Santiago del Valle facts for kids

Santiago del Valle was an important person in Mexican history. He was a large landowner, called a hacendado. He also worked for the government of Coahuila y Tejas. This was a big state that included parts of what is now Texas. Santiago del Valle lived during the time of the Texas Revolution. This was a big fight where Texas became independent. He helped start some famous towns, like Galveston, Texas. He also helped found towns in Travis County, Texas, including Del Valle, Texas, which is named after him.

In 1825, he was the president of the main congress for Coahuila y Tejas. He also advised the governor, Victor Blanco. He even helped settle a big disagreement between two important families.

Land for New Towns

Santiago del Valle received a special permission from the Mexican government. This permission was called a land grant. It allowed him to own and develop a large area of land.

How the Land Grant Started

This land grant was first given to Benjamin Milam in 1825. He wanted to start a mining colony there. But in 1832, the Mexican government took the land back. This was because Milam had not brought enough new settlers to Texas. A new law in 1830 made this rule stricter.

Later in 1832, the land grant was given to Santiago del Valle. He lived and worked in a town called Monclova at that time.

Building Galveston and Other Towns

In 1835, a man named Samuel May Williams bought some of this land from Del Valle. It was about 44,000 acres. Williams then sold this land to Michel Branamour Menard. Menard used this land to establish the town we now know as Galveston, Texas.

Menard also sold a large part of the land, about 40,000 acres, to Thomas F. McKinney in 1839. This land was in Travis County, Texas. Del Valle sold the last part of his grant to Bartlett Sims. This land was south of Bastrop, Texas.

Developing the Land

In the 1850s, Thomas McKinney settled on his land. He built a home made of limestone and a mill to grind grain. McKinney sold most of his land before he passed away. Many of his land sales led to the creation of towns like Pilot Knob, Creedmoor, Bluff Springs, and Del Valle.

Some of McKinney's land was sold to plantation owners in Southeast Austin. Their old homes, like those of Albert Clinton Horton and Judge Sebron G. Sneed, are still there today.

Part of the land grant was also sold to the City of Austin. The city then rented 3,000 acres to the United States Army. This land became the Del Valle Army Air Base. Today, it is known as the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

After McKinney died in 1873, his wife, Anna, sold the rest of the land to James Woods Smith. His family owned a farm there until 1973. They then gave the land to the State of Texas. This gift helped create McKinney Falls State Park.