San Marcos, Texas

How San Marcos is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

1 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

  • Jane Hughson per Wikidata

  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

sanmarcostx.gov

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Population over time

From 741 in 1870 to 67,553 in 2020 (+9,016.5%).

History

Archeologists have found evidence at the San Marcos River associated with the Clovis culture, which suggests that the river has been the site of human habitation for more than 10,000 years. The San Marcos Springs are the third-largest collection of springs in Texas. Never in recorded history has the river run dry.

In 1689, Spaniard Alonso de León led an expedition from Mexico to explore Texas and establish missions and presidios in the region. De León's party helped blaze the Camino Real (later known as the Old San Antonio Road), which followed present-day Hunter Road, Hopkins Street, and Aquarena Springs Drive (the route later shifted four miles to the south; it is now followed by County Road 266, known locally as Old Bastrop Highway). De León's party reached the river on April 25, the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist; the river was thus named the San Marcos.

In 1803, after the Louisiana purchase, the Spanish government in Mexico became concerned about American citizens moving into Texas. Officials decided to establish more Spanish settlements between San Antonio de Béxar and Nacogdoches in an effort to secure Spanish presence in the area. The governor of the province of Texas, Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, approached his friend Felipe Roque de la Portilla to organize and oversee the venture. In 1807, after extracting promises from Cordero that he would receive a substantial land grant and that the government would assist the settlers financially, Portilla headed for Texas with a small group of settlers. The exact number has been disputed; some suggest that only 10 persons were in the original group, while other sources say the number was as high as 52. Also, some conflict exists in records as to whether Portilla's family was in the original group or whether they arrived in the fall of 1808. Most sources agree the group arrived at the San Marcos River on January 6, 1808. In April, Governor Cordero issued the official order that established San Marcos de Neve, and his military representative, Juan Ygnacio de Arrambide, issued 13 titles to town lots. Disaster struck the settlers in June, when a flood washed them out of their homes. Throughout the summer and fall, the settlers rebuilt their town. In letters to government officials, Portilla reported that he left the colony in September 1808 to get more settlers and returned with six new families in late October. While no other records confirm the increase, Portilla's census of 1809 did show a total of 73 persons and 1,771 animals. Over the next three years, the settlers made a valiant effort to maintain their new homes, but frequent Indian raids and the failure of the government to send soldiers for protection forced them to abandon the settlement in 1812. The settlers were plagued by floods and Indian raids, and the settlement was abandoned in 1812.

In November 1846, the first Anglo-American settlers moved into the vicinity of the San Marcos Springs. The Texas Legislature organized Hays County on March 1, 1848, and designated San Marcos as the county seat. In 1851, a town center was laid out about a mile southwest of the headwaters of the river. The town became a center for ginning and milling local agricultural products. The town's most notable founder and early settler was Gen. Edward Burleson, a hero of the Texas Revolution and former vice president of the Republic of Texas. Burleson built a dam on the upper reaches of the river in 1849. The dam powered several mills, including one within present-day Sewell Park.

In the decade following the arrival of the International-Great Northern Railroad on September 30, 1880, cattle and cotton provided the basis for the growth of San Marcos as a center for commerce and transportation.

In 1866, the Coronal Institute was established as an early private high school. In 1899, Southwest Texas State Normal School (now known as Texas State University) was established as a teacher's college to meet demand for public-school teachers in Texas. In 1907, the San Marcos Baptist Academy was established, furthering education as an important industry for the town. The demands of World War II forced the town's industry to diversify, and with the emergence of a manufacturing and light industrial sector, the town began to experience growth.

In the late 1940s, former Hollywood director Shadrack Graham produced a documentary about daily life in San Marcos as part of his "Our Hometown" series of films that encouraged commerce and civic activity in small communities. The film highlights several local businesses from the era, including Smith's Flowers, Waldrin's Cleaners, Lack's Furniture, and the Palace Movie Theater.

Gary Air Force Base, just east of town, was opened in 1942 as San Marcos Army Airfield, renamed San Marcos Air Force Base in 1947, and renamed finally in 1953 in honor of Lieutenant Arthur Edward Gary, killed at Clark Field in the Philippines on December 7, 1941, the first San Martian to die in World War II. During the war, the base trained over 10,000 navigators, and in the following years, it was the largest center of Air Force and Army helicopter training for pilots and mechanics in the United States, with 21 squadrons and 4800 personnel stationed there. The base was handed over to the Army in 1956, renamed Camp Gary, and was closed in 1963. Subsequently, part of the base was taken over by the city for use as San Marcos Airport, while another part was reopened in 1966 as the Gary Job Corps Center.

In the 1960s, with the establishment of Aquarena Springs and Wonder World as attractions, the tourist industry became a growing part of the city's economy. By the 1960s, what was then named Southwest Texas State University had grown into an important regional institution, and when coupled with the creation of Gary Job Corps Training Center in 1965, education became the largest industry in San Marcos. The remarkable growth explosion of Austin further allowed San Marcos to prosper.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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