The site was established by Don Domingo Jironza Petríz de Cruzate in 1683 as the Presidio de Nuestra Señora Del Pilár y Glorioso Señor San José near Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in present Ciudad Juárez, México. It was located on this site in 1773 and renamed Presidio de San Elzeario. Its chapel was served by Franciscan missionaries.