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Thanks to the popularity of Mexican cuisine around the world, there are plenty of Spanish words in English that you probably use daily: taco, tortilla, quesadilla, tequila and so on. But you may be surprised to learn that there are hundreds more Spanish words hidden in English. In fact, English has been borrowing from Spanish for a very long time.

Present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada and Utah (plus parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming) were all part of Mexico until they were ceded to the United States at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Although the change in sovereignty meant a massive influx of English speakers, it also meant that thousands of Mexicans living in the region suddenly became Americans.

Even earlier, in 1819, Spain ceded their Florida colony (which included parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana) to the United States. As a result of a centuries of shifting borders, Spanish and English have had numerous opportunities to rub off on each other. Here are just some of the Spanish words that you probably use every day.

State Names

California - a mythical island from the 1510 Spanish novel Las sergas de Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

Colorado - "red-colored" (referring to the color of the river that is the state's namesake).

Florida - "flowery"

Montana - from montaña ("mountain")

Nevada - "snowy"

New Mexico - an anglicization of Nuevo México.

Texas - the Spanish adopted the word tejas from the language of the indigenous Cado people. It means "friends" or "allies."

Utah - derived from the name of the indigenous Ute people, by way of Spanish yuta.

Arizona - from Spanish Arizonac, itself an adoption of the word alĭ ṣonak, meaning "little spring," from the local O'odham language. Alternate etymology may be the Basque haritz ona (good oak).

Cities

Buena Vista - "good view"

El Paso - "the pass"

Fresno - "ash tree"

Las Vegas - "the meadows"

Los Angeles - a shortened version of the older name, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River"

Monterey - "king's mountain"

San Antonio - "Saint Anthony"

San Francisco - "Saint Francis"

Santa Cruz - "holy cross"

Cowboy Vocabulary

Nothing's more American than a cowboy, right? Well actually, the first people to herd cattle on horseback in North America were the vaqueros who introduced the ancient Spanish equestrian tradition to the Southwest. Their name is derived from vaca, the Spanish word for - you guessed it - cow.

buckaroo - anglicization of vaquero

corral - "pen" / "yard"

chaps - chaparreras: leg protectors for riding through

desperado - desesperado ("desperate")

hackamore - a kind of horse bridle taken from the Spanish jáquima ("halter")

quirt (a short horseman's whip) - a short horseman's whip from the Spanish word cuarta ("quarter")

ranch - rancho ("a very small rural community")

rodeo - from rodear ("to go around")

stampede - from estampida

Geography & Weather

Animals

Arts & Culture

aficionado - "fan," from aficionar ("to inspire affection")

bodega - "cellar"

fiesta - "party"

macho - "the property of being overtly masculine"

matador - from matar (to kill)

patio - "inner courtyard"

plaza - "public square"

piñata - Mexican Spanish, from Latin pinea (pine cone)

pueblo - "small town," derived from Latin populus

quixotic - derived from the name of Cervantes' famous, delusional knight Don Quixote

rumba - from Cuban Spanish rumba ("spree"), it was the name of a popular tango melody in the early 20th century and became a more general type of Cuban dance music

tango - this word comes to English from Argentine Spanish, but like originates from the Niger-Congo language Ibibio's tamgu ("to dance")

telenovela - "soap opera"

War & Conflict

armada - "armed," from Real Armada Española ("Royal Spanish Navy")

conquistador - "conqueror"

flotilla - diminutive of flota ("fleet")

guerrilla - "small war"

renegade - from renegado ("turncoat" or "traitor")

vigilante - "watchman"

Transportation

cargo - from the Spanish verb cargar ("to load")

embarcadero - "boat dock"

embargo - from the Spanish verb embargar ("to seize")

galleon - galeón, a large sailing ship with three or more masts

Food & Drink

burrito - "little donkey"

chorizo - "spiced pork sausage"

cilantro - "coriander"

daiquiri - named after Daiquiri, a port city in eastern Cuba

habanero - "from Havana"

jalapeño - "from Jalapa"

mojito - diminutive form of Cuban Spanish mojo ("sauce")

nacho - named after Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, who is purported to have invented the dish in 1943

taco - "plug"

tequila - named after Tequila, the Mexican district where the spirit originated

vanilla - from Spanish vainilla

More Spanish Words In English

bonanza - "prosperity"

cafeteria - from cafetería ("coffee store")

incommunicado - estar incomunicado ("to be isolated")

jade - from piedra de ijada ("stone of flank")

nada - "nothing"

platinum - from platino (little silver)

pronto - "hurry up!" in Mexican Spanish

siesta - "nap," originally from Latin sexta hora ("sixth hour")

suave - "smooth," sometimes "cool" in Latin America

adobe - from Spanish adobar (to plaster), from Arabic aṭ-ṭūb ("the bricks")

cabana - from Spanish cabaña ("cabin")

Spanish Words In English That Are Actually Nahuatl

English isn't the only language with a penchant for absorbing words from other languages. Many words that English has acquired from Spanish originally came from other languages, mostly those of native American populations that were subjugated by the Spanish colonial empire. Here are popular examples that entered English vernacular through the Nahuatl language in Mexico.

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111 English Words That Are Actually Spanish

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Thanks to the popularity of Mexican cuisine around the world, there are plenty of Spanish words in English that you probably use daily: taco, tortilla, quesadilla, tequila and so on. But you may be surprised to learn that there are hundreds more Spanish words hidden in English.

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National History Day, an annual program for elementary and secondary students designed to "teach essential historical literacy that motivates students to secure the future of democracy," defines secondary sources as follows:
What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are works of synthesis and interpretation based upon primary sources and the work of other authors. They may take a variety of forms. The authors of secondary sources develop their interpretations and narratives of events based on primary sources, that is, documents and other evidence created by participants or eyewitnesses. Frequently, they also take advantage of the work of other historians by using other secondary sources. For example, the author of the history textbook which you use in school probably did not use too many primary sources. Instead, textbook authors usually rely on secondary sources written by other historians. Given the wide range of topics covered by a typical textbook, textbook authors could not possibly find and use all the relevant primary sources themselves.

Here are some examples of secondary sources.

REFERENCE BOOKS: Reference books are good starting points for basic information about your topic, but they are only that. They should not be included in your bibliography. Look for general information in: encyclopedias, special historical dictionaries, and historical atlases. General encyclopedias such as World Book can provide you with basic information, while subject encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies provide a bit more detailed information. Encyclopedia articles often have bibliographies which can direct you to some of the major secondary sources for a topic.

Biographical dictionaries are compilations of biographies of people selected because of their fame, accomplishments, membership in a particular group, or some other distinguishing characteristic. Each person's entry is a succinct summary of his or her life, often written by an expert.

Atlases are compilations of maps. Maps created at the time of an event-such as battlefield maps created at the time of a battle-are primary sources, but maps created later, such as those tracing the migrations of Indian tribes, are secondary sources.

POPULAR PERIODICAL LITERATURE: Popular magazines, indexed in the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, can give you ideas for and some general information about particular topics. Many magazines and newspapers publish articles dealing with individuals or historical issues. For example, in the mid-1990s many U.S. newspapers and magazines wrote about Nelson Mandela, whose political activism helped revolutionize South African society by ending apartheid, and who became president of South Africa in 1994 after spending 28 years in prison for his politics. Starting a project on apartheid, you might begin here, and get ideas for interesting topics about the events that led to this revolution.

HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: Yes, really! Your textbook can be a great place to get ideas for topics and find out about the general context of your topic. If you're interested in the invention of the telescope as it revolutionized astronomy, first do some background reading on the scientific revolution as a whole, perhaps in a general textbook on European history. This will help you understand how your topic fits in with the "big picture."

GENERAL HISTORICAL WORKS AND MONOGRAPHS: Move from the general to the specific. A book on the history of astronomy will provide more detail than a general text on European history. Try a keyword search at a larger library and you'll find dozens, if not hundreds, of books on the history of astronomy and related sciences. Another way to find secondary sources on your topic is to check the notes and bibliographies of books you've already found. And sometimes you might be able to find an entire book which is a bibliography on your topic; these books will be in the reference section, especially at university libraries.
Monographs are full-length books dealing with a relatively narrow topic and typically are intended for people with some background in the subject. Monographs typically rely on primary sources and are well-documented, with numerous citations.

JOURNAL ARTICLES: Historians don't always write books. Smaller essays on specific topics can be found in scholarly journals. These are periodicals similar to magazines, only they are specifically focused on history topics. Academic journals can usually be found at college and university libraries, and there are often indexes to help you find an article on a specific topic. Or just peruse some of these journals to see what kinds of questions professional historians are asking about your topic.

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National History Day, an annual program for elementary and secondary students designed to "teach essential historical literacy that motivates students to secure the future of democracy," defines secondary sources as follows: What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are works of synthesis and interpretation based upon primary sources and the work of other authors.

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National History Day, an annual program for elementary and secondary students designed to "teach essential historical literacy that motivates students to secure the future of democracy," defines primary sources as follows:
What is a primary source? Primary sources are materials directly related to a topic by time or participation. These materials include letters, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles from the time, oral history interviews, documents, photographs, artifacts, or anything else that provides firsthand accounts about a person or event.

Some materials might be considered primary sources for one topic but not for another. For example, a newspaper article about D-Day (which was June 6, 1944) written in June 1944 was likely written by a participant or eyewitness and would be a primary source; an article about D-Day written in June 2001 probably was not written by an eyewitness or participant and would not be a primary source.

Similarly, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered soon after the 1863 battle, is a primary source for the Civil War, but a speech given on the 100th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in 1963 is not a primary source for the Civil War. If, however, the topic was how Americans commemorate the Civil War, then the 100th anniversary speech would be a primary source for that topic. If there's any doubt about whether a source should be listed as primary or secondary, you should explain in your annotated bibliography why you chose to categorize it as you did.

Students should consider the following locations when looking for primary source material:

Public and College Libraries

Local and State Historical Societies

Museums

State Archives

Corporate Archives

Town and County Historians

Town Hall Records

Town Planning Offices

Schools

Churches

Community Groups, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Daughters of the American Revolution, Ethnic Organizations, etc.

Community Residents

Here are some common questions about primary sources:

Are interviews with experts primary sources? No, an interview with an expert (a professor of Civil War history, for example) is not a primary source, UNLESS that expert actually lived through and has firsthand knowledge of the events being described.

If I find a quote from a historical figure in my textbook or another secondary source and I use the quote in my project, should I list it as a primary source? No, quotes from historical figures which are found in secondary sources are not considered primary sources. The author of the book has processed the quotation, selecting it from the original source. Without seeing the original source for yourself, you don't know if the quotation is taken out of context, what else was in the source, what the context was, etc.

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National History Day, an annual program for elementary and secondary students designed to "teach essential historical literacy that motivates students to secure the future of democracy," defines primary sources as follows: What is a primary source? Primary sources are materials directly related to a topic by time or participation.

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Founded: 1717

Status: Archaeological site

Location: 701 South Broadway, San Augustine, TX 75972 (visitor center)

Mission Dolores was established in 1717. It was abandoned in 1719 with the advent of hostilities between Spain and France.

The mission was reestablished in August 1722, by Father Antonio Margil de Jesús, who moved it east of the previous site, in order to be near a stream and a large tract of level land that could be used for farming.

The mission continued until 1773, when the Spanish government ordered all of East Texas to be abandoned.

Mission Dolores is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated State Archeological Landmark. Archaeological research on the site has found a wide variety of Indian pottery and locally made utensils, as well as gun flints, knife blades and horse rigging probably brought from Mexico by garrison soldiers.

There is a modern visitors center on site with a variety of interpretive exhibits.

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Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais - Texas Mission Guide

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Founded: 1717 Status: Archaeological site Location: 701 South Broadway, San Augustine, TX 75972 (visitor center) Mission Dolores was established in 1717. It was abandoned in 1719 with the advent of hostilities between Spain and France.

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NUESTRA SENORA DE LOS DOLORES DE LOS AIS MISSION | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

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For almost fifty years the Spanish padres at Mission Dolores wandered the reaches of Ayish Bayou attempting to minister to the inhabitants, but with little success. When the order came in 1773 to abandon Los Adaes and the mission, the civil population at Los Adaes petitioned to be allowed to settle at the Ais mission, but to no avail.

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The missionaries strove to make life in the mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages. They taught mission Indians specific vocations - men learned carpentry, masonry, and stonecutting to construct elaborate buildings. Espada was the only mission to make brick, which is still visible.

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Mission San Francisco de la Espada--South and West Texas; A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

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Mission San Francisco de la Espada, within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

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Mission San Juan - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Mission San Juan Capistrano has been the home to many people over 230 years of history. Its history consists of memories and stories of its past inhabitants and present visitors. It is a place of historical, cultural, and religious significance, as well as a place of inspiration and education.

The story begins in 1775, when Mission San Juan Capistrano was first founded by Father Lasuen, on October 30th. But just a few weeks after the party of padres and soldiers arrived, they received word of the revolt occurring in San Diego. The founding padres, and soldiers decided to leave San Juan Capistrano, and go back to San Diego to help there. Once things had settled in San Diego, Saint Serra personally led a party to re-found Mission San Juan Capistrano on All Saint's Day, November 1, 1776.

Mission San Juan Capistrano, became the seventh of twenty-one missions to be founded in Alta California. Like the previous six missions, San Juan Capistrano was established to expand the territorial boundaries of Spain, and to spread Christianity to the Native peoples of California. Unlike the British colonies on the East Coast of North America, who brought people from their homeland to form colonies, the Spanish believed they could transform the Native peoples into good Spanish citizens. The idea was to make colonial outposts called missions, led by Franciscan padres and Spanish soldiers. The missions would be a center of learning and training of Native peoples. The Spanish government and Catholic Church wanted to convert the people to Christianity, train them in Spanish or European lifestyle, so that the Native peoples would eventually live in towns and pay taxes, like good Spanish citizens.

In reality, the Spanish padres and soldiers had a huge task ahead of them. Moving into the frontier, making a community from scratch, and trying to communicate and convert the Native Americans was not an easy task.

Native Americans first came to the Mission because they were curious about the Spanish forms of technology, new animals, new food, and ideas. As the Native peoples interacted with the Spanish they soon realized the padres wanted them to convert to Christianity and join the Mission.

Whether they fully understood it or not, if the Native man or woman decided to be baptized, and join the Mission community, it became a symbol, or contract that showed their commitment and forever bonded them to the mission. Not only did the baptized individual receive a new Christian name, they also agreed to new rules and lifestyle changes. One condition of joining the Mission was that the converts could no longer leave the grounds without permission. The padres taught the Native American converts the Spanish language, a new set of craft skills, the religion Christianity, and European and Christian social customs.

For over the next 30 years, Mission San Juan Capistrano grew in population, buildings, livestock, and prominence. By 1806, Mission San Juan Capistrano had a population of over a 1,000 people, over 10,000 head of cattle, and a completed architectural gem, The Great Stone Church.

After 1812, the Mission began to decline. Many factors were involved in the Missions decline including the earthquake in December of 1812 which caused the Great Stone Church to collapse, the decline in birth rate, the increasing mortality rate of the population due to disease, the inability of Spanish government to adequately protect and supply the Missions with needed goods.

By 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, which made Alta California a territory of Mexico. Under new governmental direction, the Mission faced continued decline. By 1834, the Mexican government decided to end the mission system entirely. Soon after the decree of secularization, or the ending of the missions, the land holdings of Mission San Juan Capistrano were divided and sold to 20 prominent California families. By 1845, Governor Pio Pico even sold the Mission itself. The Mission was sold at auction to John Forster, Governor Pio Pico's brother-in-law for $710, when it was valued to be worth more than $54,000. For the next 20 years the Mission was a private ranch property of the Forster family.

Mission San Juan Capistrano, like California, saw yet another government take over California, when the United States won the Mexican American War in 1848. As part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, California and other western territories were ceded to the United States. With the Gold Rush beginning, and millions of Americans moving to California, Mission San Juan Capistrano would see another great change.

Only a few years after acquiring the territory of California, the United States declared it a state 1850. Many California dioceses and parishioners petitioned the government to have mission buildings and lands returned to the church. People were saddened at the state of the missions. Some mission buildings had been turned into stores, bars, inns, or even stables. Most were falling apart and not maintained.

President Abraham Lincoln responded to the petitioners by giving back the missions to the Catholic Church. By the 1870s and early 1900s, artists, photographers, and visionaries took interest in the abandoned missions. Many wealthy individuals formed groups to campaign for restoration. The Landmarks Club, led by Charles Lummis and resident padre Father John O'Sullivan were Mission San Juan Capistrano's greatest proponents of preservation. Throughout the 1910s-1940s a great amount of preservation work ensued.

The Mission continues efforts in preservation, with the help of donations each year. Although the Mission is owned by the Catholic Church, it is run by a non-profit organization. This means, Mission San Juan Capistrano does not receive any funding from the Catholic Church, State, or Federal Government for operation or preservation. It depends entirely on the generous contributions of visitors and benefactors. With the help of the public, the Mission can continue to be a an inspirational historic, cultural, and religious site.

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Mission San Juan Capistrano has been the home to many people over 230 years of history. Its history consists of memories and stories of its past inhabitants and present visitors. It is a place of historical, cultural, and religious significance,Read more

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​ The San Antonio Missions are now a World Heritage site. The modern city of San Antonio owes its existence to its rich mission heritage.

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The altar at Mission Concepción during the Solar Illumination.

Transfer of the Mission

Originally founded in 1716 in what is now eastern Texas, the mission was one of six authorized by the government to serve as a buffer against the threat of French incursion into Spanish territory from Louisiana.

Developed by Franciscans and after a tenuous existence and several moves, the mission was transferred to its present site in 1731.

This handsome stone church took about 15 years to build, and was dedicated in 1755. It appears very much as it did over two centuries ago. Due to the fact that it was built directly on bedrock, it never lost its roof, or its integrity. It remains the least restored of the colonial structures within the Park.

In its heyday, colorful geometric designs covered its surface inside and out. The exterior patterns have long since faded or been worn away. However, there are several rooms in which to see remaining frescos with all their detail and creativity.

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Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Transfer of the Mission Originally founded in 1716 in what is now eastern Texas, the mission was one of six authorized by the government to serve as a buffer against the threat of French incursion into Spanish territory from Louisiana.

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San Antonio de Valero Mission/The Alamo---American Latino Heritage: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

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American Latino Heritage Travel Itinerary

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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo 3

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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo 3

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The City of San Antonio - Official City Website

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Mission Trails Historic Sites

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was founded by Father Antonio Margil de Jesus in 1720. Approval for its construction was granted in order to serve several Native American groups who would not settle at Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) because they refused to live with other Native American groups already residing there. As with the other missions, the primary goal of the Spanish missionaries at Mission San José was to convert local Native American groups to Christianity and to assimilate them into Spanish society. The mission was originally founded on the east bank of the San Antonio River south of the Alamo; however, it was relocated three times. It was moved to its current location on the west side of the river some time prior to 1730 (Ivey and Thurber 1983; Cruz 2013).

The earliest Native American groups to occupy the mission were the Pampopa, Pastia, and Sulujam, who seem to be closely related linguistically. Approximately 240 Native individuals were assigned to the mission upon its commission, but a deadly epidemic dramatically reduced the Indian population to 41 by 1739. Many different groups of Native Americans who belonged to different bands and who would have self-identified by different names settled at the mission during the eighteenth century. The National Park Service website, provides a complete discussion on the Native American groups who may have been living at each San Antonio mission.

The Native American residents of the mission were the predominant labor source utilized in the construction of structures in the complex and were also tasked with preparing the land for agriculture and constructing the associated system of irrigation canals known as acequias. Many of the structures on site prior to the 1760s were temporary in nature. In 1768, construction of the existing church began, and in the same year, the formerly open pueblo was enclosed behind stone walls to defend the residents from attack by hostile native groups unaffiliated with the mission. By this time, the mission compound also included a stone friary constructed in the 1740s, a granary, gristmill, and various artisan workshops, including a carpentry shop, blacksmith shop, and weaving workshop. The complex also included Indian quarters that were primarily located along the compound's walls. These dwellings were simple limestone structures with one main room and a kitchen (Ivey and Thurber 1983).

The mission system as a whole declined dramatically during the late eighteenth century partially due to a lack of new converts as well as political turmoil within the Spanish empire. As a result, Mission San José was partially secularized in 1794. In the same year, the missions' lands were divided into suertes or lots and distributed via lottery to the remaining Indian residents.

The church continued to offer services until 1824 at which time it was officially closed. During the subsequent decades, the property was occupied intermittently by Mexican and later Texian/Tejano military units, but the mission's nineteenth century history was predominantly characterized by neglect (Ivey and Thurber 1983).

The church was briefly reopened for services between 1859 and 1868 until a portion of the north wall, dome, and roof collapsed during storms. Services resumed in the sacristy in 1872, but no formal attempts to repair or stabilize the structure were undertaken until the early twentieth century. In 1928, the collapse of the church's bell tower signaled the need for additional preservation work at the site, and 1932 marked the start of a major restoration project at the mission complex. Though other entities such as the San Antonio Conservation Society and Bexar County were involved in the project, most of the funding and labor was provided through New Deal programs such as the Works Progress Administration and Civil Works Administration under the supervision of renowned local architect Harvey P. Smith. The current landscape of the complex generally reflects that envisioned by Smith during this period (National Park Service 1998).

Due to its reconstruction during the 1930s, Mission San José has been described as the most complete of the five mission complexes remaining in San Antonio. Additionally, though reconstructed, a significant portion of the original church remains intact and represents an outstanding example of Spanish Baroque architecture that was at its height in Mexico during the 1760s. The building's ornate façade, which was carefully restored during the 1940s, is one of the most significant examples of carved mission stonework in the Southwestern United States. More specifically the intricately carved "Rose Window" on the south side of the sacristy is one of the most famous examples of Spanish Colonial sculpture in the new world (Cruz 2013) and has inspired both imitations and homage in art and architecture throughout the city and the nation. The mission has also been the site of numerous archaeological investigations, including investigations of the acequia system, a well, and the church sacristy.

The mission was designated as part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in 1978. There are several additional websites that provide information regarding the mission's history as well as how to access the mission site. These include the National Park Service website and the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online. Additionally, the Library of Congress website includes a number of historic drawings, photographs, and other historical information about the complex.

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Mission San José (Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo)

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Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was founded by Father Antonio Margil de Jesus in 1720. Approval for its construction was granted in order to serve several Native American groups who would not settle at Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) because they refused to live with other Native American groups already residing there.

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The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is a federally recognized U.S. American Indian tribe located in West Texas and within El Paso County. The Pueblo is one of three tribes located in Texas and the only Pueblo located in the state.

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Founded: 1690

Status: Active Catholic Church and State Park

Location: 120 Park Rd 44, Grapeland, TX 75844

San Francisco de los Tejas was the first mission built in the Spanish state of Texas. Although there are earlier missions in what is now west Texas, when those missions were built the land was in Mexico. The original mission was near the present-day town of Weches, Texas. It was probably built of logs, since pine forests are plentiful in the area.

Another mission, Mission Santísimo Nombre de María, was built nearby on the Neches River, but was destroyed by flood soon after.

The mission was abandoned in 1719 due to French claims on the land, but it was re-established in 1721.

In 1731, the mission was moved to the San Antonio River area and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada.

The original site is located in Mission Tejas State Park, near Weches. There is a log church that is a rough replica of the original mission building. The park also has hiking trails and camping facilities.

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Mission San Francisco de los Tejas - Texas Mission Guide

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Founded: 1690 Status: Active Catholic Church and State Park Location: 120 Park Rd 44, Grapeland, TX 75844 San Francisco de los Tejas was the first mission built in the Spanish state of Texas. Although there are earlier missions in what is now west Texas, when those missions were built the land was in Mexico.

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Mission San Francisco de los Tejas, the first Catholic mission established in East Texas.

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SAN FRANCISCO DE LOS TEJAS MISSION | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

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SAN FRANCISCO DE LOS TEJAS MISSION. The first Spanish mission in East Texas, San Francisco de los Tejas, was begun in May 1690 as a response to the La Salle expedition. The location, according to the most recent research, was on San Pedro Creek just east of the site of present Augusta, a few miles west of the replica in San Francisco de los Tejas State Park.

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La Misión de San Antonio de Ysleta del Sur, established in 1680, owes its heritage to Pueblo traditions, Franciscan Missionaries and Spanish Colonial life in Northern New Mexico. This and the other three missions established here after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 are children of the pain of intolerance between cultures and forced emigration. Though in the present State of Texas, this mission's life and identity is knitted integrally to the Missions of the Kingdom of St. Francis - present day New Mexico.

Ysleta Mission, along with the others, was established by Antonio de Otermín and Fray Francisco de Ayeta in 1680. Spaniards and Native Americans arrived here, then south of the Rio Bravo, in October 1680. They had fled or were forced to accompany the refugees of the Pueblo Revolt in Northern New Mexico.

An earlier mission had been established in the region, in what is now central Juárez. By 1659 Fray García had established a Mission to the Piro Indians who had moved into the Pass. This Mission, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, is today the side chapel to the cathedral church in la Ciudad Juárez, Chih., Mexico.

The current site of Ysleta mission was first used as a refugee camp in 1675 for Pueblo Indians who were escaping Apache raiders.
Then, six years later, the people fleeing Pope's revolt in New Mexico arrived at the present site on the Camino Real and "below" the Paso del Norte by October 9, 1680. On October 12, 1680, midway between the Spanish settlement of Santísimo Sacramento (Ysleta Mission) and the Indian settlement of San Antonio.

The original mission church at Ysleta del Sur is believed to have been built of mud chinked logs and willow reeds. Tigua labor built a permanent mission from adobe by 1682. Bishop Salpointe, of Tucson, dedicated the building on October 19, 1682, two days prior to dedicating the mission of La Purísima in nearby Socorro, Texas.

The Spaniards and Native Americans who came from the north established four new communities: San Lorenzo (built by the Sumas) stood near the present day Fox Plaza. Governor Otermín used this site as his new administrative center. By the 1940s this Pueblo had been incorporated into the town of Ascarate now a part of El Paso's East Side.

Other missions were established at San Antonio de Senecú, by refugees from present day San Antonio, NM, and the Piro, and Tompiro people, originally from the area of the Salinas Pueblos. La Purísima de Socorro; was built for and by the Piro, Tano and Jemez peoples.
La Misión de la Ysleta del Sur, consecrated in 1682, was bulit by the Tigua (Tiguex, Tiwa, Tihua) speaking Pueblo Natives from Isleta and Sandia Pueblos and served by Franciscans in order to serve the Christian Tigua speaking people.

The church of San Elceario, in the town of San Elizario, was built as a presidio (post) chapel. The construction, therefore, is notably different from that of the missions. This community is 8 miles east of Ysleta on Socorro Road, which, at this point, was originally part of the Camino Real de la Tierra Andentro.

In 1691, Governor Diego de Vargas, in the name of King Charles II of Spain, gave Ysleta mission its official name: Corpus Christi de los Tiguas de Ysleta. To the Tigua, however, following the tradition of having carried the image of San Antonio with them on the march from Isleta (New Mexico), the mission church is known as San Antonio de Padua. San Antonio was the original patron saint of that Mission Church in Isleta (New Mexico). Today it is called San Augustin (Feast: August 28th).

The Rio Bravo, or Rio Grande, changed its course frequently carving itself through the desert clay. Floods inundated the valley regularly and at times knocked down or severely damaged the adobe structure of the mission in at least the 1740s, 1829 and the mid 1850s. The building was rebuilt each time. Finally in the late 1850s the current dimensions were established and the mission building was raised onto a type of platform or island.
In the flood seasons of 1829 and 1831 the Rio Grande cut a new channel. Once a mile north of the site of the mission and Pueblo, when the waters receded, the main channel of river was a mile south of the buildings. In 1848 when the border between the United States and Mexico was settled upon being the deepest of the channels, the land on which the mission stood was transferred from Mexico to the United States.

The missions then passed from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durango, Mexico, to that of the newly established Diocese of Santa Fe, NM. The Franciscan friars abandoned Ysleta and Socorro Missions and returned to Mexico.

Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first Bishop of Santa Fe, faced with a population without a shepherd recruited French diocesan priests to come to Ysleta and Socorro. They served the parish until 1881. The most notable action by the French clergy was the petitioning of a change of name of the parish from San Antonio to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This was done in 1876 Bishop Jean Baptiste Salpointe, Vicar Apostolic of Tucson, under whose jurisdiction the area had passed by this point. He was unaware (or unconcerned) of the opposition of the name change by the Pueblo residents. He approved the name change, but the Tigua members of the community continued to (and still) honor San Antonio de Padua as the patron of the Mission.

In 1881 the Jesuits took over the church serving the parish most of 110 years. One of them, Father Pinto, was influential in the development of many missions and parishes in the region. He moved the Jesuit residence and pastorate from Ysleta to Franklin when the parish of Sagrado Corazon was established. With the establishment of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Jesuits were able to serve both Franklin and Ysleta/Socorro. Fr. Pinto also created parishes as far away as Carlsbad, NM.

During the century of service by the Jesuits a number of smaller communities were established as missions of Ysleta Mission and have become independent parishes. Among these are San Antonio Parish, Corpus Christi Parish, San José and Our Lady of the Valley.

In 1918 the first school was established at Ysleta Mission. The original community of sisters staffed the school for only a few years. At that point, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio came, renaming the school to Incarnate Word School. In the 1960s, with the establishment of Our Lady of the Valley parish Incarnate Word School was split into Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School and Our Lady of the Valley School. Both schools continued to be operated until 2005 when Our Lady of Mount Carmel School was closed.

Mother Ana Luisa, CCVI, was the most famous of the sisters who served Incarnate Word School, as well as many people of the parish for many years.
Another famous Jesuit of the region, who was pastor of Mt. Carmel Parish was Fr. "Pete" Martinez, S.J. He served the parish for over a third of the time the Jesuits were at Ysleta.

Fire severely damaged the structure of the mission in 1907, burning the roof's vigas structure away. The 1897 bell tower, constructed of adobe, as well as the original façade of the church collapsed. The building was repaired by 1908 with an arched entrance door, a narrower tower and only one façade niche. The bell in the Mission Plaza is one of the surviving original bells. The current bells in the tower were cast in 1925.

In 1991 Bishop Peña of El Paso transferred the responsibility of Ysleta Mission to the Conventual Franciscans who continue to staff the parish.

The Tigua people still identify with the Mission and observe several ritual days with dancing, drumming and chanting. The principle of those days is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, June 13th.
Documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey
Mision de San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur, Southeast corner of Alameda Avenue & Zaragosa Drive, El Paso, El Paso County, TX
Alternate Title
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
Mision Nuestra Senora del Carmen
Mision Corpus Christi de la Isleta del Sur

Medium Measured Drawing(s): 7 (24 x 36 in.)
Photo(s): 17 (4 x 5 in.)
Data Page(s): 19 plus cover page
Color Transparencies: 3

Call Number
HABS TEX,71-YSL,1-

Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1933.

Notes
Survey number HABS TX-3104
Field note material exists for this structure (118-125).
Building/structure dates: 1682 initial construction
Building/structure dates: 1907 subsequent work
Building/structure dates: 184 subsequent work

Subjects
TEXAS-El Paso County-El Paso

Reproduction Number
[See Call Number]

Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository
Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

DIGID
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.tx0457

CONTENTS
Photograph caption(s):
01. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 EAST ELEVATION (FRONT).
02. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 26, 1936 SOUTH ELEVATION (SIDE).
03. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 NORTHWEST ELEVATION (NORTH SIDE AND WEST REAR).
04. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 PORTION OF NORTHWEST ELEVATION (NORTH SIDE).
05. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 NORTH ELEVATION OF EXTERIOR OF TRANSEPT (SIDE).
06. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 NAVE (EAST ELEVATION).
07. Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer May 25, 1936 ALTAR (WEST ELEVATION).
08. East (front) elevation showing south wing at rear
09. East and south facades and south wing to left
10. South (front) facade of main chapel
11. Front facade
12. West (rear) facade of church, west facade of south wing at right
13. East facade of south wing, main church at right
14. North facade of church
15. North facade, west (rear) facade visible at right
16. Front entrance and north transept at left
17. looking west to altar

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La Misión de San Antonio de Ysleta del Sur, established in 1680, owes its heritage to Pueblo traditions, Franciscan Missionaries and Spanish Colonial life in Northern New Mexico. This and the other three missions established here after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 are children of the pain of intolerance between cultures and forced emigration.

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Built in 1851, the new building retains symbolic significance to local residents and members of the Tigua Indian Tribe. Saint Anthony, the original patron saint of the mission, and below, a native figure.
Photo by James Reyes. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mission Corpus Christi de la Ysleta, once a New Mexican mission, is today considered to be the first mission in what is now Texas. The mission was established by Antonio de Otermín, governor of New Mexico, and Fray Francisco de Ayeta in 1682 and was maintained by Franciscans for the purpose of Christianizing the Tigua Indians. The Tigua came as refugees and captives with Otermín on his retreat to the El Paso area after his unsuccessful attempt to recover New Mexico in the winter of 1681-82 following the Pueblo Revolt. La Misión de la Ysleta del Sur, consecrated in 1682, was built by the Tigua (Tewa, Tiwa) speaking peoples originally from Isleta and Sandia Pueblos in what is today New Mexico and administered by Franciscan priests. The mission was located east of present day El Paso, Texas. Dedicated to the Tiguas' patron, St. Anthony of Padua, the pueblo and mission became the nucleus of a community that has existed for 300 years-the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Texas. Today, Ysleta Mission is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail.
From northern New Mexico to West Texas
The Tigua have faced many challenges in the past three hundred years since arriving in what is now West Texas, and Mission Ysleta became their home and a place of meeting and mixing of cultures. The original mission church at Ysleta del Sur is believed to have been built of mud-chinked logs and willow reeds. Later, Tigua labor built a permanent mission from adobe by 1682. Beginning in the 1670s, and succeeding years, Indians and their friars began to flee the devastating drought, starvation, and Apache attacks. Leaving their villages in the early 1670s, they moved south to establish four new communities in the southeastern portion of El Paso, including San Antonio de Senecú del Sur, San Lorenzo, Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de Los Piros de Socorro del Sur (featured in this itinerary) and Santa María de las Caldas. Earlier short-lived mission sites in the seventeenth century at El Paso del Norte served the local Mansos and Sumas. In 1682, a large influx of Spaniards and Pueblo Indian allies fleeing the Pueblo Revolt came to these communities around El Paso and helped establish new ones.

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Ysleta Mission (Mission Corpus Christi de San Antonio de la Ysleta Sur) - Spanish Missions/Misiones Españolas (U.S. National Park Service)

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Mission Corpus Christi de la Ysleta, once a New Mexican mission, is today considered to be the first mission in what is now Texas. The mission was established by Antonio de Otermín, governor of New Mexico, and Fray Francisco de Ayeta in 1682 and was maintained by Franciscans for the purpose of Christianizing the Tigua Indians.

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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo 2

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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo 2

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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo--South and West Texas; A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

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Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

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Mission San José

Founded in 1720, the mission was named for Saint Joseph and the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo, the governor of the Province of Coahuila and Texas at the time. It was built on the banks of the San Antonio river several miles to the south of the earlier mission, San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo).

Its founder was the famed Father Antonio Margil de Jesús, a very prominent Franciscan missionary in early Texas.

Mission San Jose is an active parish. Visitors are welcome to attend mass on Sundays. For more information about church services visit Plan Your Visit.

Fine carvings on the facade of Mission San José Church gave it the title, "Queen of the Missions".

Queen of the Missions

San José, as it became known, was the largest of the missions in the area. At its height, the community contained about 350 Indian neophytes, sustained by extensive fields and herds of livestock. Viewed as the model among the Texas missions, San José gained a reputation as a major social and cultural center. It became known as the "Queen of the Missions." Its imposing complex of stone walls, bastions, granary, and magnificent church was completed by 1782.

So rich an enterprise was a natural target for Apache and Comanche depredations. Although they could not prevent raids on their livestock, the mission itself was almost impregnable. In his journal, Fray Juan Agustín Morfí attested to its defensive character: "It is, in truth, the first mission in America . . . in point of beauty, plan, and strength . . . there is not a presidio along the entire frontier line that can compare with it." The danger was when working the fields or during travel to and from the ranch or other missions. With technical help from the two presidial soldiers garrisoned there, San José residents learned to defend themselves. Already proficient with bow and arrow, the men also learned the use of guns and cannon.

Mission San José has become a lasting symbol throughout the centuries for the Spanish mission frontier in Texas.

Having fallen into disrepair and partial ruin over the years, the San Antonio Conservation Society and the Federal Government among others, undertook to restore portions of the mission community in the 1920s and 1930s. The church, which had lost its dome, bell tower, and a wall, was rededicated in 1937.

In 1941, Mission San José was declared a State Historic Site, and later that same year, a National Historic Site. When the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was established in November 1978, the Spanish colonial mission was assured of protection in cooperation with the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the parish.

Reconstruction and Preservation
Much of what is visible today at Mission San José was reconstructed by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. The Archdiocese of San Antonio and San José parish are responsible for any maintenance and preservation work needed on the church structure itself. About 80% of the church is original. The National Park Service, with help from taxpayers and the park's friends group, Los Compadres, is responsible for the the extant structures and historical landscape.

The granary and the convento were still standing, but required stabilization, and some reconstruction work. The large convento housed at least two missionaries, and any travelers or guests. Living space was on the second floor, while the first was made up of storeroom, and a kitchen and refectory. The granary was one of the first structures to be restored. The San Antonio Conservation Society purchased, first, the doors and then the building when it was on the verge of collapse.

With few exceptions, the protective walls with the Indian Quarters built into them were reconstructed in the 1930s above the original foundations. The stone used was not limestone like the originals would have been. The Grape Arbor trellis was meant to enhance the Spanish Quarters located next to it.

The Rose Window
La Ventana de Rosa, the Rose Window, is located on the south wall of the church sacristy. The window has been described as the site where the Host was shown to gathered mission celebrants during the Feast of Pentecost.

The window, sculpted ca. 1775, has been the object of both legend and admiration. It is considered one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in North America. The meaning behind the name is currently unknown, but legend has it named for Rosa, the betrothed of Juan Huizar who many believe created the window.

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Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Founded in 1720, the mission was named for Saint Joseph and the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo, the governor of the Province of Coahuila and Texas at the time. It was built on the banks of the San Antonio river several miles to the south of the earlier mission, San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo).

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The Mission
San Antonio de Valero

he Mission San Antonio de Valero, established in San Antonio in 1718, was but one of many Catholic missions organized as part of the official Spanish plan to Christianize native Americans and colonize northern New Spain. Franciscan monks began building on the present site, on east side of the San Antonio River, about 1724 and remained there until 1793, when the Spanish government legally dissolved the mission and distributed ownership of its lands and buildings.

After the departure of the Franciscans, the seventy-five-year-old mission entered a long period of rather haphazard use. In addition to its famous role in the Texas revolution, the site's subsequent functions have included quarters for both Spanish and Mexican frontier troops; housing for local Indians, Tejanos, and itinerant squatters; hospital; army supply depot; Masonic lodge; jail; commercial store and warehouse; public park; tourist attraction; movie set; and historic site. This multiple use has greatly complicated efforts to document or describe the Alamo at any given time. Another difficulty arises from semantic ambiguity in many descriptions of the site, with the title Alamo sometimes used to refer exclusively to the church building and sometimes to the entire mission complex.

Our knowledge of the eighteenth-century mission derives from the written descriptions of Spanish missionaries and government observers, from archaeological evidence, and from examination of the surviving structures. Because much of this information has only recently become available, early Alamo historians and preservationists were forced to rely on oral tradition and outright speculation. Many of the resulting misconceptions have unfortunately become fixed in the popular image of the Alamo.

Regarding the church, for example, many nineteenth- and early twentieth-century observers assumed it had once been completed, then damaged by later military action. Contemporary reports indicate, however, that the mission church that now dominates Alamo imagery was never completed or actually used for religious services.

Construction on it proceeded from the late 1750s, when Father Francisco Xavier Ortiz reported the collapse of an earlier stone church with tower and sacristy, until the decline of the mission during the late 1780s and early 1790s. The design for the new church was an ambitious one, clearly intended to be the architectural masterpiece of the mission. It followed a traditional cruciform plan, with a long nave crossed near its eastern end by a short, broad transept. The walls were sturdy, over three and one-half feet thick, and well built of limestone blocks, but only roughly finished.

Inside, the church was probably paved with flagstones and was intended to have a barrel-vaulted roof, supported by stone arches, and a dome or cupola over the crossing. The walls were evidently completed at least as high as the cornices, and several of the arches with their supporting pilasters were installed. Vestiges of these arches survived into the nineteenth century and are visable in Edward Everett's painting depicting the interior view of the Alamo.

There, the project apparently stalled, however, as the mission's Indian population declined precipitously from a high of 328 in 1756 to a mere 44 in 1777. Surviving evidence suggests that the roof itself, the dome, and a second-story choir loft, designed for the west end, were never put in place.

The church of San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo, would have looked something like this had it been completed according to plan. The original design of the church has frequently been likened to that of nearby

© 1986, Texas Highways

Mission Concepción with a full three-level baroque retable facade, flanking bell towers, and a central dome topping the characteristic crusiform floorplan.

Outside, the western facade of the church, which opened onto the mission plaza, was the chief architectural glory. The mission inventory of 1793 described this facade as "a showy and impressive piece of Tuscan architecture," with arched doors surrounded by elaborate floral carvings, twisting columns, and shell-topped niches for statuary. The central facade and front comers of the church were of carefully cut and fitted blocks, unlike the rough limestone used elsewhere. Although the facade was never finished, it is possible to project its intended design, based on similar Early Baroque style facades erected in Spain and its New World provinces.

Since the mission's ecclesiastical center was never finished, mission life must have revolved around the administrative center, the priests' residence or convent. Containing offices, kitchens, dining and guest rooms, the monastery was apparently the first permanent building constructed at the mission, replacing earlier adobe structures. By the close of the mission period, the convent included two two-story wings forming an L along the west and south edges of an inner courtyard, immediately north of the church. The remainder of the mission complex, of less permanent construction than the two main buildings, is even more difficult to locate and describe. Workrooms, storerooms, and Indian residences were continually being repaired or replaced, and all apparently fluctuated considerably according to the size and vigor of the Indian population. During the mission's mid-century peak, the Indian pueblo included thirty finished adobe houses, most with open, stone-arched galleries plus a number of brush huts, or jacales; by 1793, however, only twelve Indian houses were still habitable. Theoretically, the Alamo was to have been the religious branch of the Spanish presidio-mission system established to reduce the savage frontier. A presidio, or strong defensive fort staffed by royal troops, would provide the needed military protection against both hostile natives and rebellious mission Indians. The presidio San Antonio de Bexar, however, was neither completed nor adequately garrisoned, compelling the Franciscans at San Antonio de Valero and other nearby missions to devise their own defenses against hostile Apaches and Comanches. As a result, although religion dominated the Alamo's early years, the site also manifested clear military overtones. Protective walls, probably erected after the San Saba mission massacre of 1758, enclosed San Antonio de Valero's main plaza in an irregular rectangle approximately 480 feet long (north-south) by 160 feet wide (east-west). The Indian houses lay within this enclosure, mainly along its western wall, but the church and convent buildings were outside and to the east of it. In 1793, the remaining walls had already crumbled were about eight feet high and two feet thick, constructed of stone, mud, and adobe. The main gate, located in the south wall, had been fortified as early as 1762 with a turret and three cannons, and in 1793 a small one-pound cannon also stood on a rampart near the convent entrance.

After the complex ceased to be an active religious establishment in 1793, its military characteristics became even stronger. A company of Spanish cavalry, sent to protect the settlements around San Antonio, established its quarters in the old mission [in December of 1802]. By the early nineteenth century, when Anglo-American visitors began to appear in Bexar occasionally, the site's essential orientation had changed to that of a military post. Zebulon M. Pike, who visited San Antonio in 1807, seemed unaware of its mission past, alluding to the Alamo simply as "the station of the troops" on the east side of the river. Even its popular name, "the Alamo," apparently dates from this period, reflecting the Spanish cavalry company's origin at the Mexican town of "El Alamo," near Parras in Nueva Vizcaya.

See Also:
The Spanish/Mexican Occupation 1793-1835
Source: Schoelwer, Alamo Images--Changing Perceptions of a Texas Experience, SMU Press, 1985.

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The Mission San Antonio de Valero he Mission San Antonio de Valero, established in San Antonio in 1718, was but one of many Catholic missions organized as part of the official Spanish plan to Christianize native Americans and colonize northern New Spain.

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SAN ANTONIO DE VALERO MISSION | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

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All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and "Fair Use" for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public.

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Mission Concepción - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO MISSION | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

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All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and "Fair Use" for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public.

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Mission Espada

Espada's roots lie in east Texas, where Spain founded Mission San Francisco de los Texas in 1690. Along with several others, it served as a buffer against French encroachment from Louisiana. Fevers, floods, fires, enemies, and limited supplies prompted several relocations of this early mission. On March 5, 1731, Mission San Francisco de la Espada was established along this bank of the San Antonio River.

Imagine two diverse cultures - separated by language, values and faith - colliding and merging to create a unique mix.

Spanish Franciscan missionaries pursued a powerful vision for God and country. They aligned and trained the Coahuiltecan (kwa-weel-teken) hunting and gathering cultures to be servants of God and loyal, productive citizens of New Spain. Over a 50-year period, they earnestly taught the principles of farming, ranching, architecture, blacksmithing, loom weaving, spinning, and masonry. Espada was the only San Antonio mission where bricks and tiles were made. The Catholic faith and Spanish language became the foundation of the new culture.

Many Coahuiltecans, staggered by strange intruders, famine, imported diseases, and enemy tribes, opted for the protection and steady food supply of Mission Espada. Here they mastered Spanish arts and trades - and embraced Christianity.

By the mid-1700's, these mission walls echoed with the essence of a dynamic community: the blacksmith's ringing anvil, bellowing livestock, three pounding looms, the clatter of carpentry, and the scrape of the brick maker. Imagine peach orchards and vast fields of beans, corn, and melons beyond the walls, and within, the hum of chants, prayers, and instructional conversations. Daily training and tasks were accomplished to the timing of the mission bells " which clang out three times a day...startling in the still country air."

In 1794, Espada began the process of secularization or the transformation to a church-based community. However, the mission was impoverished. Each of the remaining 15 families received land, but shared equipment and supplies.

In 1826, a band of Comanche raided the cornfields and killed the livestock. The same year, a kitchen fire destroyed most of the buildings; the chapel survived. Yet, people continued to make their home here.

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Mission San Francisco de la Espada - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Espada's roots lie in east Texas, where Spain founded Mission San Francisco de los Texas in 1690. Along with several others, it served as a buffer against French encroachment from Louisiana. Fevers, floods, fires, enemies, and limited supplies prompted several relocations of this early mission.

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The desire for a replication of Mission Dolores is still the driving force behind activity at the mission interpretive complex today. Built in 1998, the complex includes a state-of-the-art museum and archaeology lab. Although the building of a replica of the mission was included in the master plan for the interpretive complex, the replica could not be constructed.

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Between 1632 and 1793, Spanish friars travelled north from Mexico into the area that is now the state of Texas, where they built dozens of missions and presidios (military forts). The goal of the Franciscan friars was to spread the Catholic faith by converting the native Indians. The missions were supported by the Spanish colonial government, which saw them as a means of spreading Spanish influence and claiming territory.

Many of the missions, especially in the south and eastern portions of Texas, grew into thriving settlements that formed the basis of some of the state's most important cities.

In addition, the mission system had a lasting impact on the state. We can see the mission influence in place names and commonly used Spanish words, in building materials and architecture, and in agriculture and crops. The famed Texas cattle industry was started by Spanish missionaries, who brought cattle with them from Mexico!

The Missions Today

Many of the missions were abandoned and fell into ruin. Even the location of some of the missions has been lost to time.

However, there are many missions that are well preserved (or restored), and open to visitors today. Some even continue to operate as Catholic churches.

Related Sites

From 1769 to 1823, Spanish soldiers and monks built a total of 21 Missions and 5 Presidios in the area that is now the US state of California. Visit the California Mission Guide to learn about the Spanish Missions of California, and to see an animated California Mission Map.

And visit the Arizona Mission Guide to learn about the Spanish Missions of Arizona.

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Texas Mission Guide - Texas Mission Guide

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Between 1632 and 1793, Spanish friars travelled north from Mexico into the area that is now the state of Texas, where they built dozens of missions and presidios (military forts). The goal of the Franciscan friars was to spread the Catholic faith by converting the native Indians.