ALAMO. San Antonio de Valero Missionqv
(originally referred to as San Antonio de Padua) was authorized by the
viceroy of Mexico in 1716. Fray Antonio de Olivares,qv
who brought with him Indian converts and the records from San Francisco
Solano Mission near San Juan Bautistaqv
on the Rio Grande, established the mission at the site of present San
Antonio in 1718 and named it San Antonio de Valero in honor of Saint
Anthony de Padua and the Duke of Valero, the Spanish viceroy. The
present site was selected in 1724; the cornerstone of the chapel was
laid on May 8, 1744. Founded for the purpose of Christianizing and
educating the Indians, the mission later became a fortress and was the
scene of many conflicts prior to the siege of 1836. Its activity as a
mission began to wane after 1765, and it was abandoned in 1793, the
archives being removed to nearby San Fernando Church.
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