Mission Espíritu Santo

Originally established near present Matagorda Bay, Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zuñiga was moved to this San Antonio River location in 1749. For more than 70 years, Franciscan missionaries taught the native Aranama peoples the religious principles and craft skills they needed to become good Spanish citizens on the remote northern frontier. The immense herds of cattle that supported the mission population became the foundation for the ranching industry of modern Texas. The mission officially became a secular church in 1830, and for a time it was the site of Aranama College. The buildings gradually fell into disuse, and people in Goliad used the stones for buildings in town. During the 1930s, craftsmen in the Work Projects Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed the mission chapel, granary, and workshop buildings.

Texas · United States