Welcome to the Park of the Week Newsletter for February 22, 2024. This week’s park is part of the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas.
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Location
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Claim to fame
In the early 1700s, South Texas sat on the northern border of the colony known as New Spain. To fortify their hold on the land and its people, the Spanish constructed several missions in the area, including four that today make up San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Before the arrival of the missions, the region was home to several small bands of nomadic indigenous groups, including newcomers fleeing colonization by other European powers to the north and east. These people were collectively called “Coahuiltecans” by the Spanish.
The sudden increase in refugees meant that the Coahuiltecans were running out of the resources they needed for survival–like food–just as the missions were being built. The Spanish missions introduced agriculture and irrigation to the region at a critical time, helping to feed the indigenous population.
The cost of their survival was high, however. Coahuiltecans were forced to abandon their nomadic lifestyle, their languages, and their spiritual practices in order to conform to mission life
Reason to visit
Not all Coahuiltecan heritage was lost, however. Today the missions celebrate a complex history of fused cultures. They are wonders of period design and contain elements of not only Spanish but indigenous heritage. It was in these mission farms and buildings that a blending took place that created the modern South Texas culture.
A visit to these beautiful buildings can provide a window into the combined traditions that made San Antonio what it is today. Visitors can watch a park film and walk through the mission grounds and buildings. There are also ranger-led tours and educational programs.
The four San Antonio missions of this park, along with the mission now known as the Alamo, make up the first and only UNESQO World Heritage Site in Texas. The missions received this designation based on their rich history as a cultural crucible. They are a must-see for any visitor wanting to learn about the unique South Texas culture.
Wild Fact
In the early 1700s, before construction of the mission buildings had even begun, workers started digging irrigation ditches. These canals, known in Spanish as acequias, connected the mission’s farms to water, an imperative for raising crops in arid South Texas.
Mission workers built dams on the San Antonio river and then used the power of gravity to shuttle water to the missions by sloping the acequias gently downward. The flow of water into crop rows was controlled by opening and closing gates within the mission grounds. After passing through the missions, the water was navigated back into the river.
This simple but ingenious design kept the mission crops watered and its people fed. And the water is still flowing–the San Juan and Espada acequias still irrigate the same fields they have for centuries, and the Espada aqueduct is the only remaining Spanish colonial aqueduct still in use in the US.
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