San Antonio

The area was named "San Antonio" in 1691 by a Spanish expedition in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua. A Spanish mission and colonial outpost was founded there in 1718, and San Antonio became the first chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas in 1731. It was part of the Spanish Empire, then the Mexican Republic from 1821 to 1836, before joining the United States after the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1846. Straddling the regional divide between South and Central Texas, San Antonio anchors the southwestern corner of an urban megaregion colloquially known as the Texas Triangle. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) from Austin along the I-35 corridor, and together, the San Antonio–Austin metroplex is home to approximately 5 million people.