, married, and continued to work as a journalist. For several years he was associated with the San Francisco American Flag, an outspoken Union paper which first introduced Newcomb to Radical Republicanism. When he returned to Texas in 1867, Newcomb became co-owner of the San Antonio Express. His influence grew rapidly. Owing to his belief in the Radical Reconstruction cause, he lent the voice of his paper to the growing Republican movement in Texas. When Texas Republicans split, Newcomb cast his lot with the Radical faction led by Edmund J. Davis. Davis\u27 election as governor in 1869 assured Newcomb\u27s political and journalistic future as long as the Radicals remained in control. In 1870 he became Secretary of State and editor of the Austin State Journal, official organ of the Davis administration. Ahead lay four years of Radical rule for Texas, a rule so unpopular that it stifled Republicanism in Texas for a century. But in January, 1870, the Radicals knew nothing of ultimate defeat; they looked forward to a long period of peace, prosperity, and Republicanism. This thesis leaves them there-on the verge of success, on the precipice of failure
Art Work of San Antonio
Full text linkPhotographs, with introductory text, of San Antonio (Texas) scenes and architecture during the late 19th century