A newly established conservancy is working to restore San Antonio’s San Pedro Springs Park and highlight a history that stretches from thousands of years of Indigenous use to the city’s beginnings.
Formed in May, the San Pedro Springs Park Conservancy celebrated its public launch Sept. 23. The organization aims to support improvements while preserving the cultural and historical character of Texas’ oldest municipal park.
Led by board chair, Christina Wright, the group has requested $1.8 million from San Antonio’s proposed 2027 bond program to restore a Victorian garden, an acequia, a grotto and a bandstand. That request remains pending. VIA Metropolitan Transit is contributing $25,000 annually for three years.
The approximately 46-acre park’s history reaches far beyond its colonial designation. According to the city, people have gathered around the springs for about 12,000 years, finding water, food and stone for tools. The Payaya people later lived near the springs in a village known as Yanaguana.
Spanish explorers named the waters San Pedro in 1709. The springs helped sustain the mission and presidio settlements established in 1718 that became San Antonio. In 1729, Spain’s King Philip V designated the surrounding land for public use. The city formally dedicated the park as a public square Nov. 6, 1852.
Over subsequent decades, gardens, entertainment venues and a zoo expanded its recreational role. Today, its pool, tennis courts, library and theater continue that tradition as the conservancy seeks support for its next chapter.
Guest:
Christina Wright is the chairperson of San Pedro Springs Park Conservancy.
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