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Historic Places - Acequia Park

Acequia Park pic


The acequias served as the Spanish colonial water system. The missionaries and mission Indians built these ditches to supply nearby missions with drinking and irrigation water diverted from the San Antonio River.

In 1957, the river channel was being reconfigured for flood control. At this time, the San Antonio Conservation Society purchased 25 acres of pecan grove south of Loop 13 between the east channel line of the San Antonio River and the west bank of the San Juan Acequia. The Society’s purchase preserved the site’s natural beauty by preventing commercial development of the land. A year later, circumstances forced the Society, along with other landowners, to file a law suit against the San Antonio River Authority over water rights and water flow into the acequias. The suit was eventually won in 1962, resulting in a restructuring of the flood gates and providing gravity flow into the San Juan Acequia.

On October 25, 1975, the Society’s Foundation deeded the site to the City of San Antonio for use as a park. This gift coincided with the award of a Bureau of Outdoor Recreation grant. Acequia Park was transferred to the National Park Service for inclusion in the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park on February 20, 1983.

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