Mission Espada

Ok this is my first blog entry ever and what a better way to start it off than talking about one of the missions from our great city. I along with several other classmates visited Mission San Francisco de la Espada, Mission Espada for short. The mission is located a couple of miles south of San Antonio. It is surrounded by a forest and spurts of flat land in between. It is a very rural, very quiet place to live with exception of the gunshots “dove hunting season”. The mission it self is surrounded by old quarry stones and bricks that forms the outer walls that range from knee length to about 8 feet in height. The mission was moved across Texas and Louisiana 3 times before finally settling at its current position. A friary was built in 1745 and church was completed in 1756. The purpose of the mission was to convert the local Native Indians to Christianity. The mission served as a viceroyalty of New Spain. From the southern tip of South America, to the Canadian border was all under Spain’s control. The mission was a small town where the Indians were given “forced really” religion, clothes, and a job to do. The mission was constructed by the Spanish who then ordered the Indians to build it. The mission was frequently attacked by nearby Apache’s for food. The Spanish taught the Indians techniques vital for surviving. The most important was the acequias which are the irrigation ditches. This helped them grow food and raise livestock. The mission was built relatively close to the San Antonio River for this reason. The church and the mission still stand like the day it was built. In fact the church’s doorway arches were built incorrectly and till this day remains that way. The story goes that the mason building the arches fled in the middle of the night leaving the Indians to finish the job. There is a theory that states the mason killed somebody and was on the run. Being a person of Mexican origin I find this mission like all missions a story in the lives of mypeople. As a Texan I find these missions precious like a best friend. We are fortunate to have the mission stand undamaged like it was when it was first built, so we should take extra responsibility in helping preserve the mission and the irrigation ditch systems that run through it. -Art