Manchaca

Early development around Manchaca probably stemmed from the springs in the area. Manchaca Springs are a stopping place along a portion of the Old San Antonio Road and later the Chisholm Trail.

Over time there has been much conjecture as to the origin of the name "Manchaca". One school holds that "Manchaca" is derived from the Choctaw word imashaka, meaning "behind it" or "to the rear." There are two areas in Louisiana that carry that name: Manchac Pass and Bayou Manchac.[4] However, another theory holds that Manchaca Springs was named for Tejano army officer José Antonio Menchaca. The current pronunciation of the name 'Manchaca' stems from simple Anglicization.[5]

The springs are referred to as "Manshack Springs" in a collection of memoirs written by an early Anglo settler describing life in 1840s Texas, Recollections of Early Texas: Memoirs of John Holland Jenkins. Thomas Falconer, an English explorer who passed through the area in 1841 referred to the springs as "Manjack's Springs" in his manuscripts. Early maps and newspaper articles indicate the spelling was "Manchac Springs," orthography corroborated by maps produced by noted Tejano land agent Jacob de Cordova in 1849 currently housed at the Texas General Land Office in Downtown Austin.