Content Abstract: The Casino Association, San Antonio's first social club, was formed in 1854 and incorporated in 1857. It was formed to promote cultural and literary activities in the city. Membership was initially limited to ethnic German men but commissioned U.S. military officers in San Antonio had a standing invitation to be guests at the club. Over time, the membership of the club broadened but the Casino Association was where the elite of San Antonio's German community gathered. Much of the club's early business and conversation was conducted in German. In 1925, the Casino Association was consolidated with the San Antonio Club, a literary society formed in 1882. Together the clubs formed the San Antonio and Casino Clubs, also known as the San Antonio-Casino Club. The San Antonio-Casino Club was dissolved around 1950. The collection contains correspondence, articles of incorporation, account books, mortgage notes, financial and legal records, and guest lists, which document the activities of the members and officers of the San Antonio and Casino Clubs. The correspondence and the activities of long time Club President Conrad A. Goeth (also a San Antonio attorney and Judge) are well documented here.

Content Abstract: Founded in 1857 as a rifle club, the San Antonio Schuetzen Verein (directly translated as San Antonio Shooting Club), held target shooting matches in the rural communities around the San Antonio area. The collection comprises 9 ledgers, dating 1891 to 1917, detailing the results of the shooting matches held in towns in the San Antonio area, as well as information regarding dues paid by the different communities' gun clubs.

Content Abstract: Special Collections was a department of University of Texas at San Antonio Library until the department merged with the UTSA Archives in the late 1990s to become the Special Collections and Archives Department (later the Archives and Special Collections Department). In 2011 the department was renamed and again became Special Collections. UTSA Libraries Special Collections collects books and archival material relating to the history of San Antonio and the Southwestern United States. The collection spans the years 1818 through 1974 and is comprised of letters, various legal and genealogical documents, other manuscripts, and printed material pertaining to the history of South Central Texas.

Content Abstract: The Institute of Texan Cultures Oral History Collection originated from a regional meeting of the Texas Historical Commission held in Bandera, TX in 1973 calling for the creation of an oral history program to document the history of San Antonio and Bexar County. The collection consists of 900+ interviews conducted since 1967 and document a broad range of activities related to life in Texas.