HistoricSiteMarkers
Colonial AmericaEarly Republic

Plaza De Armas (Military Plaza)

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

One of oldest permanently settled locals in Texas, this area was first explored by Spaniards in 1691. The Presidio (Fort) of Bexar was relocated here in 172 and for many years, Plaza was enclosed on three sides by adobe fortifications. During Mexican rebellion of 1813, captured rebels were placed in Comandancie (now old Governer's Palace) and alter executed on Plaza. Many Lynchings also occurred at a great oak here. Military importance of Plaza declined in Republic of Texas Era (1836-45) but place came to be one of the liveliest spots in Texas. A busy market, it teemed with noisy vendors of vegatables, fresh eggs, chili peppers, and live chickens. Oxcarts and wagons stood bulging with hay, hides, and wood. Strolling guitarists,tourists, and girls selling songbirds mingled with pickpockets and other characters. Frequently cock fights were held. After the 1850s, the Plaza was dominated by a stone courthouse (nicknamed the "Bat Cave"). In the 1880s and later, leading merchants here were the "Chili Queens", who dispensed pungent Mexican food at open Air stands. The present City Hall was completed in 1892, and the old market was moved several blocks west. Although no longer a military or commercial center, ancient plaza remains the municipal heart of San Antonio. (1971)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

First explored by Spaniards in 1691, this plaza became the site of the Presidio of Bexar and for years was ringed on three sides by adobe fortifications. It witnessed executions of captured rebels during the Mexican independence struggle of 1813 and, in quieter times, teemed as a raucous market of oxcarts, vendors, guitarists, and the famed "Chili Queens" serving Mexican food at open-air stands. Though City Hall rose here in 1892 and its military and market roles faded, the ancient plaza remains the municipal heart of San Antonio.

Why it matters

Few places compress Spanish, Mexican, and American Texas into one square as vividly as San Antonio's Military Plaza.

Plan your visit

Nearby

Make a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.

Museums & culture

Attractions

Food & drink

Places to stay

Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related events

  • · Presidio of Bexar

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeLandmark

Nearby & related markers

Jose Francisco Ruiz

San Antonio, TX

Born in San Antonio in 1783 to a wealthy ranching family, José Francisco Ruiz was educated in Spain and served as a city schoolteacher before joining the Mexican struggle against Spanish rule, a fight that forced him into exile in the United States. Returning home, he broke with Santa Anna's growing dictatorship and was elected a Bexar delegate to the 1836 convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he became one of only a few native Tejanos to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. He went on to serve as Bexar's first senator in the Congress of the new Republic.

Military & WartimeEducation

Bexar County under Nine Governments

San Antonio, TX

Founded under Spanish rule in 1718, Bexar County holds the distinction of having been governed by nine successive regimes—the oldest county government in Texas. Between 1811 and 1813 alone it whipsawed through revolutionary juntas, a short-lived declaration of independence, and restored Spanish control before Mexico won independence in 1821. Imperial and republican Mexico, the Republic of Texas, U.S. statehood, the Confederacy, and finally restored U.S. rule in 1865 each in turn claimed San Antonio.

Military & Wartime

Memorial to the War Wounded

San Antonio, TX

This memorial in San Antonio is dedicated to all the men and women wounded across the nation's wars. Rather than singling out one conflict, it gathers the sacrifice of the injured from every generation of American service into a single tribute. San Antonio, long a garrison city with deep military ties, is a fitting home for such a remembrance.

Military & Wartime

The Woll Invasion

San Antonio, TX

In September 1842, the young Republic of Texas was still an unsettled thing, and Mexico had not conceded its independence. When General Adrián Woll marched 1,300 troops into San Antonio at dawn, just 56 Texians—judge, jurors, and townsfolk among them—fortified Samuel Maverick's stone house and fought before the odds forced their surrender. Fifty-two prisoners were marched more than a thousand miles to Perote Prison in Mexico; Woll himself was checked days later at the Salado, and the last captives did not walk free until 1844.

Military & Wartime