Mission San Francisco de la Espada (also Mission Espada) is a Roman Rite

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

established in 1690 by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and relocated in 1731 to present-day

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, in what was then known as northern New Spain. The mission was built in order to convert local Native Americans to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and solidify Spanish territorial claims in the New World against encroachment from

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. Today, the structure is one of four missions that comprise

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas, USA. These outposts were established by Catholic r ...

History

Founded in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas near Weches, Texas and southwest of present-day

Alto, Texas Alto is a town in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. With a population of 1,027 at the 2020 U.S. census, Alto is the closest municipality to the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, an archaeological site dating back to 800 CE, featuring a preh ...

, Mission San Francisco de la Espada was the second mission established in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Three priests, three soldiers and supplies were left among the

Nabedache The Nabedache were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas.Sturtevant, 617 Their name, Nabáydácu, means "blackberry place" in the Caddo language.Sturtevant, 629 An alternate theory says their original name was Wawadishe from the Caddo word, , ...

Indians. The new mission was dedicated on June 1, 1690. A

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic in the winter of 1690-1691 killed an estimated 3,300 people in the area. The Nabedache believed the Spaniards brought the disease and hostilities developed between the two groups. Drought besieged the mission in the summers of 1691 and 1692, and the Nabedache wished to get rid of the mission. Under threat of personal attack, the priests began packing their belongings in the fall of 1693. On October 25, 1693, the padres burned the mission and retreated toward

Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and a ...

. The party lost its way and did not reach Monclova until February 17, 1694. The mission was re-established in the same area on July 5, 1716 by the Domingo Ramón- St. Denis expedition. It was named as Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas. The new mission had to be abandoned in 1719 because of conflict between Spain and France. The mission was tried once more on August 5, 1721 as San Francisco de los Neches. As the Nabedache were no longer interested in the mission, and France had abandoned effort to lay claim in the area, the mission was temporarily relocated along the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

in July 1730.

Mission Tejas State Park Mission Tejas State Park is a state park located along Texas State Highway 21 in Houston County, Texas, originally constructed in 1935 and transferred to Texas Parks and Wildlife in 1957. The closest major town is Crockett, Texas. The park is ...

encompasses the original site of the mission. The mission relocated to its current location in the San Antonio River area (coordinates 29.3177°, -98.4498°) in March, 1731 and was renamed San Francisco De la Espada. A friary was built in 1745, and the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

was completed in 1756. The relocation was in part inspired by fears of French encroachment and need for more Missionaries to tend to San Antonio de Bexar's Indian population. The Mission encountered great difficulties in presiding over the Indian population and experienced common rebellious activity. Several modern churches have been architecturally based on the design of this mission including St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Wimberley, Texas, north of San Antonio.

Rancho de las Cabras

Rancho de las Cabras was established between 1750 and 1760, 30 miles southeast of San Antonio de Bexar under the jurisdiction of Mission Espada, so as to provide land for cultivation of crops and livestock for the Mission's population without intruding on private lands. The ranch was primarily made up by low fences and thatched buildings known as ''jacales'' for the native workforce to inhabit. According to Ethno-Historian T.N. Campbell, the ranch was likely constructed by Indians not native to Texas. It is listed separately as part of the World Heritage Site.

Espada Acequia

Mission San Francisco de la Espada's

acequia An acequia () or séquia () is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particularly n ...

and aqueduct can still be seen today. The main ditch continues to carry water to the mission and its former farm lands. This water is still used by residents living on these neighboring lands. The use of acequias was originally brought to the arid regions of

and

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by the

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and the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. When Franciscans missionaries arrived in the desert Southwest they found the system worked well in the hot, dry environment. In order to distribute water to the missions along the San Antonio River, Franciscan missionaries oversaw the construction of seven gravity-flow ditches,

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s, and at least one aqueduct — a network that irrigated approximately of land.''

Gallery

Image:Aqueduct 01.jpg, The Espada aqueduct as it crosses Piedras creek Image:Mission Espada Chapel Interior.JPG, Interior of the church File:Nativity2009MissionEspada.JPG, Nativity scene, 2009. File:Mission Espada Nativity Scene.jpg, Nativity scene, 2011. File:Mission San Franscisco de Espada, San Antonio, Texas.jpg, Mission San Francisco de Espada, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, 1901-1907)

References

*"Mission San Francisco de la Espada"
National Park Service
Retrieved July 12, 2005. *"Interpretive Guide to Mission Tejas State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife. 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Francisco De La Espada San Francisco de la Espada San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Churches completed in the 1690s National Register of Historic Places in San Antonio Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas San Antonio Missions (World Heritage Site) 1690 establishments in New Spain 1690 establishments in Texas 17th-century architecture in Mexico Spanish Colonial architecture in Texas

History

Rancho de las Cabras

Espada Acequia

Gallery

See also

References