Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga, also known as Aranama Mission or Mission La Bahía, was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

mission established 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 ...

in 1722 in the Viceroyality of New Spain—to convert native

Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

Indians 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 ...

. Together with its nearby military fortress,

Presidio La Bahía The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahía, or simply La Bahía is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the modern-day city of Goliad, Texas, United States. The curre ...

, the mission upheld Spanish territorial claims in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

against encroachment from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The third and final location near

Goliad, Texas Goliad ( ) is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It is known for the 1836 Goliad massacre during the Texas Revolution. It had a population of 1,620 at the 2020 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Gol ...

is maintained now as part of

Goliad State Park and Historic Site Goliad State Park and Historic Site is a state park located along the San Antonio River on the southern edge of Goliad, Texas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#01000258) on March 12, 2001. Park The park features ca ...

Establishment

Established on 1722 on Matagorda Bay near La Salle's Fort Saint Louis on

Garcitas Creek Garcitas Creek is a stream in Victoria County and Jackson County, Texas, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United Sta ...

, as the mission and complementing

presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

the fort was intended to secure the Texas coastline from the French and to gather the local Cocos, Copanes, and Cujanes. Being unable to attract the Indians to stay at the mission and due to violence with the Spanish soldiers, the mission was relocated only four years later, to a more favorable location on the Guadalupe River. Artifacts from this settlement are currently on display at the Museum of the Coastal Bend in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Moved in 1726 near Victoria, the mission was established among the

Tamique Aranama (Araname), also known as Tamique, is an extinct unclassified language of Texas, USA. It was spoken by the Aranama and Tamique peoples at the Franciscan mission of Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga. It is only known from a two-word phrase fro ...

and Aranama Indians in Mission Valley. Dams and stone acequias were built to carry water from the river to the mission. A ranching outpost was also built of mortar and stone at Tonkawa Bank, on the river about 12 miles below. The presidio also followed and was built at what was later to become

Fernando de León Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

's Ranch. The establishment prospered for 26 years, producing enough grain and hay to trade with other Spanish settlements. It was at this time that the foundation for cattle and horse ranching started. Although prosperous, Spanish officials recommended moving the mission to secure the area between Béxar and East Texas from the encroachment of the French and English.

Relocation to Goliad

Mission La Bahía moved in 1749 to what is now

on the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

. Temporary "jacales" housing was built from log and clay (waddle and daub), with construction of stone and mortar outer defensive walls and interior buildings initiated—but not reaching completion until 1758. The mission facilities inside the surrounding stone walls included rooms to house the priests and the Indian families, a granary, workrooms, and a separately located forge. Just across the river the complementing fortress

was built. The mission found success educating and serving the tribes Aranama, Piguique, Manos de Perro,

Tawakoni The Tawakoni (also Tahuacano and Tehuacana) are a Southern Plains Native American tribe, closely related to the Wichitas. They historically spoke a Wichita language of the Caddoan language family. Currently, they are enrolled in the Wichita a ...

, and

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

in the area, but by the early 1830s was facing opposition from raiding

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

s and

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

s. The mission became the first large cattle ranch in Texas, with near 40,000 free-roaming cattle at the height of production in about 1778. The large herds of

Texas longhorn The Texas Longhorn is an American list of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish con ...

s and

mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

s were cared for by the

vaquero The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

Indians from the mission. The mission inhabitants also grew large crops of grain, fruit, and vegetables to support themselves and for trade with others. Cattle and livestock were also driven to and traded with the other missions in east Texas and western

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Closing and restoration

The mission was to be secularized in 1794, but La Bahía remained in service until Mexican Independence in 1821. However, two

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

refused to leave and remained as parish priests. In 1830 the mission was finally secularized. With most Indians having already left, the premium lands of the mission were acquired by the local Mexican and American colonists. The mission itself devolved to the City of Goliad. The old mission's stones were also allowed to be removed and used for local construction.Craig H. Roell, "NUESTRA SENORA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO DE ZUNIGA MISSION," Handbook of Texas Onlin

accessed April 16, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. The city leased the site between 1848–1856, first for a Baptist school and then a Presbyterian school, but the building gradually fell into ruin. The mission ruins became part of the newly created Goliad State Park in 1931. In 1933, the Civil Works Administration began reconstruction of the stone chapel and granary following drawings from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

and

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

architect Atlee Ayres.

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

Company 3822(V), with funds provided by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

, finished restoring the mission between 1935 and 1941. Additional construction in the 1960s and 1980s brought the mission back its 1749 appearance. The mission was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 22, 1977. The park is currently operated by the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

References

External links

Goliad State Park and Historic Site website
(Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Churches in Victoria County, Texas History museums in Texas Museums in Goliad County, Texas 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Roman Catholic churches completed in 1758 Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Historic Landmarks in Texas 1722 establishments in New Spain 1720s establishments in Texas 18th century in Texas Spanish Colonial architecture in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Goliad County, Texas

Establishment

Relocation to Goliad

Closing and restoration

See also

References

External links