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Colonial AmericaCivil War

Old Powder Mill

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Started here by early Spanish settlers; for making powder to hunt meat and resist Indians. Used charcoal made of wood of hill country. From bat guano in such caves as Longhorn caverns, got saltpeter. Sulphur came by ox-cart or wagon from Mexico. These ingredients blended were highly explosive. Though powder was dampened during the work of grinding it fine, fires at the mill were not uncommon. In the Civil War, 1861-1865, supplied powder to state and frontier troops and the home guard. Workers young boys and men past military age.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Early Spanish settlers first ground gunpowder here—charcoal from Hill Country wood, saltpeter scraped from bat guano in caves like Longhorn Cavern, and sulphur hauled by ox-cart from Mexico—to hunt game and defend against raids. The work was dangerous: even dampened powder sometimes sparked fires at the mill. During the Civil War the mill supplied powder to state troops, frontier defenders, and the home guard, worked by boys and men too old for military service.

Why it matters

The powder mill shows how frontier Texas improvised its own munitions from local materials, a self-reliance that became vital when the Confederacy was cut off from outside supply.

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