Mission Nuestra Señora del Rosario was established in 1754 to bring Christianity to the native peoples known as the Karankawa and maintained a close association with nearby Mission Espíritu Santo de Zuñiga. Unlike its sister site, it struggled to find success, and mismanagement, lack of administrative support, and resistance from the Karankawa all contributed to its gradual decline. The mission was abandoned in the early 1800s and fell to ruins. Its story unfolded within Spain’s effort to settle Texas after long claiming it as part of a global empire, especially after French explorers established a colony along the Texas coast in 1685. In South Texas, Native American groups had long lived as hunters and gatherers, moving with seasonal resources and building trade paths across the landscape, and those ancient footpaths later guided Spanish explorers and evolved into the road network known as El Camino Real de los Tejas.