Mission Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1757 for the purpose of civilizing and Christianizing the Tonkawas, Mayeyes, and their associates. Formerly at Mission San Francisco Xavier on the San Gabriel River. Abandoned in 1758.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Spanish Franciscans founded this short-lived mission in 1757 to draw the Tonkawa, Mayeye, and allied peoples into Catholic mission life, relocating it from the failed San Xavier missions on the San Gabriel River. The effort collapsed almost immediately, and the mission was abandoned in 1758. Its brief existence reflects the strained final decades of Spain's mission system in central Texas.
Why it matters
The mission marks the collision of Spanish colonial ambition with Native nations of the region, and the frequent failure of missions meant to reshape Indigenous life.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Mission - Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission
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Established in 1756 on the Guadalupe River near present New Braunfels, this short-lived Spanish mission was the last chapter of the troubled Mission San Francisco Xavier, which had been battered by attacks, disease, and a friar's murder at its earlier site. Moved here to gather its scattered Mayeye Indian converts — who had refused to enter the Alamo mission in San Antonio — it sheltered only a handful of Spanish families and a few dozen Indians. Escalating Comanche raids forced the church to withdraw its staff in 1758.
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