Mission Espada

Mission San Francisco de la Espada was the final mission of the three established in 1731.  We decided to visit the missions in reverse order relating to their closeness to San Antonio, so it became the first mission we visited.  

The missions of San Antonio weren’t just churches, which many people may think today.  They were, in fact, small communities.  Each had a church, and also a farm and ranch.  The Franciscan friars taught the natives to act as Spaniards, and converted them to the Catholic religion.  There were 6 missions – five of them flourished.  In the above image, you can see the remains of the quarters where the Indians lived.

Before the Franciscans arrived, Texas was like a large country without highways, walls or buildings.  However, in the span of a single lifetime, the Coahuiltecan Indians were farming at Mission Espada and learning about laying brick and stone.  The mission community echoed traditions of Europe in the Middle Ages, and the Indians’ world was changed forever.  I really like getting images looking through windows – reminds me of what some of the Indians may have seen from their homes.  The “Indian quarters”, as they are referred to, make up the outside walls of much of this mission.

Ladrillos were a type of brick used in the Mission construction in the 1800s.   These bricks are thinner and wider than bricks of today.  They closely resembled the size and of Roman bricks.  They are obvious in the doorway image above.  There’s even some hint of it in the church window.  And, here I thought they were just some nice decorative touches on the doorways – who knew some history was involved?

Mission Espada was especially vulnerable to attacks from both the Apache and Comanche Indians.  Along one wall was an area where reinforcements would protect the Mission.  It was located on either side of the main entrance to the Mission, altho one side had more of a building.  At times, only 2 soldiers and their families were at Mission Espada, so families from the nearby village of San Fernando were called upon to help.  Experience at other Missions proved that for a mission to survive, constant, even if small, military presence was needed.  Records indicate that only 16 flintlocks and two swivel guns (small, wall mounted cannons) were used to protect this Mission. On the other side of the main gate is a wall with “loopholes” in it, through which guns were fired at the attackers.

The church at Mission Espada was actually in a couple different locations.  The first church is the main church that stands today.  It was the smaller of the two churches, although it looks quite large and majestic in my images!  There is what appears to be a low wall that winds around one side of the church.  These are foundations laid in 1742 for what was planned to be an expansion of the church.  However, when the master mason abruptly left the mission and the area, work ceased and the larger church was never built. The second church was first built to be a granary, but then was used as the church for 3 years, when the mission population grew.  You can only see the foundation today. When the population fell again, they moved out of the “granary” building back into the “little” church. During the years 1716 – 1773, over 1000 people were baptized at the church.  Along the side of the foundations, one can see the areas used to anchor the wooden arches of the building, both as granary and church.  

When it was used as a granary, the women of the area would come each week and receive corn, based on their situation (i.e., married, with children, widows).  The Franciscans introduced many new foods and spices, such as cumin, oregano, pepper, cinnamon, saffron, garlic and rosemary, to the people who lived here.  Chilies and corn were already staples in the native’s diet.  Interestingly, the foundations of the granary/church reflect the footings for the curved arches that formed the ceiling for when it was both the church and granary (image on the left).  The image on the right reflect the foundations of what is called the “new granary”.  I didn’t find any explanation of this – my assumption is that it was built for the period of time that the first granary was used as a church. 

The current church was first built as a sacristy, but later used as the church.  Interestingly, the front façade of the church, along with the door, are original and over 200 years old.  I’ve also included images of the well alongside the church, and the walkway between what I’m assuming was the rectory and the church.  It’s truly a lovely shaded walkway that sort of invites one to sit and reflect, doesn’t it?

This final image includes a sort of main feature in the center plaza area of the mission – an old oak tree that has many of its branches on the ground.  Can you imagine the history it has lived through?  The circular bastion in the other image was added after the Mission was secularized, in 1824.  Intense fighting occurred at this Mission during the Texas Revolution, in 1835.  

Enjoy!

Note:  Much of the narrative in this blog post was pulled directly from the information stands throughout the mission.