Socorro Mission La Purísima
Socorro, El Paso County, Texas
Marker Inscription
During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Gov. Don Antonio de Otermín and Father Francisco de Ayeta led Piro Indian and Spanish refugees out of New Mexico into this region, establishing a settlement they named Socorro after the home they had left. The town's first permanent adobe church was built in 1691 and was called Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de Los Piros Del Socorro (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of the Piros of Socorro). Construction of the present structure began following a destructive 1829 flood and was completed in 1840. The flood changed the course of the Rio Grande from north of Socorro to south of the townsite. When the river was declared the U.S. - Mexico boundary, Socorro became part of the United States. Under the administration of Franciscan monks for 172 years, the church was later governed by Diocesan priests, as well as by Italian and Mexican Jesuits. Its history spans the time of the region's occupancy by Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Although Socorro Mission La Purísima, as it is now known, has been overshadowed by urban growth in nearby El Paso, it remains one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the Southwest. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove Spanish colonists and their Piro Indian allies out of New Mexico, the refugees resettled downriver and named their new home Socorro after the community they had left. Their first adobe church rose in 1691; the present structure was begun after a destructive 1829 flood and finished in 1840 — the same flood that shifted the Rio Grande and, once the river became the U.S.–Mexico border, placed Socorro in the United States. Governed in turn by Franciscans, diocesan priests, and Jesuits, the mission has witnessed Spanish, Mexican, and American rule.
Why it matters
Socorro is one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the Southwest, a living thread connecting the Pueblo Revolt, the shifting Rio Grande border, and three centuries of frontier faith.
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Related people
- · Antonio de Otermín
- · Francisco de Ayeta
Related events
- · Pueblo Revolt of 1680
Themes & tags
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