10th Street substation excavation of the Acequia Madre (41 BX 8), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

The acequias or irrigation systems were an important factor in the early history of San Antonio. One of the earliest of these was the Acequia Madre (41 BX 8) or Mother Ditch. Recently, proposed construction by City Public Service at the 10th Street Substation was expected to encounter the course of the acequia, thus requiring archaeological investigation. Excavation of a section of the acequia with a backhoe and archival research revealed new information about the history of this ancient waterway.