Archaeological Monitoring for the Tri-Party Improvements Project

Volume 1992 Article 1992 Archaeological Monitoring for the Tri-Party Improvements Project, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas I Waynne Cox Center for Archaeological Research Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita Part of the American Material Culture Commons, Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Regional Heritage Research at SFA ScholarWorks It has been accepted for inclusion in Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State by an authorized editor of SFA ScholarWorks For more information, please contact cdsscholarworks@sfasu.edu Archaeological Monitoring for the Tri-Party Improvements Project, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This article is available in Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol1992/iss1/4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING FOR THE rRI-PARTY'IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, SAN ANTONIO, BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS I WaynneCox Center for Archaeological Research The University of Texas at ,San Antonio Archaeological Survey Report, No 204 1992 Federal Building on Alamo Plaza, 1900-1901 Courtesy of the Daughters of the Republic Research Library, The Alamo.· ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING FOR THE TRI-PARTY IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, SAN ANTONIO, BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS I Waynne Cox Texas Antiquities Permit No 657 Center for Archaeological Research The University of Texas at San Antonio® Archaeological Survey Report, No 204 1992 The following information is provided in accordance with the General Rules of Practi.ce and Procedure, Chapter 41.11 (Investigative Reports), Texas Antiquities Committee: Type of investigation: archival research and archaeological monitoring; Project name: San Antonio Downtown Tri-Party Transportation Improvements project; County: Bexar; Principal investigator: Jack D Eaton; coprincipal investigator: Anne A Fox; Name and location of sponsoring agency: San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority; Texas Antiquities Committee Permit No 657; Published by the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249-0658, 1992 A list of publications offered by the Center for Archaeological Research can be obtained by sending $1.00 to the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249-0658 ABSTRACT In 1987, the Center for Archaeological Research entered into a contract with the San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority to provide consultant services for the downtown San Antonio Tri-Party Improvements proj ecL Preliminary research was provided prior to initiation of construction, and monitoring was conducted during the three years of modifications to the downtown area The archaeological resources exposed during the project were researched and documented, and recommendations were made throughout the construction period TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv INTRODUCTION PHYSIOGRAPHY HISTORY OF THE AREA Early Exploration of Texas First Reports of San Antonio The Founding of San Antonio Establishment of the Villa de San Fernando de Bexar Early Development of the Villa San Antonio in the 19th Century The Republic of Texas, 1836-1846 Statehood Antebellum San Antonio The Civil War Period 10 The Reconstruction Period 10 The Golden Age of San Antonio 12 The 20th Century 14 POTENTIAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES WITHIN THE PROJECT AREA 17 Alamo Plaza Historic District 21 La Villita Historic District 21 Main and Military Plazas Historic District 21 Texas Revolution Fortifications 21 The Acequia System 21 San Pedro Acequia 21 Alamo Acequia 21 Navarro Acequia 26 Concepcion Acequia 26 METHODOLOGY AND MONITORING 26 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35 REFERENCES CITED 35 11 NCB NCB 115 772 CRQCk£'rr SrR£'£'r J 4J 4J It J CI) ~ ;:: NCB 772 ~ ~ ~ J ~ ~ .J ~ ~ ~ NCB ~ ~ 143 ~ CI) ~ ~ ~ ~ Q) NCB S~UJl.f oS?"",,? E::E::?"" r I 1010 I 100 FEET I N Figure 14 Alamo Acequia at the Alamo 28 NCB 124 I I NCB 130 NCB 126 NCB 179 134 o 100 FEET I I I N Figure 15 Concepcion Acequia 29 NCB 155 - - -=-.-=, 50' , I Furnl-lr/re~ Furn/-tvre rY.Inlr a I I 01 _ J o I 50' , , , I b Figure 16 Sanborn 1896 Insurance Maps Indicated are the original locations of buildings where buried structural remnants were uncovered by Tri-Party street trenching a, location of the Meyer and Soloman Halff building (41 BX 983); b, location of a boarding house and restaurant structure 30 was a semicircular trench, or lunet, around the south gate of the Alamo Previously, the summer field school at UTSA had excavated the eastern half of this fortification, and the approaching trench presented an opportunity to examine the western portion as it recurved into Alamo Street On August 4, the trench was encountered, and artifacts identical to those recovered during the field school were collected In addition, two walls of the west side of the southern gate, the "low barracks" were also exposed The information will be incorporated into the field school report (Fox 1992) Immediately north of the barracks, the disturbed condition was again encountered The same week, construction crews encountered pier foundations on the north side of Dolorosa Street at the intersection of South Laredo Street (Fig 16b) The foundations represented two separate structures, one of four wooden posts set on 12-foot centers, and the second structure, toward the west, of brick and concrete piers, also spaced 12 feet apart The foundations where at 619 and 624 Dolorosa Street The wooden piers (619 Dolorosa Street) were the remains of a frame boarding house erected prior to 1885 and destroyed by a fire in December 1899 (Sanbom Map and Publishing Company, Ltd 1885; San Antonio Daily Express 1899:6) The structure was later rebuilt as a restaurant The brick structure (624 Dolorosa Street) was constructed ca 1910 All structures at that intersection were destroyed by street alterations in 1928 (Sanbom Map and Publishing Company, Ltd 1885, 1904, 1911; City of San Antonio n.d.:NCB 254) On August 23, 1988, the construction supervisor notified the CAR representative that a tunnel had been discovered at the southwest corner of the Federal building on the northern edge of Alamo Plaza There is a persistent belief in San Antonio that all of the missions are linked by tunnels, vehemently supported by many who insist that they, or their parents or grandparents, have seen them, entered them, or even ridden their horses through them There is even a romantic tale of a lovers duel and a ghostly specter in which the "secret, subterranean passage that ran from the Alamo to the Mission Concepcion" figures prominently (San Antonio Express 1911:1) Upon arrival, the opening had more the appearance of a solution cavity in the caliche that underlies the plaza, but further excavation revealed that it was unquestionably a dome-shaped tunnel with occasional cedar timber shoring (Fig 17) A construction worker entered the tunnel and reported that it extended "about one hundred feet" until it had collapsed The presence of a tunnel in this location appeared rather strange because it would have been within the original compound of the Alamo, and therefore have served 31 little purpose To fully expose the entrance the excavation was continued, and approximately 12 inches deeper a cast iron sewer pipe, 12 inches in diameter, was encountered, somewhat solving the mystery Apparently, when the first Federal building was constructed, in 1887, the construction crew who installed the utilities for the building encountered the 18- to 20-inch concrete base for the streetcar line on Houston Street (Fig 18) Rather than disrupt traffic along the thoroughfare and to avoid the labor of removing the base and rails, the decision was made to tunnel under the street The "collapsed" portion of the tunnel was, in fact, the backfilled trench on Alamo Plaza, some 60 feet south of the exposed portion of the tunnel On December 13, the CAR was informed that building stone had been encountered on St Mary's Street between Commerce and Market Streets The foundations in question were in St Mary's Street and under the sidewalk line of Commerce Street The portion exposed was cut limestone, ashIer dressed with random chisel marks The remains of the structure once stood at 242-244 West Commerce Street, a two-story commercial building The building is depicted on the 1885 Sanborn insurance map (Fig 19a), and remained unaltered through 1904 (Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, Ltd 1885,1904), at which time it housed the Rees Optical Company and George Roe, stationary salesman The building was destroyed when Commerce Street was widened and by the extension of St Mary's Street to the south of Commerce Street in 1915 In February 1989, the CAR was alerted by the city historic preservation officer that a structure had been exposed on Main Plaza immediately north of the former location of the Antonio Ruiz home, now relocated behind the Witte Museum Investigation revealed that the structure was a soft yellow brick utilities servicing entry An archival search through 1952 failed to reveal any other construction in that location Although monitoring continued during the next seven months, no archaeological sites were discovered This was due to various factors First, activity was sharply curtailed during the Fiesta period, and the construction work was now concentrating on more shallow excavations, primarily concerned with paving and resurfacing of the streets As a general rule, any work that did not penetrate below 12 inches did not affect historical resources, and the majority of the work in the streets had already been destroyed by previous utility construction Figure 17 Tunnel on Alamo Plaza 32 w w Figure 18 Federal Building on Alamo Plaza, 1900-1901 Located on the north side of Alamo Plaza, begun in 1887 and completed in 1890 The streetcar lines can be seen on Houston and Alamo Streets Courtesy of the Daughters of the Republic Research Library, The Alamo o I! 50' ! -~~ G\ a -z o I 50 , • b Figure 19 Sanborn 1896 Insurance Maps Indicated are the original locations of buildings where buried structural remnants were uncovered by Tri-Party street trenching a, location of the Rees Optical Company building (41 EX 894); b, location of the San Pedro Acequia (41 EX 337) in front of San Fernando Cathedral on Main Plaza 34 In September, a "brick vault" was reported on Dolorosa Street at the northwest corner of South Flores Street Upon examination, it was found to be a brick-vaulted window arch over a light well into the basement of the Kaufman building The structure, a two-story brick business building, was constructed ca 1888, and previously stood on Lot 1, NCB 100, facing onto Dolorosa Street The light well was lined with cut limestone on the exterior with a depth of approximately three feet Monitoring continued along Dolorosa Street with special attention directed toward the deep cut in front of the Justice Center as it approached the location of the San Pedro Acequia at the corner of Main Avenue None of the stone of the acequia was encountered, probably due to the extensive utility construction that had taken place in the area Construction, in February 1990, on Commerce Street north of Main Plaza uncovered several wooden ties projecting toward the north from the southern edge of the roadbed These wooden support ties were for the streetcar line that was added after Commerce Street was widened in 1917 The area was heavily disturbed by pipe lines in all directions In April, the San Pedro Acequia was exposed just below the surface of the street by alterations to the bus loading space in front of San Fernando Cathedral (Fig 20) It was determined that the east wall of the acequia had been fully exposed, but little damage had resulted due to the shallow nature of the alterations A conference with an architect from the Historic Preservation Board and the rector of the cathedral resulted in a recommendation that the area be resurfaced as soon as possible to protect the acequia for future development This recommendation was accomplished within the next two days, allowing Fiesta activities to use the area without harm to the acequia The location of the portion exposed is shown in Figure 19b The following month, June, the CAR was notified that the San Pedro Acequia had again been exposed on the northwest corner of Main Plaza Examination disclosed that what was exposed was not the original acequia but instead a concrete drainage channel that had replaced the original stone of the acequia Monitoring continued several days to insure that none of the original stone was in place, but none was found Although monitoring continued until completion of the project, no further evidence of archaeological resources were impacted Again this was due largely because the final work was primarily concentrated upon surface modifications to the streets within the project area 35 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Considering the magnitude of the project throughout the most critical part of the city, it seems strange at first glance that more archaeological sites were not disturbed However, a great deal of the area was only affected to a very shallow depth by the installation of brick paving and street resurfacing The anticipated impact on the various acequias only materialized on one occasion, above the San Pedro Acequia This was again primarily due to the shallow depth of the alterations and the vast amount of damage already done by the immense amount of utility installation over the past 30 years The close communication and frequent briefings between the archaeologist, project directors, and construction personnel proved invaluable in anticipating problem areas and minimizing project delays when sites were threatened or exposed Only minor problems were encountered throughout the construction period, and these were generally after personnel changes had been made and communication had not been fully reestablished Since all construction has been completed, no further monitoring is required, however, any future work in the area should take into consideration the potential areas noted in this report in planning for further modifications in the downtown area REFERENCES CITED Almazan, J A P de 1731 Translation of Order for and Report of the Survey of Original Town Tract of San Fernando de Bexar Copy in the Bexar Archives, Archivo General Nacional de Mexico, Box 20246, No 822, Barker Texas History Center, The University of Texas at Austin Appler, J A 1897 General Directory of the City of San Antonio, 1897-1898 San Antonio 1899 General Directory of the City of San Antonio, 1899-1900 San Antonio 1905 General Directory of the City of San Antonio, 1905-1906 San Antonio U-l 0\ Figure 20 San Pedro Acequia on Main Plaza, ca 1880 Looking north on Main Avenue from atop San Fernando Cathedral Note the stone-lined San Pedro Acequia on the west side of the street partially covered with planks Courtesy of the Daughters of the Republic Research Library, The Alamo 1937 With the Makers of San Antonio Privately published, San Antonio, Texas Aviles, A de 1732 Carpeta de Correspondencia de las Provincias Internas por los anos de 1726 a 1731 Archivo General Nacional de Mexico Volume 236:28 Richard C Garay private collection, San Antonio, Texas City of San Antonio 1850 City Survey Book Office of City Engineer, San Antonio, Texas Bexar County, Texas n.d Deed Records (DR) Originals and microfilm in the Bexar County Courthouse, San Antonio, Texas Right of Way Files Right of Way Office, Main Plaza Building, San Antonio, Texas Corner, W 1890 San Antonio de Bexar: A Guide and History Bainbridge and Corner, San Antonio, Texas Brune, G 1981 Springs of Texas Volume I Branch-Smith, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas Corps of Engineers 1972 FloodPlain Information, Olmos Creek, San Antonio, Texas U.S Army, Fort Worth District February Burkholder, M V 1973 The King William Area The King William Association, San Antonio, Texas Coues, E Bybee, L L 1965 The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, To Headwaters of the Mississippi River, Through Louisiana Territory and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7 TWo volumes Ross and Haines, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota 1980 The Germans in San Antonio, 1844-1920, A Study in Cultural Persistence Masters thesis, The University of Texas at San Antonio Cox, I J Castaneda, C E 1925 Statistical Report on Texas by Juan N Almonte, 1835 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly XXVIII(3):177-222, Austin, Texas 1902 The Early Settlers of San Fernando Texas Historical Association Quarterly V:142-161, Austin, Texas Cox, I W 1926 A Trip to Texas in 1828: Jose Maria Sanchez The Southwestern Historical Quarterly XXIX( 4):249-288, Austin, Texas 1985 10th Street Substation Excavation of the Acequia Madre (41 BX 8), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Archaeological Survey Report 153 Chabot, F C 1932 Excerpts from the Memorias from the History of the Province of Texas The Naylor Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas 1986 Excavation of Portions of the San Pedro Acequia (41 BX 337) and a Search for the Arocha Acequia, San Antonio, Texas Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San 37 of Texas at San Antonio, Archaeological Survey Report 205 Antonio, Archaeological Survey Report 161 Garrett, J K Daughters of the Republic of Texas Research Library (DRT) n.d 1968 Green Flag Over Texas, A Story of the Last :rears of Spain in Texas Pemberton Press, Austin, Texas Alamo Cannon San Antonio vertical file The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas Gilbert, Rev M J (compiler and editor) Delaney, R W 1949 Archdiocese of San Antonio, Diamond Jubilee, 1874-1949 Schneider Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas 1955 Matamoros, Port for Texas During the Civil War The Southwestern Historical Quarterly LVIII:473-487, Austin, Texas Green, R M ( editor) Deutschmann, S 1921 Memoirs of Mary A Maverick Alamo Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas 1915 Report of the Widening of Commerce Passing Show Printing Street Company, San Antonio, Texas Habig, M.A Environmental Protection Agency 1968a The Alamo Chain of Missions A History of San Antonio's Five Old Missions Francisco Herald Press Chicago, Illinois 1978 Draft Environmental Impact Statement for San Antonio, Texas, Wastewater Treatment System EPA Grant No C-48-1211-01, Region VI, Dallas, Texas 1968b San Antonio's Mission San Jose The Naylor Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas Everett, D E Hatcher, M A 1975 San Antonio, The Flavor of its Past, 1845-1898 Trinity University Press, San Antonio, Texas 1932 The Expedition of Don Domingo Teran de los Rios into Texas Preliminary Studies of the Texas Catholic Historiacal Society, Vol 2, No Faulk, O B 1964 The Last Years of Spanish Texas, 1778-1821 Mouton and Company, London Hatcher, M A (translator) 1919 Texas in 1820, by Juan Antonio Padilla The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 23:47-68, Austin, Texas Fehrenbach, T R 1968 Lone Star, A History of Texas and the Texans The Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York Herff, F P 1973 The Doctors Herff: A Three-Generation Memoir Trinity University Press, San Antonio, Texas 1978 The San Antonio Story Continental Heritage, Inc., Thlsa, Oklahoma Hoffman, F L (translator) Fox,A.A 1992 Archaeological Investigations in Alamo Plaza, 1988 and 1989 Center for Archaeological Research, The University 1935 Diary of the Alarc6n Expedition into Texas, 1718-1719 Quivira Society 38 McLean, B J Publications Reprinted by Arno Press, New York 1924 The Romance of San Antonio's Water Supply and Distribution System San Antonio Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas 1938 The Mezquia Diary of the Alarc6n Expedition into Texas, 1718 Th e Southwestern Historical Quarterly XVI:312-323, Austin, Texas Moody and Morrison James, V L 1879 General 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Publishing Company, Austin, Texas 1983 Letters from Governor Antonio Martinez to the Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca Research Center for the Arts and Humanities, The University of Texas at San Antonio Schuchard, E (compiler) Ramsdell, C 1951 100th Anniversary Pioneer Flour Mills, San Antonio, Texas, 1851-1951 The Naylor Publishing Company, San Antonio, Texas 1976 San Antonio, A Historical and Pictorial Guide Revised edition, University of Texas Press, Austin San Antonio Daily Express Schwarz, T 1877 The Grand Celebration February 20 1985 Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina, August 18, 1813 R H Thonoff, editor and annotator Eakin Press, Austin, Texas 1899 Eight Houses were Ablaze December 10 San Antonio Express Sibley, M M 1911 The Strange Duel: A Legend of the Mission Concepcion April 30 1973 George W Brackenridge, Maverick Philanthropist University of Texas Press, Austin 1927 Historic Bowen's Island, Once Garden Spot now Site for $5,000,000 Worth of New Buildings January 23 Southwest Research Institute 1979 Environmental Resource Evaluation of Unit of San Pedro Creek and 8-3 Units of the San Antonio Channel Improvement Project Department of Environmental and Research Engineering, San Antonio, Texas 1939 J H French, One of San Antonio's Best Mayors February 28 San Antonio Express-News 1986 Texas Under Six Flags: Legends and Lore, A Special Sesquicentennial Production, Part IV Steele, C 1985 A Journey Through Texas in 1767 El Campanario 16(1) Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association San Antonio Light 1936 Progress Brushes Aside an Old San Antonio Landmark December 19 Steely, J W Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, Ltd 1984 A Catalog of Texas Properties in the National Register of Historic Places Texas Historical Commission, Austin, Texas 1885 San Antonio, Texas New York 1904 San Antonio, Texas New York Steen, R W 1948 The Texas Story The Steck Company, Austin, Texas 1911 San Antonio, Texas New York 40 Steinfeldt, C Urrutia, J de 1978 San Antonio Was: Seen Through a Magic Lantern Views from the Slide Collection of Albert Steves, Sr San Antonio Museum Association, San Antonio, Texas 1767 San Antonio, Texas, in 1767 Department of Manuscripts, The British Library, London, England Webb, W P (editor) Sweet, A E and J A Knox 1952 The Handbook of Texas 1\vo volumes The Texas State Historical Association, Austin, Texas 1905 On a Mexican Mustang Through Texas from the Gulf to the Rio Grande Chatto and Windus, London White, G Tous, G (translator) 1983 1830 Citizens of Texas Austin 1930a The Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre Expedition of 1709 Preliminary Studies of the Texas Catholic Historical Society I(III) Eakin Press, Wynes, C E 1962 Lewis Harvie Blair: Texas Travels, 1851-1855 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly LXVI:262-270, Austin, Texas 1930b Ramon Expedition: Espinosa's Diary of 1716 Preliminary Studies of the Texas Catholic Historical Society I(IV) Thranza, J P (editor) 1961 Documentos para la Historia Eclesiastica y Civil de la Provinca de Texas Nuevas Philipinas, 1720-1779 Colecion Chimalistac de Libros y Documentos Acerca la Nueva Espana, Madrid, Spain United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Census (USDI-OC) 1850 The Seventh Population Census, 1850 Bexar County, Texas 1860 The Eighth Population Census, 1860 Bexar County, Texas 1880 The Tenth Population Census, 1880 Bexar County, Texas 1890 The Eleventh Population Census, 1890 Bexar County, Texas 1900 The Twelfth Population Census, 1900 Bexar County, Texas 41 ... by selecting the location of the church The proximity of the presidio to the west required that he reorient the church to face the east From the middle of the point designated for the church door,... overtook them In the said semicircle, formed by the bend of the river, there was hardly a house standing on the east side; all being made of wood they could not resist the force of the waters,... within the walls of the Alamo Several new fortifications were constructed in the city, and some of the older fortifications were rearmed The battle ended March with the fall of the Alamo and the The