Background
Antonio de la Garza was born in San Antonio de Béjar, Texas, on May 31, 1776.
Antonio de la Garza was born in San Antonio de Béjar, Texas, on May 31, 1776.
Antonio de la Garza was elected mayor of San Antonio in 1813 and 1832. Early years
His ancestors came from Nuevo Leon (modern Mexico). In 1813, he became the first elected mayor of San Antonio.
Coin
In 1818, after acquiring permission from the Spanish government, he created the first coin that existed in Texas.
On one side of the coin, Garza used his initials "Judge Advocate General" (José Antonio de la Garza) along to the year of creation (1818). On the other side of the coin, he fixed a drawing of one star.
The importance of this event was not only the creation of the first coin of Texas, but also that the star symbol drawn in the currency could have inspired the "Lone Star," which later became the symbol of the state. Garza began to mint these coins in a building located between the streets of Houston and Soledad for a year and a half.
Landowner
In 1824, thanks to the success of its currency, Garza obtained a large extension of land (which consisted of two leagues) between San Antonio and Medina River.
In doing so, he became one of the largest landowners in Bexar County. Mayor
In 1832, Garza became Mayor of San Antonio. That year he signed the articles from the Convention of 1832.
Probably at the beginning of 1834 he bought the San Francisco de la Espada Mission.
This purchase, however, was deemed illegal by some residents, leading to a rejection of him. This rejection was further strengthened when during the Texas Revolution (1835-1836), some Texas residents thought that his family sympathized with the idea that Texas should remain Mexican (Texas was a province of Mexico previous to the Revolution).
In the 1840s, he and his family moved near Calaveras Lake. Their house there, a two-story structure, had been built forty years earlier (1801) and served three functions: as a church, a school and a community centre.
In 1876 Garza County was named after the family of José Antonio de la Garza.
