Deep in the Heart of San Antonio

Land and Life in South Texas

Char Miller

• Publisher: Trinity University Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781595340078
• eBook ISBN: 9781595341211
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Char Miller's collection of essays provides an insightful survey of San Antonio and South Texas. The essays are grouped into six thematic sections: an overview; natural and environmental history; water issues; urban development; politics; and the city's future. Miller describes the First Friday Art Walks in Southtown, where the promenade reenacts the pedestrian traffic envisioned by the San Antonio founders when they planned the city around a central square and cathedral. He recreates the history behind the Alamo Quarry, when the upscale shopping center was a cement factory and self-contained community. Ranging further afield, he recounts how the Aplomado Falcon made a come-back in the Rio Grande Valley, and how the river in the same valley has fared in water wars between the United States and Mexico. In the four essays devoted to water in San Antonio, Miller subtly and successfully portrays how water has shaped the region's demographic and political realities.

Index

acequias, 87–88

Alamo, the, 5–6, 166–67

Alamodome, the, 112–16

Alamo Heights, 12, 103

Alamo Heights Independent School District, 101, 111

Alamo Quarry Market, 24–26

Alazán-Apache Courts, 121

Alazán Creek, 62, 65, 68

ALCOA, 95

Almazán, Captain Juan Pérez de, 7

annexation, 12, 14–15

anti-Semitism, 131–32, 137–38

Antorcha de la Amistad: criticism of, 18–20; described, 18; funded by Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos, 19; Sebastián and, 18; siting of, 19; tourism and, 20; and U.S.-Mexico relations, 21–22

aplomado falcon, 37–41

Applewhite Reservoir, 93

Aransas Pass, 50-51

artesian wells, 90–91

Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos, 19

Babbitt, Bruce, 40

Bandera County, 54, 71; early history, 54; grazing in, 55–56; population, 54, 56–57; and San Antonio sprawl, 57–59

Beard, Charles, 139–41

Biggers, Debbie, 137–38, 141

Black, Reading, 30–31

Black, Rev. Claude, 176

Brackenridge, George W., 89–91

Brito, Dagobert, 46

Brownsville, 37

Bunton, Judge Lucius, 73–75

Bush, George H. W., 144

Casey, Rick, 72–73

Castillo, Serefino, 117–18, 127

Campbell, T. N., 86–87

Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, 95

Carver Community Cultural Center, 15–16

Cementville, 23–27

Cho, Fujio, 173–74

Cisneros, Henry, 4, 178; and Alamodome, 112–16; and Department of Housing and Urban Development, 112, 117; and Fiesta Plaza, 114; on housing in San Antonio, 123–27; Target ’90, 125, 178; and Univision, 126–27

City Water Board (see San Antonio Water System)

Clean Air Act, 152

Clinton, Bill, 147–48

Communities Organized for Public Services (COPS), 66, 84–85, 124

Connally, John: and 1980 presidential campaign, 133–35; Cactus Pryor on, 132–33; and Jewish voters, 131–35; and Middle East, 133–35; political career of, 132–37; James Reston on, 132

conservation: in Genesis, 38; and Progressive Era reformers, 38–39; and Safe Harbor Program, 40–41; stewardship as, 40–41 (see also water)

Corpus Christi: and hurricanes, 47–48; and railroad’s impact on, 48–56; and San Antonio, 48–51

Diehl, Kemper, 124

Edison High School, 101

Edwards Aquifer, 14...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• A BIRD’S - EYE VIEW
• A GOOD EARTH
• WATERMARKS
• CONSTRUCTION ZONE
• POLITICAL TEMPER
• FUTURE TENSE
• Index