Casa Navarro - A Tejano Founder's Home

Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on San Antonio River Walk and the Alamo, a free self-guided tour.

These modest buildings of limestone, caliche block and adobe were the home of Jose Antonio Navarro, one of the most important Tejanos in Texas history. Born in San Antonio in 1795, Navarro was a rancher, merchant and lawmaker who served under Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas and the United States.

In March 1836, while the Alamo was under siege, Navarro was one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. Nine years later he was the only Tejano delegate at the convention that wrote Texas's first state constitution, and he fought hard and successfully against a proposal to limit voting to white men, protecting Tejanos' right to vote.

Navarro bought this land in 1832, and the buildings went up between about 1832 and 1855. Today the Texas Historical Commission runs Casa Navarro as a state historic site, telling Texas history from a Tejano point of view. Check the website for hours, and peek over the wall at the courtyard.

Getting here: Head west along Dolorosa Street, past the south side of Military Plaza, to Laredo Street, then turn left; Casa Navarro is a short way south at 228 South Laredo Street.

Did you know?: Navarro County, Texas, is named in his honor.

Photo op: From across Laredo Street, frame the low stone house with its shuttered windows and the downtown towers rising behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Casa Navarro · Jose Antonio Navarro · Texas Declaration of Independence

Casa Navarro - A Tejano Founder's Home

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