Downtown in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Presa Street Crossing
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 22, 2018
1. Presa Street Crossing Marker
Inscription.
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.
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
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.
More about this marker. Marker is a large, framed rectangular composite interpretive panel
Photographed By Courtesy: Witte Museum, San Antonio
2. Marker detail: Iron Factory
Grist mills and manufacturing plants were powered by water wheels and turbines before the development of steam and electric engines. The San Antonio River between Presa and Navarro streets was the site of two such facilities. The iron factory was built in 1876 at the corner of Market and Presa streets. The plant was sold to George Holmgreen in 1878 and later became known as Alamo Iron Works. It moved to a less developed area east of town in 1884.
mounted horizontally on waist-high metal posts.
Also see . . . South Presa Street Bridge. (This link presents numerous photos of the Presa Street Bridge.) Pony truss bridge over San Antonio River on S. Presa Street in San Antonio, built in 1890 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. (Submitted on January 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Courtesy: Witte Museum, San Antonio
3. Marker detail: Grist Mill
The grist mill was built in 1845 at the Navarro Street crossing. Later operated by Nat Lewis, the mill closed in 1890.
Photographed By Courtesy: Witte Museum, San Antonio
4. Marker detail: Dam circa 1870s
The dam that diverted water into the Pajalache Acequia was located at this wide, shallow river crossing. This photograph, showing La Villita in the background, was taken in the middle 1870s after the dam was removed.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 22, 2018
5. Presa Street Crossing Marker (wide view; looking east toward the Presa Street Bridge)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 22, 2018
6. San Antonio River & Presa Street Bridge (wide view from west of marker)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 388 times since then and 42 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.