The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 88
641 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
stones placed. This measurement was made in conformity with the
orders mentioned with the difference in varas indicated for the reason
that to the southeast it was impossible to lay off lands in a quadri-
lateral for the reasons above mentioned-that the middle of the San
Antonio River had been reached and this is the dividing line and
boundary between the lands of this settlement and those of the mis-
sion. Therefore, the amount lacking in this direction was added to
the three remaining measurements. This quadrilateral, although an
imperfect one, was laid off with all possible care; the lands measured
off for the town proper, those for the commons, as well as those for
the pasture lands, and those of the final measurement [arable lands]
lay between the following boundaries: to the east, the San Antonio
River; to the west, the Arroyo de Leon; to the south, the lands of
the mission San Jos6, through the Paso de Nogalitos; and to the
north, the Arroyo Salado. ...
On July i, Almazin distributed the plots of land which could
be irrigated to the heads of the sixteen families by lots. That in-
cluded in the "Potrero," the land enclosed on three sides by the
San Antonio River, was reserved to the city, but the lands below,
extending from the San Pedro to the San Antonio River, were
apportioned to the settlers.
From these reports several facts of interest connected with the
original grant of land to the city of San Antonio are revealed. Of
perhaps the greatest interest is the establishment of the eastern
limits of the city-that boundary being the San Antonio River. In
the course of many arguments concerning the grant for the estab-
lishment of the city presented in various courts before the supreme
court ruled on the boundary of the city of San Antonio, this was
never brought out. It was the previous grant of lands to the
mission located east of the San Antonio River which caused
Almazin to resort to enlarging his measurements in three direc-
tions, and thus prevented San Antonio from having the square
shape prescribed for all Spanish settlements. In the light of this
document, some of the statements in the decision of the supreme
court are curious: one judge having declared that San Antonio
must have been a square because Spanish law called for a square.
While the loss of this document at the time the city limits were
in litigation caused some of the original settlers' heirs to lose lands
rightfully theirs, San Antonio gained all the lands east of the San
Antonio River within the city limits in the nineteenth century.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/102/?rotate=90: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.