Mission San Juan

The next mission that we visited was Mission San Juan.  In today’s world, the two missions are only about 5 minutes away from each other – per our GPS, about 2.8 miles.  But, back in their day, I’m certain the trip between the two took quite some time. 

Missions were truly a hub of commerce during their time.  A document, dated 1797, is a list of supplies from a pack train inventory.  This train (most likely a mule train) made a trip from central Mexico, and some of the items they had for sale were incredibly expensive.  In today’s dollars, a pound of fine chocolate would cost about $28!  A robe for a Franciscan priest cost just under $700!  The above image represents one view through a wall to the center plaza of the mission where goods were bought and sold.

This area is the site of a burial ground for the Indian people and other locals. Beginning in about 1780, people were buried in this area, which was to be a church.  However, the church was never completed.  Their remains were removed in an archeological dig in 1967.  In 1999, they were re-buried in this area in a ceremony that was attended by descendants of the original people, and the Archdiocese of San Antonio.  The two photos (above) are photos of the burial ground, both from the side, and then over the top of the grounds through what would have been a door to the church.

About 7 miles of irrigation ditches watered the many fields around Mission San Juan.  The main irrigation ditch, called acequia madre, had gateways along its trail, where water would be allowed in or turned off, as determined by the mayordomo, who decided how much water was to flow where and for how long.  Water was so important to life in and around the Mission, land was measured in suertes, the area that could be watered in a single day.  The fields were quite fertile, and one quart of seed would result in six bushels of corn at harvest.  A ranch outside of the Mission was also quite prosperous, raising about 3500 sheep and 3000 heads of cattle.  Work curing hides and making other instruments and tools from this livestock took place inside the Mission.  As you can see, the waters are still flowing today and beyond the immediate surroundings of the Mission (as we saw afterwards when Jeff checked Google Earth), are still reliant on these waters for their crop fields.

There are not many remaining structures in Mission San Juan, at least not above ground.  Per archeological and old Spanish records, there is belief that this Mission was home to about 200 people at one time.  There was a page of the 1778 census in a small on-site museum, and although it’s just about impossible to read, I thought it was a nice piece of the history of this Mission to include, along with some partial structures still standing.  

The main gateway into the Mission was monitored by a potero, in a sense a monitor or gateway guard to the Mission.  Traders had to show their papers before being allowed to enter.  The porter lived in a small house, called a porteria, which was next to the main gate, and housed the small museum.  Shown here (in clockwise order starting in the upper left corner} are the door to the porteria, the overhead arch, the gateway, and the outer wall of the porteria.  The porteria door now leads to the small museum, mentioned above.

The church in the Mission is actually quite small.  However, small, it is an active church, with masses every Sunday at 10:30am (English) and Noon (Spanish).

As we completed our walk around the Mission, leaving the Church and heading toward the Priest’s House, Jeff noticed these markings on the sidewalk.  He didn’t know what they were, but my Catholic upbringing helped me to recognize them as markings for the Stations of the Cross. 

Enjoy!!