Alamo Mission facts for kids
The chapel of the Alamo Mission is known as the "Shrine of Texas Liberty"
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 Location in Texas
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| Location | 300 Alamo Plaza San Antonio, Texas U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 29°25′33″N 98°29′10″W / 29.42583°N 98.48611°W |
| Name as founded | Misión San Antonio de Valero |
| English translation | Saint Anthony of Valero Mission |
| Patron | Anthony of Padua |
| Founding priest(s) | Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivare |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1718 |
| Native tribe(s) Spanish name(s) |
Coahuiltecans |
| Governing body | Texas General Land Office |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii) |
| Designated | 2015 (39th session) |
| Part of | San Antonio Missions |
| Reference no. | 1466-005 |
| State Party |  United States |
| Designated | October 15, 1966 |
| Reference no. | 66000808 |
| Designated | December 19, 1960 |
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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| Designated | July 13, 1977 |
| Part of | Alamo Plaza Historic District |
| Reference no. | 77001425 |
| Designated | June 28, 1983 |
| Reference no. | 8200001755 |
The Alamo is a famous historic site in San Antonio, Texas, USA. It started as a Spanish mission and later became a fortress. In 1836, it was the location of the Battle of the Alamo, a very important event in the Texas Revolution. Brave American heroes like James Bowie and Davy Crockett fought and died there.
Today, the Alamo is a museum. It is part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site, recognized by UNESCO.
The Alamo was first called Misión San Antonio de Valero. It was one of the first Spanish missions in Texas. Its goal was to teach Native American tribes about Christianity. The mission stopped being used for religious purposes in 1793 and was then left empty.
About ten years later, it became a fort for a military group called the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras. They probably gave it the name Alamo, which means "poplar trees" in Spanish.
During the Texas Revolution, Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos gave up the fort to the Texian Army in December 1835. This happened after a long fight called the Siege of Béxar. A small group of Texian soldiers then stayed at the fort for several months. These defenders were all killed in the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. When the Mexican Army left Texas later, they tore down many of the Alamo's walls and burned some buildings.
For the next five years, soldiers from both Texas and Mexico sometimes used the Alamo. But it was eventually left empty again. In 1849, after Texas joined the United States, the U.S. Army rented the Alamo. They used it as a supply base. They stopped using it in 1876 when Fort Sam Houston was built nearby.
The Alamo chapel was sold to the state of Texas. The state offered tours but did not fix it up. Other buildings were sold to a company that used them as a grocery store.
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) group formed in 1891. They wanted to save the Alamo. Adina Emilia De Zavala and Clara Driscoll convinced the Texas government in 1905 to buy the remaining buildings. The DRT was then put in charge of the site. In 2015, control of the Alamo was officially moved to the Texas General Land Office.
Contents
The Alamo's Story
As a Spanish Mission
In 1716, the Spanish government set up several Catholic missions in East Texas. These missions were far away from other Spanish towns, making it hard to get supplies. So, the governor of Spanish Texas, Martín de Alarcón, wanted to build a stopover point. This stopover would be between the settlements along the Rio Grande and the new missions.
In April 1718, Alarcón led a group to start a new community in Texas. They built a temporary structure near the San Antonio River. This building became the new mission, San Antonio de Valero. It was named after Saint Anthony of Padua and a Spanish leader, the Marquess of Valero.
On May 1, Alarcón officially gave the mission to Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares. The mission was near a Coahuiltecan Native American community. It started with a few Native American converts from another mission. One mile (two km) north of the mission, Alarcón built a fort called the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. Nearby, he also started the first civilian town in Texas, San Antonio de Béxar. This town later grew into the city of San Antonio.
Within a year, the mission moved to the west side of the river to avoid floods. Over the next few years, more missions were built nearby. In 1724, a hurricane destroyed the mission buildings. So, the mission moved to its current spot. This new location was across the San Antonio River from the town and north of a group of small houses.
Over many decades, the mission grew to cover 3 acres (1.2 ha). The first strong building was likely a two-story stone house for the priests. Other buildings were made of adobe for the Native American converts. There was also a workshop for making textiles. By 1744, over 300 Native Americans lived at San Antonio de Valero. The mission produced its own food and clothes. They had 2,000 cattle and 1,300 sheep. Each year, they grew corn, beans, and cotton.
Work began on a permanent church building in 1744. However, this church and its tower fell down in the late 1750s. Building started again in 1758. The new chapel was at the south end of the inner courtyard. It was made of thick limestone blocks. It was planned to be three stories high with a dome and bell towers. It was shaped like a cross. The first two levels were finished, but the bell towers and third story were never started. The dome was also never built. Since the church was never finished, it was probably not used for church services.
The chapel was meant to be very fancy. Niches, or carved spaces, were made on each side of the door for statues. The lower niches held statues of Saint Francis and Saint Dominic. The upper niches had statues of Saint Clare and Saint Margaret of Cortona. Carvings were also made around the chapel's door.
Up to 30 adobe or mud buildings were built. These were used as workshops, storage, and homes for the Native American residents. The nearby fort often did not have enough soldiers. So, the mission was built to defend against attacks by Apache and Comanche raiders. In 1745, 100 mission Native Americans fought off 300 Apaches. This saved the fort, the mission, and the town.
Walls were built around the Native American homes in 1758. These walls were 8-foot (2.4 m) high and 2 feet (60 cm) thick. They enclosed an area 480 feet (150 m) long and 160 feet (49 m) wide. The main church and convent were not fully inside these walls. For more protection, a turret with three cannons was added near the main gate in 1762. By 1793, another cannon was placed near the convent.
The number of Native Americans at the mission changed a lot. It was highest at 328 in 1756 and lowest at 44 in 1777. A Spanish leader, Teodoro de Croix, thought the missions were a problem. He started to reduce their power. In 1778, he said that all unbranded cattle belonged to the government. Apache tribes had stolen most of the mission's horses. This made it hard to gather and brand the cattle. So, the mission lost much of its wealth and could not support many converts. By 1793, only 12 Native Americans remained. In 1793, Misión San Antonio de Valero stopped being a mission.
Soon after, the mission was left empty. Most local people were not interested in the buildings. But visitors were often impressed. In 1828, a French scientist named Jean Louis Berlandier visited. He said the Alamo complex had "an enormous battlement and some barracks." He also saw "the ruins of a church which could pass for one of the loveliest monuments of the area."
Military Use of the Alamo
In the 1800s, the mission complex became known as "the Alamo." This name might have come from nearby cottonwood trees, which are called álamo in Spanish. Or, in 1803, a military group from Álamo de Parras, Mexico, used the empty buildings. Locals often called them the "Alamo Company."
During the Mexican War of Independence, parts of the mission were often used as a prison. Between 1806 and 1812, it was San Antonio's first hospital.
The buildings became Mexican property in 1821 after Mexico won its independence from Spain. Soldiers stayed at the complex until December 1835. That's when General Martín Perfecto de Cos gave up to Texian forces. This happened after a two-month fight in San Antonio de Béxar during the Texas Revolution.
Before this, General Cos had ordered many improvements to the Alamo. His men likely tore down the stone arches that were meant for the chapel's dome. They used the rubble to build a ramp to the back of the chapel. There, Mexican soldiers placed three cannons that could fire over the roofless building. To close a gap between the church and the barracks, soldiers built a wooden fence. When Cos left, he left behind 19 cannons.
The Battle of the Alamo
After General Cos left, there were no organized Mexican troops in Texas. Many Texians thought the war was over. Colonel James C. Neill took command of the 100 soldiers who stayed. Neill asked for 200 more men to make the Alamo stronger. He worried his small group could be starved out after a four-day attack. However, the Texian government was in chaos and could not send much help.
Neill and engineer Green B. Jameson worked to strengthen the Alamo. Jameson set up the cannons that Cos had left along the walls. General Sam Houston ordered Colonel James Bowie to take 35–50 men to Béxar. Their job was to help Neill move the cannons and destroy the fort. But there were not enough oxen to move the cannons. Also, most men believed the fort was important for protecting settlements to the east. On January 26, the Texian soldiers voted to hold the Alamo. On February 11, Neill left to find more help and supplies. William Travis and James Bowie agreed to share command of the Alamo.
On February 23, the Mexican Army arrived in San Antonio de Béxar. They were led by President-General Antonio López de Santa Anna. They wanted to take back the city. For the next thirteen days, the Mexican Army surrounded the Alamo. This was called the Siege of the Alamo. During this time, work continued inside the fort. Mexican soldiers tried to block the water ditch leading into the fort. So, Jameson oversaw the digging of a well. They found water, but they also weakened a wall near the barracks. This wall collapsed, making it unsafe to fire from there.
The siege ended with a fierce battle on March 6. As the Mexican Army climbed over the walls, most Texians fell back to the long barracks and the chapel. During the siege, Texians had cut holes in many walls of these rooms so they could fire. Each room had only one door leading to the courtyard. These doors were protected by dirt walls. Some rooms even had trenches dug in the floor for cover. Mexican soldiers used captured Texian cannons to blow open the doors. This allowed them to enter and defeat the Texians.
The last Texians to die were eleven men in the chapel. They were using two 12-pound cannons. The church entrance was blocked with sandbags, which the Texians could fire over. A shot from an 18-pound cannon destroyed the barricades. Mexican soldiers entered after firing their muskets. The Texians, including Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza, and Bonham, grabbed rifles and fired before being killed. Texian Robert Evans was in charge of gunpowder. He was wounded and crawled towards the powder room. He was killed by a musket ball just inches from the powder. If he had succeeded, the explosion would have destroyed the church.
Santa Anna ordered that the Texian bodies be piled up and burned. Almost all of the Texian defenders were killed. Some historians believe at least one Texian, Henry Warnell, escaped. Warnell died months later from his wounds. Most historians agree that 400–600 Mexican soldiers were killed or wounded. This was a very high number of casualties.
After the Battle
After the Battle of the Alamo, one thousand Mexican soldiers stayed at the mission. They repaired and strengthened the complex for two months. However, there are no records of what changes they made. After the Mexican army lost the Battle of San Jacinto and Santa Anna was captured, the Mexican army agreed to leave Texas. This ended the Texas Revolution. As the Mexican soldiers left on May 24, they disabled the cannons. They also tore down many Alamo walls and set fires. Only a few buildings survived. The chapel was in ruins, but most of the Long Barracks was still standing.
Texians briefly used the Alamo as a fort in December 1836 and again in January 1839. The Mexican army took control again in March 1841 and September 1842. Both groups carved names into the walls and took pieces of stone. In 1840, San Antonio allowed people to take stone from the Alamo for a small fee. By the late 1840s, even the four statues on the chapel's front wall were gone.
On January 13, 1841, the Republic of Texas government gave the Alamo chapel back to the Catholic Church. By 1845, when Texas joined the United States, bats lived in the empty complex. Weeds and grass covered many walls.
As the Mexican–American War began in 1846, 2000 United States Army soldiers came to San Antonio. They used part of the Alamo complex for supplies. Within 18 months, the convent building was fixed up for offices and storage. The chapel stayed empty because the army, the Catholic Church, and San Antonio argued over who owned it. In 1855, the Texas Supreme Court said the Catholic Church owned the chapel. While they argued, the army rented the chapel from the church for $150 a month.
The army repaired the Alamo a lot. Soldiers cleaned the grounds and rebuilt the old convent and mission walls. They used the original stones that were scattered around. During these repairs, a new wooden roof was added to the chapel. A bell-shaped front was also added to the chapel. Reports at the time said soldiers found skeletons while clearing the chapel floor. The new chapel roof was destroyed in a fire in 1861. The army also cut new windows into the chapel. The complex eventually had a supply depot, offices, storage, a blacksmith shop, and stables.
During the American Civil War, Texas joined the Confederacy. The Confederate Army took over the Alamo. In February 1861, the Texan Militia took control from the US Forces. After the Confederacy lost, the United States Army took control of the Alamo again. The Catholic Church asked the army to leave so the Alamo could be a church for local German Catholics. The army refused, and the church did not try again.
The Alamo as a Store
The army left the Alamo in 1876 when Fort Sam Houston was built. Around that time, the Church sold the convent building to Honore Grenet. He added a new two-story wooden building. Grenet used the convent and the new building for a wholesale grocery business. After Grenet died in 1882, his business was bought by Hugo & Schmeltzer. They continued to run the store.
San Antonio got its first train service in 1877. The city's tourism started to grow. The city advertised the Alamo a lot. They used photos and drawings that only showed the chapel, not the city around it. Many visitors were disappointed. In 1877, a tourist wrote that the chapel was "a disgrace to all San Antonio." She said its walls were torn down, its rooms were filled with military supplies, and its battle-scarred front was changed.
Who Owns the Alamo?
In 1883, the Catholic Church sold the chapel to the State of Texas for $20,000. The state hired Tom Rife to manage the building. He gave tours but did not try to fix the chapel. In past years, soldiers and members of a local Masonic lodge had written on the walls and statues. In May 1887, a Catholic person was arrested. They were angry that Masonic symbols were on a statue of Saint Teresa. They broke into the building and smashed statues.
The 50th anniversary of the Alamo's fall did not get much attention. The San Antonio Express newspaper called for a new group to recognize important historical events. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) formed in 1892. One of their main goals was to save the Alamo. Adina Emilia De Zavala, a granddaughter of a Texas Vice-president, was an early member.
Around 1900, Adina de Zavala convinced Gustav Schmeltzer, who owned the convent building, to offer it to the DRT first if he ever sold it. In 1903, Schmeltzer wanted to sell the building to a developer. He offered it to the DRT for $75,000, which they did not have. While De Zavala tried to raise money, she met Clara Driscoll. Clara was a wealthy heiress who loved Texas history, especially the Alamo.
Clara Driscoll joined the DRT and led the fundraising committee. The DRT got a 30-day option to buy the property. They would pay $500 upfront, then $4,500, and more later. Driscoll paid the first $500 herself. When fundraising failed to get enough money, Driscoll paid the rest of the $4,500 from her own money.
Driscoll and de Zavala urged the Texas government to approve $5,000 for the next payment. But Governor S. W. T. Lanham said no. He called it "not a justifiable use of taxpayers' money." DRT members set up a collection booth and held events, raising $5,662.23. Driscoll agreed to pay the rest, including the final $50,000. Because of her generosity, newspapers called her the "Savior of the Alamo."
Many groups asked the government to pay Driscoll back. In January 1905, de Zavala wrote a bill. It was supported by Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr., father of future US President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The bill would pay Driscoll back and make the DRT the official caretakers of the Alamo. The bill passed, and Driscoll got all her money back.
Driscoll and de Zavala disagreed on how to save the building. De Zavala wanted to make the outside of the buildings look like they did in 1836. She focused on the convent, then called the long barracks. Driscoll wanted to tear down the long barracks. She wanted to create a monument like ones she had seen in Europe. It would be a city center with a large plaza and an old chapel.
They could not agree. Driscoll and other women formed a different DRT chapter. The two chapters argued over who was in charge of the Alamo. In February 1908, the DRT committee leased out the building. De Zavala was angry. She said a group wanted to buy the chapel and tear it down. She then stayed inside the Hugo and Schmeltzer building for three days.
Because of de Zavala's actions, Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell ordered that the state take control of the property on February 12. A judge later named Driscoll's chapter the official caretakers. The DRT then removed de Zavala and her supporters.
Restoring the Alamo
Driscoll offered to pay to tear down the convent. She also offered to build a stone wall around the Alamo and turn the inside into a park. The government waited to decide until after the 1910 elections. Texas then had a new governor, Oscar Branch Colquitt. Both de Zavala and Driscoll spoke to him. Colquitt visited the property. Three months later, Colquitt removed the DRT as official caretakers. He said they had done nothing to restore the property since they took control. He also said he planned to rebuild the convent. Soon after, the government paid to tear down the building added by Hugo and Schmeltzer. They also approved $5,000 to restore the rest of the complex. The restorations started but were not finished because there was not enough money.
Driscoll was upset with Colquitt's decisions. She used her influence as a big donor to the Democratic Party to go against him. She told a newspaper that the Daughters wanted a Spanish garden at the mission site. But the governor would not agree. So, they would fight him. While Colquitt was away, Lieutenant Governor William Harding Mayes allowed the upper walls of the long barracks to be removed. Only the one-story walls of the west and south parts of the building were left. This fight became known as the Second Battle of the Alamo. When Driscoll died in 1945 and de Zavala in 1955, their bodies were placed in the Alamo Chapel.
In 1931, Driscoll convinced the state government to buy two pieces of land near the chapel. In 1935, she convinced San Antonio not to put a fire station in a building near the Alamo. The DRT later bought that building and made it their library. During the Great Depression, money from government programs was used. This money helped build a wall around the Alamo and a museum. It also helped tear down some non-historic buildings on the property.
The Alamo was named a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960. It was one of the first places listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is also part of the Alamo Plaza Historic District, named in 1977. As San Antonio got ready for the Hemisfair in 1968, the long barracks got a roof and became a museum. Few big changes have happened since then.
The Alamo is considered one of the best examples of Spanish church buildings in North America. However, the mission and other San Antonio missions are at risk from the environment. The limestone used to build them expands when wet and shrinks when cold. This causes small pieces of limestone to break off. Steps have been taken to help with this problem.
Who Manages the Alamo Now?
In 1988, a theater near the Alamo showed a new movie called Alamo ... the Price of Freedom. This movie caused many protests from Mexican-American activists. They said the movie had anti-Mexican comments and ignored the help of Tejano people in the battle. The movie was changed, but the argument grew. Many activists wanted the government to give control of the Alamo to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). In response, a state representative started looking into the DRT's money. The DRT agreed to share their financial records, and the hearings stopped.
Soon after, another representative suggested moving the Alamo from the DRT to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Many minority lawmakers agreed. However, the San Antonio mayor, Henry Cisneros, said the DRT should keep control. So, the bill was put aside.
Years later, a reporter started writing articles criticizing the DRT for how they managed the Alamo. He claimed the DRT kept the chapel too cold. This caused water vapor to mix with car exhaust, damaging the limestone walls. These claims led the government in 1993 to try again to move control of the Alamo. At the same time, a state senator filed a bill to give control to the Texas Historical Commission.
By the next year, some groups in San Antonio wanted the mission to become a larger historical park. They wanted to make the chapel look like it did in the 1700s. They also wanted to focus on its mission days, not just the Texas Revolution. The DRT was very angry. The head of their Alamo Committee said the argument was about gender. She felt some men were attacking them because they were successful women.
The argument mostly ended in 1994. Then-Governor George W. Bush promised to stop any law that would remove the DRT as caretakers. Later that year, the DRT put up a marker on the mission grounds. It recognized that the area had once been Native American burial grounds.
In 2010, the office of the Texas Attorney General received a complaint. It said the DRT was mismanaging the site and its money. An investigation began. After two years, the Attorney General's office found that the DRT had indeed mismanaged the Alamo. They listed many problems, including not keeping the Alamo in good condition and mismanaging state money.
During the investigation, a state law was passed in 2011. Governor Rick Perry signed it. This law moved control of the Alamo from the DRT to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The change officially happened in 2015. The DRT first disagreed and even filed a lawsuit. But the organization eventually promised to work with the Texas GLO to protect the Alamo for the future.
The Alamo Today
As of 2002, over four million people visit the Alamo each year. This makes it one of the most popular historic sites in the United States. Visitors can tour the chapel and the Long Barracks. The Long Barracks has a small museum with paintings, weapons, and other items from the Texas Revolution. More items are shown in another building. There is also a large model that shows what the fort looked like in 1836. A big painting, called the Wall of History, shows the Alamo's story from its mission days to now.
The Alamo has a yearly budget of $6 million. Most of this money comes from sales in the gift store. Under the 2011 law, the Alamo is now cared for by the General Land Office. Commissioner George P. Bush announced on March 12, 2015, that his office would take over the daily running of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
There is new disagreement about the General Land Office's plan for the site. The plan wants to make the site four times bigger and include a large museum. One concern is moving the Alamo Cenotaph (a monument) to a different spot. Other worries include the proposed $450 million cost of the project. People also worry about any changes to the story of the Alamo.
Images for kids
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Interior of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas about 1904 looking toward the front entrance
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Interior of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, c. 1907–1914)
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Interior Alamo, cannon, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, c. 1901–1914)
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Colorized postcard c. 1910
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Under six flags, Alamo, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, circa 1915–1924)
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Plaque on a wall at the Alamo, recognizing ownership by the state of Texas and custodianship of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
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A plaque posted in remembrance of the contribution of the Alamo by Clara Driscoll to the state of Texas
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Cactus shrub adjacent to main building at the Alamo
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Old well and oak tree in courtyard of the Alamo
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A stone memorial to the 32 men from Gonzales who perished at the Battle of the Alamo
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Memorial poem carved in granite written by a Japanese geography professor in 1914 comparing the Battle to the siege of Nagashino Castle in 1575
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See also
In Spanish: Misión de El Álamo (Texas) para niños
- Alamo Village, in Brackettville, Texas
- Espada Acequia, an aqueduct
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas
- List of the oldest buildings in Texas
- List of World Heritage Sites in the United States
- Main and Military Plazas Historic District
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas
- Spanish Governor's Palace
