SAN ANTONIO – A new exhibit at the City of San Antonio’s Special Collections Museum is highlighting the often-overlooked role women played in shaping early Texas and supporting the American Revolution.
The museum, which opened last November, debuted the “Rancheras” exhibit in January. Curated by Special Collections Manager Marcus Flores, the display focuses on San Antonio’s early women who owned large ranches and exercised legal rights uncommon for women in the English colonies.
“They were influential in their communities,” Flores said. “They had large land holdings in the area.”
Under Spanish colonial law, women could own property, maintain land separately from their husbands, and sue in court, Flores explained. This legal framework granted them rights that many English women on the East Coast did not possess.
Among those featured in the exhibit is Maria Robaina de Bethencourt, who arrived with the Canary Islanders in 1731. Flores noted that she became one of the area’s most prominent landowners, operating large ranches before her death in 1779.
The exhibit also connects these pioneering women to the American Revolution. When Spain declared war on Great Britain in 1779, it aimed to weaken British forces while protecting its own empire. The rancheras supported this effort by supplying cattle to Spanish Governor Bernardo de Gálvez’s military campaign.
“They actually did send cattle to the cause,” Flores said. “They had these large land holdings and a lot of cattle, so they sent that to Gálvez.”
A centerpiece of the exhibit is a 1779 census record of Leonor Delgado, identified as a patriot of the American Revolution. This document lists her household, horses, and cattle, providing a rare glimpse into life on the frontier.
For Flores, the research brought new appreciation for the women behind these historical records. “I think just learning about the women, how much rights they actually wielded during that time period,” he said, “seeing it on paper gives a lot more depth to the story.”
