Missions of Texas (and one in Mexico)
Some
other
missions
you
should
know
about
are:
SPANISH
MISSIONS:
At the time, (1689) the
The
first
mission
in
East
When
we
last
left
story…
La was
Alonso
After
That’s
the
right!!!
de
failure
Leon
They
had
ofour
the
returned
Tejas Mission,
to
So…
what
did
the
Difficulties
with
the
Tejas
So,
in
1693,
Massanet
One
of
the
“Gateway
Missions”
• Spanish
San
Saba
deyla
Santa
Cruz
–known
known
as
the
“San
Attempt
#1
•
San
Jose
San
Miguel
de
Aguayo
–
La
Bahia
del
Espiritu
Santo
–
known
as
the
•
San
Antonio
de
Valero
–
as
the
Some
of
them
were
known
as
only
settlement
Texas,
San Francisco
de
Salle
had
been
killed,
his
settlement
Mexico
the
stopped
Spanish
City
ignoring
started
to
tell
Texas
the
building
viceroy
and
missions
Spanish
government
DO
Indians,
problems
with
and
the
surviving
frairs
San
Juan
Bautista.
Built
in
1699,
it1757
Saba
Mission”
was
built
inJose”
and
was
an sent Fray Damien
The
Spanish
known
as
“Mission
San
it
was
“Goliad
Mission”
was
built
in
1722
on
the
“Alamo”
it
was
built
in
1718
on
the
“Gateway
Missions”.
Those
were
in
Texas
was
in
the
los Tejas,
was
started
in
called
Ft.
St.
Louis
had
been
about
ain
started
little
the
farther
building
fate
of
west.
missions
the
French
as
response
to
de
Leon’s
floods,
failed
crops
and
burned
the
missions
and
was
known
as
a
halfway
stop
attempt
to
Christianize
the
Plains
tribes.
Massanet
to East Texas to start
built
in
1721
on
the
San
Antonio
River
Guadalupe
River.
It
was
first
built
on
topUmm…
of
San
Antonio
River
mostly
along
the
Rio
Grande
and
Mountains
and
Basins
1690.
destroyed.
settlement
close
to
French
of
Ft.
Louisiana
St.
Louis.
news?
supply
shortages
doomed
went
back
to
Mexico.
between
Mexico
and
the
missions
that
went
well…
a
mission
for
the
Tejas
tribe of
and
was
the
most
successful
of
all
the
the
site
of
Fort
Saint
Louis,
but
was
moved
served
as
supply
stops
for
the
Region
in
El
Paso.
as
possible
in their
the Southeastern
East Texas missions
However,
that
was attempt
WEST
farther
east.
the
Culture.
Spanish
missions
farther
up
river
a
little
later
missions
farther
east.
Itto
was
called
Corpus
colonize
Texas…
it’sTexas!!!
time to move EAST!
Christi de Ysleta. It was
E
Ft.
Ft.St.
St.
founded in 1682.
Louis
Louis
1st
1st Corpus Christi de Ysleta (Rio Grande)
E
½
San Francisco de los Tejas (Neches R.)
Alonso de Leon
½
San Juan Bautista (Rio Grande)
San Antonio de Valero (Alamo – San Antonio R.)
San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo (San Antonio R.)
La Bahia del Espiritu Santo (Guadalupe R.)
San Saba de la Santa Cruz (San Saba R.)
Mexico City
Mapping the Missions
Official
Name
Corpus Christi
de Ysleta
We’re going
to call it…
Ysleta
San Francisco Tejas Mission
de los Tejas
Symbol
Date
Founded and
River
Native
Americans
Served
Claim to Fame
1st
1682
Rio Grande
Jumano and
Tiguas
1st permanent settlement of
Europeans in Texas
E
1690
Neches
Caddos
(Tejas)
1st Spanish mission after La
Salle (East TX)
1699
Rio Grande
Coahuiltecans
½ -way supply station between Mexico
City and Missions of East Texas – not in
TX (a “Gateway Mission”)
San Juan
Bautista
San Juan
San Antonio
de Valero
Valero
(Alamo)
1718
San Antonio
Tonkawa
San Jose y
San Miguel
de Aguayo
San Jose
1721
San Antonio
Tonkawa
La Bahia del
Espiritu Santo
La Bahia
(Goliad)
1722
San Saba de
la Santa Cruz
San Saba
(The Plains
Mission)
1757
San Saba
½
Guadalupe
Known as the Alamo – built b/c they
Coahuiltecans needed a midway point b/t Bautista
and E. TX
Coahuiltecans
Karankawa
Apache &
Comanche
“Queen of the Missions”, the
most successful mission in TX
(on the SA Mission Trail)
First established on Ft. St. Louis
site, then moved to Guadalupe
River (became Goliad)
Apaches asked for the mission to
protect them from Comanches –
MASSACRE!! Failed b/c Plains Indians
were too independent
Most of the
missions built in
the 1600s were
along the Rio
Grande… until La
Salle established
Ft. St. Louis… then
the Spanish
started building
farther east in
order to claim
more of this area
(what would be
Texas) for Spain
Mission
Ysleta in
El Paso
Mission San Francisco de los Tejas
Goliad Mission
This Catholic mission in San Antonio now stripped to
bare stone was originally plastered white and
adorned with red, blue, yellow, and black painted
designs. It was built to serve as a barrier against
French expansion into Texas. Made using local
materials and artisans, the stone-faced adobe
structure features a floor plan that reflected Catholic
traditions.
Conception
Mission San
Juan
Espada
Alamo (Valero)
Mission San Jose
Rancho de las Cabras
Rancho de las Cabras
Local ranchers had long been aware of the crumbling stone walls that protruded from a tangle of thorny brush at this Wilson County site. Situated on a high point above
the San Antonio River, the ruin was a distinctive landmark. And given its proximity to San Antonio, with its rich Spanish Colonial heritage, some thought it might even be
another Spanish mission.
After researchers sifted through historic maps and records, however, it became apparent that the site had to be the ranch of Mission San Francisco de la Espada—Rancho
de las Cabras, or the Ranch of the Goats. The ranch was built in the 1750s after early San Antonio residents—Canary Islanders—complained that mission cattle were
trampling their crops. Espada had large herds—as many as 1,150 head of cattle, 740 sheep, 90 goats, 30 horses and oxen, according to a 1745 report. To meet the
resident’s demands, the friars arranged for the animals to be moved to mission grazing lands some 30 miles to the southeast, and appointed Indians from the mission to
tend to their needs. Apparently, the herders and their families were left largely on their own, as long as the animals were well cared for and the designated allotment of
animals was supplied weekly to meet the mission’s needs. Removed from the protection of the soldiers at Presidio San Antonio de Bejar, the native workers were
vulnerable to attacks by Lipan Apaches and other hostile raiders.
Researchers found little in historic records describing the structures at the ranch complex. The 1772 inventory of Mission Espada made on the eve of its closing, however,
described the compound as consisting of four jacals, or structures of upright poles with thatched roofs, one of which was sometimes used as a church or shrine; corrals and
pens; and a fenced field for corn. A later account mentions that 26 persons lived at the ranch. This likely included herders and their families.
Ethnohistorian T. N. Campbell, attempting to ascertain which native groups might have been represented at the ranch, found a list of 11 names in Mission Espada records
for the period 1753-1767. These included the Assaca, Caclote, Caguamama, Carrizo, Cayan, Gegueriguan, Huarique, Saguiem, Siguipan, Tuqrique, and Uncrauya.
Although we likely will never determine which group or groups were represented at the rancho, Campbell believes none of the 11 were native to the area, nor did they
speak the Coahuiltecan language. Rather, all of the groups were from extreme south Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and may have been remnants displaced by
Spanish colonies established by Jose de Escandon along the Rio Grande river around 1750.
When archeologists visited the site in the 1970s, they found a large standing ruin, enclosed within a perimeter wall of sandstone blocks, remains of several rooms, and
bases of defensive towers, or bastions. In 1976, the site and adjacent acreage was acquired by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Archeologists from the Center for
Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio were contracted to conduct field investigations prior to the historical development of the site for the
public. In month-long stints over a period of five years, archeologists from UTSA-CAR mapped the site, tested along interior walls, and probed trash heaps near the two
entry ways where gates once were located.
They determined almost immediately, based on differences in stone at different points, that the present outline of the compound is not the original, and that there had been
at least two different building phases. Later additions after 1772 apparently included extensions to the wall and completion of a chapel. The hexagon shaped compound
was accessed by two gates. Archeologists also found a kiln for making plaster, likely from the chapel interior. Postholes around the south wall were determined to
represent jacals, and household items were found on floors.
Most artifacts were found in large trash heaps, or middens, located outside the wall. In addition to chipped-stone tools and crude, bone-tempered pottery, which pointed to
the persistence of earlier native traditions, archeologists found the remains of imported ceramics, including tin-enameled, Mexican majolicas, oriental porcelain, and
French faience; coins; gunparts, and other metal objects; and an array of ornate personal items—fancy metal buckles, jewelry, and crucifixes. They also found chippedstone gunflints, indicating use of European flintlock guns, and a quantity of bone, indicating a diverse diet of domestic animals augmented by wild resources including
turkey, deer, javelina, opossum, squirrel, fish, and turtle.
One of the research interests of the archeologists had been to try to ascertain the degree to which acculturation had taken place among the Indian neophytes, particularly
when separated from the mission fold. They found a surprising indication of adherence to mission teachings, given that a chapel was erected, religious items such as
rosaries were employed, and European merchandise was used. Although traditional native practices continued, the native vaqueros apparently fulfilled their duties in
tending the herds.
As noted by UTSA-CAR archeologist Anne Fox, in a 1989 article on Rancho de las Cabras:
Life at the ranch, away from direct supervision and under extreme stress of threat of Indian attack, might tempt Indians who were a bit shaky in their indoctrination as
Spanish citizens to slip back to their earlier habits. The fact that they apparently did not could be an indication that only Indians of long standing and proven loyalty to the
mission were chosen for this job since it was so essential to the well-being of the mission residents.
The site has been acquired by the National Park Service and there are plans to include it within the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park Trail.
Sources
• http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/stplains/images/he15.html
• http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/sansaba/
index.html
Map of
Mexico in
1777
What do you
see that you
recognize from
a Texas map
today?
What do you
see that looks
different?
List some
words or names
that you
recognize?
List some
words or names
that you do
NOT recognize.
Spain