| What makes it historical? |
After relocating from east Texas to the San Antonio River, alongside Mission Concepción, the grand Mission San José church started construction in 1768 and opened its doors in 1782! It was named for St. Joseph and the governor of the Province of Coahuila and Texas. It featured a super ornate façade, a huge dome, and a mysterious window called the Rose Window! No one knows exactly who designed it, but it may have been named for the girlfriend of Pedro Huizar, who died at sea en route from Spain, or St. Rose of Lima, who was the first saint in the Americas!
This heavily fortified mission was surrounded by walls to keep out the Apache and Comanche, who saw a lot of opportunity in this wealthy mission! Inside these walls, 350 Native American laborers, mainly from the Pampopa, Sulujam, and Pastia tribes, smithed, wove, and went out to tend the fields and cattle. Smallpox and measles took a heavy toll on them, and by the time this mission was secularized, their numbers had dwindled to 93! |
