November 25 in San Antonio history…
The San Antonio Fire Company is established on this date, A. A. Lockwood, chief.
John James dies at the age of 56. He became Bexar County chief surveyor and surveyed and established the city’s boundaries in 1846. He participated in the Battle of Salado in 1842. In 1844 he surveyed and laid out the city of Castroville. In 1853, he and Charles de Montel established the city of Bandera and set up a horse-powered lumber mill there. He also established the first lumberyard in San Antonio and introduced Merino sheep in the Bandera area. In 1854, he and 35 others headed to California with more than 1,000 head of cattle. James also surveyed Fort Davis, Boerne, D’Hanis, and Quihi. He is said to have surveyed more land in Texas than any other individual surveyor. James was also the father-in-law of well known architect Alfred Giles.
Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson cited 2,100 Jefferson High School students as “trustees of freedom” in a San Antonio speech keyed to Thanksgiving. He said he was thankful for the youth of the land.