San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, national historical park established in 1983, originally authorized in 1978. Located in San Antonio, Texas, the park preserves four missions along the San Antonio River established by Spanish Roman Catholic priests in the 18th century. Besides converting indigenous peoples to Christianity, the missionaries taught crafts and skills and established independent farming communities. The missions included irrigation systems, called acequia, which diverted water from the San Antonio River. Although they prospered in the mid-18th century, conflict with the Apache and Comanche led to the missions being abandoned by the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The missions are connected by the Mission Trail, which is 8.9 km (5.5 mi) long.

The Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña, or Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was first founded in 1716 in eastern Texas and was moved to the San Antonio area in 1731. The church building was completed in 1755, and Mission Concepción was an important religious center for many years. Of the four churches in the park, it has undergone the least restoration, preserving its Spanish colonial architecture.

The Mission San Francisco de la Espada, known as Mission Espada, was founded in 1690 in eastern Texas, and moved to its San Antonio site in 1731. The friary, where the missionaries lived, was built in 1745 and the church was completed in 1756. The Espada aqueduct, built during the 1730s and 1740s, is the only aqueduct from the Spanish colonial period that still provides water to the surrounding farmland.

The Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was founded in 1720 by Father Antonio Margil de Jesús. The mission moved several times and the church complex was eventually completed at its current site in 1782. During the 18th century, Mission San José was the largest mission in the area and a major cultural center. Parts of the mission were restored in the 1920s and 1930s.

Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1716 in eastern Texas and transferred to San Antonio in 1731. It was smaller than the other mission complexes, and by 1756 consisted only of a church, a friary, and a granary. Despite its size, it produced an abundance of agricultural products and iron tools, and became a center of trade.

The four missions are administered by the National Park Service in cooperation with state and local organizations. Area, 334 hectares (826 acres).