Downtown in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Presa Street Crossing
Spanish missionaries, soldiers, and families who settled San Antonio in the 1700s relied on the San Antonio River and irrigation ditches (acequias) to provide water for household and agricultural use. One of the earliest ditches, the Pajalache Acequia, originated near this site at a wide, shallow river crossing. A dam was built to divert water into a deep channel that flowed south to Mission San Jose, then located on the river's east bank. After San Jose was moved to another site across the river, the Pajalache Acequia carried water to Mission Concepcion, established on the east side of the river in 1731. The irrigation ditch operated until the 1860s, but after complaints that it contributed to flooding the dam was removed and the acequia filled in 1869. The nearby bridge and street are still called Presa, the Spanish word for dam.
Bronze plaques along the River Walk identify features designed by Robert H.H. Hugman. The plaques replicate the stamp that was imprinted on his architectural drawings. Hugman's initial concept for beautification and commercial development of the San Antonio River was conceived in 1929. Construction began on the River Walk project in 1939 with partial funding from the Works Progress Administration. To learn more about Hugman and the River Walk, please scan this QR code with your smartphone or go to www.HugmanTour.com.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Places • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels.
Location. 29° 25.358′ N, 98° 29.388′ W. Marker is in San Antonio, Texas, in Bexar County. It is in Downtown. Marker can be reached from South Presa Street south of West Market Street. Marker is on the San Antonio River Walk, on the south side of the river, just west of the Presa Street bridge. Access to the marker is from the staircase at the southwest corner of the bridge. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: San Antonio TX 78205, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Padre Damian Massanet's Table (a few steps from this marker); The Pajalache Acequia (Ditch) (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Mill Crossing (within shouting distance of this marker); Address by President Lincoln (within shouting distance of this marker); La Villita And The River (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Benito Juarez (about 300 feet away); Juarez Plaza (about 300 feet away); Caxias House (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Antonio.
More about this marker. Marker is a large, framed rectangular composite interpretive panel mounted horizontally on waist-high metal posts.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 396 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.