Mission Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de los Ais
San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Site of MISSION NUESTRA SENORA DE LOS DOLORES DE LOS AIS Established in 1716 by Padre Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus Here faithful Franciscans labored for the purpose of civilizing and christianizing the Ais Indians Abandoned temporarily due to the French incursions from Louisiana in 1719 Restored by the Marquis of Aguayo in 1721 The mission also served to confirm the claim of the King of Spain to the province of Texas Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Padre Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus established this Spanish mission in 1716 to convert and minister to the Ais Indians of East Texas. French incursions from Louisiana forced its temporary abandonment in 1719, but the Marquis of Aguayo restored it in 1721. Beyond its religious purpose, the mission helped anchor the Spanish crown's claim to the contested province of Texas.
Why it matters
One of the East Texas missions along the old Camino Real, it stood at the frontier where Spanish and French empires collided and where the Spanish presence that shaped Texas first took root.
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Related people
- · Antonio Margil de Jesus
- · Marquis of Aguayo
Related events
- · 1719 French incursion
- · 1721 Aguayo expedition
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
San Augustine
San Augustine, TX
San Augustine stood as an eastern gate into Texas in country claimed by both France and Spain, where Spain chartered El Camino Real past this site in 1691 and founded nearby Mission Dolores de los Ais in 1717. Anglo families arrived in the 1790s and after, building a water mill by 1824 and a cotton gin by 1826, and in 1827 townsmen put down the Fredonian uprising at the Battle of Ayish Bayou. The town sent delegates to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence and fielded companies in the War for Independence, later producing governors, cabinet officers, and diplomats of the Republic and state.
Sam Houston in San Augustine
San Augustine, TX
Sam Houston made San Augustine his own for three decades, opening a law practice on this site and using 'The Redlands' as a base for business, residence, and refuge. He is said to have recovered here from the Battle of San Jacinto and issued his battle report from the town; after his presidency of the Republic, its voters sent him to the Texas House. His divorce, his marriage to Margaret Lea, and much of his personal drama unfolded amid a community that championed him early.
Site of the Battle of Fredonia
San Augustine, TX
In 1826, colonizer Hayden Edwards defied Mexican expulsion orders, declared the Republic of Fredonia, and raised a flag of "Independence, Liberty and Justice." When settlers along the Ayish Bayou refused to join him, he ordered them banished — and on January 21, 1827, a small force of Anglo settlers and sixty Native American allies seized the Fredonian fort here without firing a shot, capturing 200 men. News of the rout sent Edwards fleeing to the United States, collapsing the rebellion.
"Los Ojos de Padre Margil" ("The Eyes of Father Margil")
Nacogdoches, TX
In the early 1700s, Spain pushed its mission frontier into East Texas, and Franciscan friar Antonio Margil de Jesus arrived with the 1716 Ramon Expedition to plant Catholic missions among the region's Native peoples. When a crippling drought struck in 1717 and scattered the mission's converts, tradition holds that Margil was led by a vision to La Nana Creek, struck the rock with his staff, and brought forth a spring. The twin openings he supposedly cut became known as "The Eyes of Father Margil," and the site remains a monument to the endurance of Spain's missionary enterprise.