Plan of San Antonio, Texas

Juan Augustan Morfi (d.1783)
[Plan of San Antonio, Texas]
from "Memorias para la historia
de la provincia Texas"
Bound manuscript with ink
and watercolor drawing, 1780-1781
Manuscript Division (22A.6)

Well outside the geographical sphere of what was imagined as the United States following the war of independence, the Spanish administration continued to build colonial communities in the West according to a 1573 Spanish ordinance that prescribed a particular layout for towns. This precise form of development has left an historical imprint on many regions of the country. Historian Juan Augustan Morfi's 1780 plan of San Antonio illustrates that the focal point of the prescribed plan is formed by the church (iglesia) and government buildings (cassas reales) facing each other across a large central plaza. The plan also indicates a prison and other public structures, a slaughter house and meat market, and the patioed houses.