SAN ANTONIO – The Menger and Crockett Hotels have been sold to the state. The Texas General Land Office, the investment firm Rockbridge, and the Alamo Trust announced the acquisition Tuesday.

No word yet on how much Texas paid for the two hotels.

The hotels stand on the 18th-century agricultural fields that were part of the of Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Spanish mission that would later become known as the Alamo.

“By securing the footprint around the Alamo Complex for the State of Texas, we are protecting these hallowed grounds and enhancing one of our nation’s most sacred historical sites,” said Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. “These properties have been part of the Alamo’s legacy since 1859.”

The Menger Hotel has welcomed a long line of U.S. presidents, national leaders, and cultural icons. For more than half the time that the Alamo has stood at its present location, the Menger has been its next-door neighbor, serving as a gathering place for travelers, dignitaries, and military personnel alike. Its story is deeply connected to the Alamo’s, perhaps most famously when future president Theodore Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders from inside the hotel bar.