HistoricSiteMarkers
Colonial America

Mission San Juan Capistrano

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Founded in March, 1731, by Franciscan missionaries on the banks of the San Antonio River; Named for St. John of Capistrano, who in 1456 lead a European religious crusade that saved the city of Belgrade from infidels. Mission San Juan was a successor to Mission San Jose De Los Nazonis, established in 1716 in east Texas. It moved here due to the difficulty of defense. One of a complex of missions, San Juan was devoted to the cultural and religious conversion of the Coahuiltecan-speaking Indians of south Texas. During the uncertain early years, buildings were constructed, crops planted, and the Indians had to be continually persuaded to stay long enough to reap the benefits of civilization. Apache raids, cholera and smallpox epidemics, and harassment by the civil authorities also plagued the missions constantly. By 1762, however, San Juan had surplus harvests of corn, cotton, beans, chili peppers, watermelons,and cantaloupes. It also owned numerous cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. The 203 resident Indians lived in thatched huts; the chapel and convent were of stone. The mission was secularized in 1794. In 1967, when the buildings were restored, many artifacts relating to the three centuries of occupancy were unearthed. (1967)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Franciscan missionaries founded Mission San Juan Capistrano on the San Antonio River in 1731, moving a mission first established in East Texas in 1716 to ground easier to defend. Dedicated to converting the region's Coahuiltecan-speaking peoples, it endured Apache raids and epidemics before flourishing by the 1760s with surplus harvests and large herds. Secularized in 1794, its stone chapel and convent were restored in the 1960s, yielding artifacts of three centuries of occupancy.

Why it matters

San Juan is one of the San Antonio missions where Spain sought to remake Native peoples and hold its northern frontier, a foundational chapter of the Spanish colonial Southwest.

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    6.5 mi away · 849 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX
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    6.6 mi away · 849 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX
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    6.6 mi away · 849 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX
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    6.6 mi away · 101 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX
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    6.6 mi away · 849 East commerce, San Antonio, TX

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