Reid Hackney is a graduate of Penn State who has an extensive background in information technology and organizational financial oversight. A longtime San Antonio resident, Reid Hackney has a particular interest in exploring the history of the city embodied in its surviving missions and colonial-era artifacts.
The name of the city itself predates its foundation and goes back to June 13, 1691, when a Spanish expedition force reached a sizable river. As described by Father Damian Massanet in his diary, the men arrived at a rancheria of Payaya nation Indians. Their horses stampeded upon arrival due to the sheer abundance of buffalo in the area. Because this happened to be on the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, they named the place, called Yanaguana by its inhabitants, San Antonio de Padua, and built an altar at the location.
A formal settlement was not established until 1718 by an expedition that had governor of Coahuila y Texas Don Martin de Alarcon at its helm. The location was advantageous because it was the only place in the region that offered fresh spring water. With May 1, 1718 recognized as the official founding date, the city celebrated its 300th anniversary last year.
