Texas: San Antonio Mission Trail

By Renée Gordon History & Travel Writer

“There’s a yellow girl in Texas, that I’m going down to see.” Unknown

For approximately 14,000 years prior to European contact, Southern Texas was home to allied groups of Native Americans. These indigenous people have become known collectively as the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan Nation and called the Coahuiltecans. They were hunter-gatherers and built their villages near waterways. Spanish conquistador Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, documented as having mapped the Texas coast in 1519, and Spain began to claim the region.

The coming of the Spanish was devastating to the native population with the introduction of weapons, European diseases, enslavement, forced assimilation, mandatory migration and conquest. Explorers came seeking gold and shortly after Franciscan missionaries came in search of souls in the 1600s. The explorers left, some of the Franciscans were killed when their message was not well received and most of the original missions were abandoned within fifty years.

LaSalle introduced a French presence into the area in 1684 and in fear of large-scale encroachment two years later Father Damián Massenet and General Alonso de León were sent to seek out and destroy the French. They found only an abandoned fort that they burned to the ground.

The Spanish developed a plan to establish a chain of missions, staffed with Franciscans, to develop faithful Spanish, catholic citizens and to impede takeover by other European nations. The Franciscans were mandated to care for the Texas missions and the first friars were dispatched from New Mexico in 1632. Twenty-six missions were founded in Texas and the missionaries brought with them a new culture, different farming methods and introduced cattle into the area.

San Antonio was known by the original inhabitants as Yanaguana, “Land of the Spirit Waters.” The Spanish named it after St. Anthony of Padua because they landed there on June 13, 1691. The city was not formally founded until 1718. #Visitsanantonio

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, an international destination, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2015. The park consists of 5 colonial missions, Mission Concepcion, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada and Mission San Antonio de Valero, familiarly known as The Alamo. The structures are approximately 2.5-miles apart, to enhance the settlers ability to join forces if attacked, in a chain that stretches along the San Antonio River for 9-miles. UNESCO.org

The unique and permanent significance of the missions is the transmission of cultures among all the ethnicities in the region, language, religion, lifestyle, art, etc. While touring the trail careful note should be taken of the blending of both secular and religious architectural styles.

The Roman Rite Catholic Mission Espada, established in 1731 is the most southern of the missions in the National Park. Gazing at the facade one can see the three mission bells as well as the carved entry door and stone arch. An operational portion of the original irrigation system is on-site. Self-guided tours are available daily with guided tours offered on the first Saturday of each month.

In 1731 Mission San Juan Capistrano was relocated to a location near the San Antonio River. Interred in a cemetery on the grounds are some of the first mission residents. Capistrano grew food and provisioned several missions and communities in Louisiana. A restored Acequia today waters the Spanish Colonial Demonstration Farm and the chapel and bell tower are also in use. The congregation is made up of some direct descendants of the original inhabitants. The paved Yanaguana Trail is a path that meanders through an area resembling that of the 18th-century.

Mission San José is known as the “Queen of the Missions.” Architecturally it has stunning elements, flying buttresses and a Rose Window. The window is believed to have been the creation of Pedro Huizar and is a renowned illustration of Baroque architecture. The mission also displays original Native American accommodations and an outdoor oven.

The oldest extant unrestored stone church in America is the Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepción de Acuña. A visit here is like a trip through time. It boasts its original facade and inside there are original frescoes and elements of Moorish architecture. The church was once painted with colored patterns that have long ago faded.