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Founded in 1718 San Antonio de Bexar was a sleepy little village on the banks of the San Antonio River, so named in 1691 by Spanish explorers because the day they came upon the river was the feast day of St. Anthony. It was home to Mexicans and Indians before Mission de Valero (known as The Alamo after 1836 when 189 men died there during the Texas Revolution). Today San Antonio is a bustling metropolitan area of over two million people and the Alamo sits in the middle of downtown surrounded by high rise offices and trendy tourist hotels. However, if one cares to look beyond the harried life of the 21st century, it is not hard to transform oneself back to the time of the sleepy village because San Antonio has preserved many landmarks from that period. Some of the most interesting are the missions. Besides Mission de Valero, there are four other major missions. These four are still in use today as Catholic centers of community life and worship and all are open to the public as part of the Mission Trail National Historic Park under the care of the United States Park Service as well as the state of Texas. These other missions are Mission San Jose, Mission Concepcion, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada.
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