Missions

We visited all five of the missions that were built along the SA River in 1700s and learned a lot about the impact of Spanish and Catholic culture on the Americas and Native Americans.  Each mission was a farming and ranching community in and of itself that cooperated with neighboring missions. The missions existed and grew through the labor of native Americans and Mexican immigrants. Some Native American tribes, notably the Apache and Comanche never became acculturated by the missionaries. The Alamo was actually the first to be built, in 1718. The other four, some of which had existed in other locations, were all located along the river by 1731. In addition to a church, each mission had a walled area that housed residents and contained work areas for blacksmithing, weaving, and carpentry along with storage for food and supplies.