How San Saba Got Its Name
What do a monastery in Palestine some nine miles east of Bethlehem, an historic basilica and surrounding elegant, tree-lined neighborhood in the center of Rome and the central Texas town of San Saba have in common? They each owe their name to a Middle Eastern monk who lived in the 5th century. The man who would later come to be known as St. Sabbas the Sanctified was born in Cappadocia, an area in what is now Turkey, in the year 439.
Sabbas lived a monastic life of dedication and piety. He founded a monastery in Palestine and composed the first monastic rule of church services for guidance of the Byzantine monasteries. Sabbas died on December 5th, 532 and was sanctified, with his feast day designated as the day of his death. Among the remembrances to St. Sabbas is the monastery he founded in Palestine, now known as Mar Saba. Another is an ancient church in Rome, Italy, the basilica of San Saba, surrounded by a neighborhood of the same name. The San Saba neighborhood, regarded as a hidden gem in Rome, is characterized by tree-lined boulevards and hilltop views.
Twelve centuries after the death of St. Sabbas, New Spain, which included present day Mexico, was ruled by Spain, and the Spanish governor of the New Spain province of Tejas was Don Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos. In early December of 1732 Bustillo y Ceballos, along with 157 Spanish militia and 60 mission Indians, came north from San Antonio and pursued a band of Apaches across central Texas. On December 5th, the expedition came to a river which the Indians called El Rio de las Nueces for the pecan trees which grew along its banks. As the date on which they reached the river, December 5th, was the feast day of St. Sabbas, Governor Bustillos y Ceballos christened the river, El Rio San Sabbas de las Nueces, over time, shortened to San Saba, and the name, San Saba, entered the lexicon of Texas geography.
In February 1856, the Texas state legislature created San Saba County. The new county was named for the river which flowed through it. Later, on July 19th of that year, by a special election, the present site of San Saba was selected as the county seat, the town’s name also taken from the river.