Mission San Francisco de Espada, better known as Mission Espada, is one of five 18th century Spanish missions located along the El Camino Real in San Antonio TX.
Together these Missions make up the San Antonio Missions UNESCO World Heritage site and the San Antonio Missions National Park.
From the National Park Service: (
visit link)
"Mission San Francisco de la Espada
Founded in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas near present-day Weches, Texas, this was the first mission in Texas. In 1731, the mission transferred to the San Antonio River area and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada. A friary was built in 1745, and the church was completed in 1756.
Following government policy, Franciscan missionaries sought to make life within mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages and Spanish culture. In order to become Spanish citizens and productive inhabitants, Native Americans learned vocational skills. As plows, farm implements, and gear for horses, oxen, and mules fell into disrepair, blacksmithing skills soon became indispensable. Weaving skills were needed to help clothe the inhabitants. As buildings became more elaborate, mission occupants learned masonry and carpentry skills under the direction of craftsmen contracted by the missionaries.
After secularization, these vocational skills proved beneficial to post-colonial growth of San Antonio. The legacy of these Native American artisans is still evident throughout the city of San Antonio today."
Also from the National Park Service: (
visit link)
"El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, a unit of the National Park System, stretches across Texas and Louisiana. There is no formal auto tour route for the trail, but visitors and convention bureaus in communities located along the trail can provide information about local attractions and activities. For more information, visit the National Park Service El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail website or call 505-988-6098.
A number of sites along the trail are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, including many of the sites described above:
• Mission Concepción, a National Historic Landmark; National Register of Historic Places file: text and photos; Historic American Buildings Survey
• Mission San José; Historic American Buildings Survey.
• Mission San Juan Capistrano; National Register of Historic Places file: text and photos; Historic American Buildings Survey
• Mission San Francisco de la Espada; National Register of Historic Places file: text and photos; Historic American Buildings Survey
• The Alamo, a National Historic Landmark; National Register of Historic Places file: text and photos; Historic American Buildings Survey
Many of the places to see along the trail are included in the National Park Service South and West Texas Travel Itinerary, the Cane River National Heritage Area Travel Itinerary, and the Places Reflecting America's Diverse Cultures: Explore their Stories in the National Park System Travel Itinerary.
The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is the subject of an online lesson plan, San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas. The lesson plan has been produced by the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places program, which offers a series of online classroom-ready lesson plans on registered historic places."