Mission San Francisco de los Julimes
Presidio vicinity, Presidio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of nine Missions established in the Big Bend country by Father Fray Nicolas Lopez, O.F.M., and Don Juan Dominguez de Mendoza in 1683-1684. Maintained by Franciscan missionaries for the civilizing and Christianizing of the Jumano, Julimes and other Indians of this area. (1936)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1683–1684, Franciscan father Nicolas Lopez and Juan Dominguez de Mendoza established a string of missions in the Big Bend country, of which San Francisco de los Julimes was one. The mission aimed to convert and settle the Jumano, Julimes, and other Native peoples of the Rio Grande region under Spanish colonial rule. It reflects the northern edge of Spain's missionary frontier in what is now far West Texas.
Why it matters
These remote Spanish missions mark the earliest sustained European effort to reshape Native life along the Rio Grande, a foundational chapter in the colonial history of the Southwest.
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Related people
- · Nicolas Lopez
- · Juan Dominguez de Mendoza
Themes & tags
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