Known as the "Queen of the Missions", this is the largest of the missions and was almost fully restored to its original design in the 1930s by the WPA (Works Progress Administration). Spanish missions were not churches, but communities with the church the focus. Mission San José captures a transitional moment in history, frozen in time.

Here you can explore native familiy quarters, soldier's quarters, the stone arches of what remains of the historic convento, the granary, grist mill and more.

Originally founded in 1716 in eastern Texas, Mission San Juan was transferred in 1731 to its present location. In 1756, the stone church, a friary, and a granary were completed. A larger church was begun, but was abandoned when half complete, the result of population decline.

This serene rural setting seems to silence voices of the past. Yet if you linger, you may sense those voices echoing from the limestone walls. On any day, it is common to hear the inhabitants of San Juan’s still active community. They continue to visit the mission grounds, enjoying the natural and spiritual elements of their neighborhood mission.

Mission Espada was the first mission in the province of Texas, founded in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas. In 1731, the mission was relocated from east Texas to the present location along the San Antonio River and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada. Mission Espada is the southern most mission in San Antonio. Visitors can walk the mission grounds, visit the church and park museum.

Mission Espada is part of the World Heritage Site.

Native Americans, Spanish explorers and missionaries, Texian soldiers and early settlers walked the land of what is now Goliad State Park and Historic Site in southeast Texas. Follow in their footsteps and peek into Texas’ past. There are four sites to explore!

The mission site highlights Spanish difficulties convincing American Indian populations to adopt Christianity and a sedentary lifestyle--traits that many Europeans considered essential parts of "civilized" life.

Weathered wooden crosses and marble headstones punctuate the cemetery that fronts the graceful stepped facade of the 1843 Socorro Mission, just south of El Paso, Texas. Highlighting such surnames as Domínguez, Armendariz, Apodaca, Peña, López, Nuñez and Holguin, the cemetery documents over a century of life and death in the 17th-century settlement of Socorro del Sur, located on the southern segment of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, locally known as the Mission Trail. The cemetery only tells part of the fascinating survival story of the Socorro Mission of Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) and the community it has served for more than 300 years.

The first church at Ysleta was built in 1682 by Spaniards and American Indians who had fled from Isleta (south of present-day Albuquerque, New Mexico) during the Pueblo Revolt. Due to periodic floods of the Rio Grande, the present church was built in 1744, but it was heavily damaged after an 1829 flood and subsequently rebuilt. The last major renovations to the church took place after a 1907 fire partially destroyed the structure.