Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, Mission Road, San Antonio

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TEX,15-SANT.V,5-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Established on its present site, circa Mission San Jose is the most complete of the five extant mission complexes dating from the eighteenth century to "be found in San Antonio. The surviving buildings are of significance to the study of Texas colonial history and provide the contemporary observer with a visual concept of this important frontier institution. The San Jose church is particularly significant as an architec- tural monument.

Historical Information

The Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo was officially founded February 23, On that day four Spanish officials from the-Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar,acting on a decree from the Marquis de Aguayo dated January 22, accom- panied Father Antonio Margil, his companion missionaries and a group of Indians to . a spot some four miles south of San Antonio on the east bank of the San Antonio River. At that spot, "an elevated plain, spacious and very level," Fr. Margil . had previously caused to be erected a straw hut or jacal, erected in the Indian manner with walls consisting of stakes or branches driven into the ground and finished in wattle and daub fashion and covered by a thatched grass roof.

Symbolic possession-taking ceremonies were led by Captain Lorenzo Garcia of the Presidio of Bexar. Handfuls of grass were pulled, selected branches cut from trees, rocks, and handfuls of dirt were thrown across the fields as signs of owner- ship. Garcia explained to the Indians that the land was theirs but that the mis- sionaries were to have complete charge of their affairs. An irrigation ditch was traced out, and a square of 100 varas was selected around which the mission build- ings were to be erected. The buildings that did get erected in the square were characteristic Indian jacals serving as temporary shelters. The Mission was apparently an initial success in proselyting the aboriginal Indians of the area. Prior to establishing the Mission of San Jose, Fr. Margil had assisted Fr.

Olivares at the Mission of San Antonio de Padua. During that time he had encountered three tribes who expressed a desire to submit to mission life, but due to their hostility with those Indians already settled at San Antonio de Padua,' they desired to locate elsewhere. It was at this point in that Fr. Margil was prompted to write the Marquis de Aguayo suggesting the founding of a new mission to be called San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo to be under the care of the College of Zacatecas, a Franciscan order. MISSION SAN JOSE Y SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS No. (Page 2) Affairs progressed well at the Mission. Two soldiers from the Presidio de Bexar resided at the Mission acting not only to guard the missionaries, but also to oversee the instruction of the Indians in various trades.

In when Aguayo paid his firat visit to San Jose, the population already numbered 22? Indian in- habitants, and "by the mission's large irrigation ditch was in operation and the Mission enjoyed its first surplus of corn. For some unknown reason the first site of the Mission was abandoned between and and relocated on the west bank of the San Antonio River, slightly south of the original site. Father Miguel Nunez had been placed in charge of San Jose by then, and it may be that he was instrumental in relocating the Mission. Shortly after the removal to the new site Fr. Nunez erected new adobe buildings, dug a new irrigation canal and planted new fields. It appears that by the year Fr. Nunez had erected an adobe church building at San Jose.

It has been written that the church of the San Jose Mission was com- pleted on March 5, At that time numerous events were taking place around San Antonio. It was in that the Canary Island colonists arrived in Bexar and established the Villa de San Fernando. It was also in that the three Queretaran missions in East Texas, which had been suppressed in were reestab- lished along the San Antonio River in the vicinity of San Jose. Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion de Acuna was located on the east side of the River between San Antonio and San Jose, on the side of the former Mission San Francisco Xavier. Also located on the east bank of the river over three miles south of San Jose was the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Some two miles farther south the Mission San Francisco de Espada was reestablished on the west bank of the River. It should be noted here that with the arrival of the three Queretaran missions in the San Antonio vicinity San Jose was the only Zacatecan mission until the year when control of the remaining San Antonio missions was transferred to the college of Zacatecas.

Numerous troubles beset all of the San Antonio missions during their existence, including constant Apache and Comanche harrassment and conflict with Spanish civil authorities and colonists; but none was so bad as the disastrous smallpox and measles epidemic which erupted in the area in Perhaps as a result of the epidemic, San Jose was moved a third and last time to its present site on higher ground one-half mile distant from the previous one. This move ushered in the period of San Jose's greatest development and achievement. The development of the Mission's buildings can only be briefly documented by reference to the few contemporary reports known to us. In a report of Fr. Espinosa related that San Jose was one of the most successful of the Zacatecan missions.

He also mentioned the existence of "a church with terraces," probably the first church erected at the present site. Fr. Ciprian writing in described San Jose as a "veritable fortress" with a beautiful mission church capable of seating 200 persons. Adjoining the church was the friary or convent with its serrated cloister and flat roof with a crenellated parapet. Ciprian also recorded the existence of a two room, flat roofed stone granary and Indian houses of' stone. The crenellated parapets were a common sight in the missions, and were built primarily for protection against the hostile Indians and other adversaries. MISSION SAN JOSE Y SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS No. [Page 3) In Governor Jacinto Barrios paid a visit to San Jose and described the "build*-, ings in existence at that time.

The Indians'-houses ? integral with the compound wall, were of stone and had flat roofs with crenellated parapets, Kach house con~ sisted of one room and a kitchen, Bathing pools and flowing water from the acequia were also noted,- Barrios- described the church as having a nave and a transept with a well-proportioned tower with a set of hells. Adjoining the church were the convent and the cloister, "built of limestone, fairly large, and having two stories.. The lower floor was divided into numerous rooms and offices ? while the upper floor was one large room. Opposite the church were the quarters for the three soldiers cus- tomarily stationed at the missions.

Other "buildings mentioned were a carpenter shop, other workshops and a sugar cane mill, A cemetery enclosed hy.a rubble stone, fence served double duty as a military plaza where the Indians practiced their military activities. By construction was underway for the new church at San Jose, Fr, Solis recorded that the former church had been razed, and the building of a new stone church commenced. At the time of Fr, Solis1 visit the foundations were conpletedj and on the feast day of St. Joseph, March he blessed the foundation and the first stones. Governor Don Hugo Oconor also participated in the cememony by laying one of the building stones. Fr. Solis also described the mission compound, which at that date consisted of a* large open plaza 6ll feet square.

This plaza was also used as a protective rampart. There were two gates apparently opposite each other and two towers on diagonal cor-. ners. The Indian apartments were erected along the walls and formed a part of them,. These were of stone construction, and each was provided with, a, kitchen and a fire-, place and was well furnished with raised beds and bison hide mattresses. Workshops of various kinds were mentioned by Fr, Solis and Included textilej tailor, carpenter and blacksmith shops. In addition there were lime and brick kilns and a stone granary with a vaulted roof. The builder of the San Jose Church in was Fr, Pedro Ramirez de Arellano, Fr. Solis writing in stated, "This church, which is to be a stone structure with a vaulted ceiling is to be 50 varas 50.

feet) in length and, including the transept, 30 varas feet) in width." Pr; Morfi observed the construction of the church on his visit in January of ", . , when I saw it, a good part of the vaulted roof had not yet been finished. There are three arches in one heau-^ tiful nave, 50 varas long feet) by 10 varas feetl wide, with, the corresponding transept. . . ," Although Morfi relates that the nave vaults were incomplete at the time of his visit, he also reported that "there was very little to be done" to the church, at that time for it to be complete. The south tower was completed by then? as was the "cupola," "overcrowded with unnecessary ornaments" or "useless moldings/' In general, however, he considered the church "admirably proportioned; and because of "its size?

good taste and beauty," he felt it "would grace a large city as a parish church." MISSION SM JOSE X SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS No, (Page h) In keeping with the usual convention in the erection of the mission churches, the chapel Csacristy). at San Jose was the first completed part of the church* Morfi described it as a "handsome and cheerful room, large and veil decorated/' "with good light and very gay.* The room itself formed one "cell'1 or vault, and the door opened onto the "cloister or corridor of the convent," The chapel may have "been "built at about the same time as the church. Fr. Morfi described the convent as a two-story structure extending eastward from the sacristy at the east end of the church, with a double gallery extending along the south side.

This building provided quarters for the ministers and some guests and included ''a large, well fitted out, comfortable refectory" and other offices for the missionaries. In addition, the convent contained a kitchen and pantry, an armory wherein were kept the arms for the Indians, and a room set aside for the decorations and costumes "with which the Indians bedeck themselves for their dances." Morfi thought highly of the stone used in the construction of San Jose, which he described as a "sandy limestone that is light and porous when freshly quarried but in a few days hardens and becomes one with the mortar for which reason it is as useful for building as 'tezontle'." This stone, quarried near the Mission Concep- cion, was the favorite building material for all of the San Antonio missions.

Even while the new church was being erected in the San Jose, along with the other San Antonio Missions, was entering its declining years, Apache raids contin- ued to harass the Missions, taking their toll in both inhabitants and livestock; and the contagious epidemics also continued to reduce the Indian population. Another of the principal reasons for the Missions' decline was a decree issued by Theodoro de Croix following his visit to Texas in This decree literally stripped the missions of their wealth by declaring that all wild or unbranded cat- tle, of which the missions had thousands, were the property of the state and could not be slaughtered except by payment to the government.

Although the missions were given a four month period in which to brand their herds, the task was impossible due to the reduced population and the lack of horses, almost all of which had been stolen by the wild Indians. The herds were further reduced by raiding Indians who slaughtered the cattle wantonly and by the soldiers of the Presidio of San Antonio who killed to supply the needs of the garrison. In addition there were those among the Spanish colonists who were known to slaughter a hundred head or more in a week. By the College of Zacatecas was fully aware of the circumstances of the San Antonio Missions under its jurisdiction and foresaw the coming future events.

In the College petitioned Commandant General Theodoro de Croix for relief from the temporal affairs of the Missions, It was suggested that a layman be appointed the responsibility of the temporal administration of the Indians, preceded by a property distribution among them; and that the missionary would be responsible only for the church, the friary or convent and their furnishings.. MISSION SAU JOSE Y SAB MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS Wo. TX-333.";(:P&ge 5) The petition of 178O. was. not acted on, and it was. not until that a decree of partial secularization was issued. In that year San Jose and the three other San Antonio missions distributed some of their fields and other property among the resident Christian Indians and appointed a "justice" to assume the duties of a temporal administrator.

The missionaries continued in charge of those Indians still under instruction hut exercised their duties under the jurisdiction of the Bishop in the manner of Parish priests. Secularization proceedings were carried out by Governor Munoz on July l6, at which time he announced to the 78 Christian Indians of San Jose that the common property was to he subdivided with each family receiving a part of it; they would then he required to provide for their own needs. A common farm was to he estab- lished to defray the expenses of the community. Jose Herrera, a Spaniard, was appointed as the "justice" to live among them as their advisor and protector in temporal affairs.

The church and friary, along with fifteen acres of land, were allocated to the missionary to remain in his care and under his direction*. Following secularization, the Mission San Jose continued its affairs in good order. The Mission was then called San Jose pueblo, and slowly Spaniards began to settle around it. By the population of San Jose was composed of 57 Indians and l6 Spaniards. Five years later San Jose Church and those of the other three missions were administered by only two Franciscan missionaries, and by only one.

_ Complete secularization, amounting to suppression, was finalized on February 2k, Iturbide, emperor of Mexico, upon his ascension to office had reinstituted the laws of Spain under Cortes; one of the acts was a secularization decree issued in ordering immediate distribution of mission lands to private citizens reserving a portion for the Indian inhabitants. Fr. Diaz in the only priest in San Antonio, delayed the proceedings for a time; but finally in February of 182U he was compelled to sign over the inventories of all the old San Antonio missions.. The church buildings were given over to the San Fernando parish to be administered by the pastor of the church. Following this event the buildings at San Jose became increasingly neglected and abandoned.

A few families occupied the old quarters, but the only other use of the buildings until was for quartering soldiers in the old Indian houses. On January 13, the Texas Congress, as a result of a petition by Fr, Odin and Fr. Timon, passed an act "Confirming the Use, Occupation, and Enjoyment of the Churches, Church lots, and Mission Churches to the Roman Catholic Congregations living in or near the vicinity of the same," The mission churches along with out- buildings and lots were declared the property of "the present chief pastor of the Roman Catholic Church in the Republic of Texas, and his successors in office; in trust forever, for the use and benefit of the congregations residing near the same. . . ." San Jose Church was probably used from time to time during the for religious purposes.

George Kendall in his "Narrative of the Texas Santa Fe Expedition," written for the J?Tew Orleans Picayunej reported that by 18I4I the church had. been repaired and divine service was performed in it. MISSION SAN JOSE Y SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS No, CPage 6) Kendall also reported that even though the Texan troops "were long quartered" at San Jose they had not -injured the elaborate stone carvings gn the front facade of the church* Two years later, however, William Bollaert recorded that the "images of the saints and other ornamental parts had "been sadly mutilated by the soldiery during the wars," Bollaert found the church "still in good preservation" although full of" "bats' nests. John R.

Bartlett, one of the United States commissioners of the boundary survey, viewed San Jose in and concurred with Bollaert: The action., of the weather has done much to destroy the figures, and the work of ruin has been assisted by the numerous military companies near here who, finding in the hands and features of the statues convenient marks for rifle and pistol shots, did not fail to improve the opportunity for showing their skill at arms. In San Jose was used as a Benedictine monastery and seminary. Bishop Odin had induced the Abbot of St. Vincent's Abbey at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to supply a prior, two priests and two brothers for this purpose.

During their stay the Benedictines made numerous improvements to the San Jose buildings.; The Benedictines were recalled in and San Jose was abandoned for four years. On December 10, the north wall of the church collapsed during a storm; on the night of December 25, , the dome and most of the roof fell in. In San Jose was occupied by the Holy Cross Fathers from Notre Dame, Indiana. Regular services were then conducted, although not in the church due' to its ruinous state but rather in the chapel adjoining the church on the south side. After the Holy Cross Fathers left in services were still occasionally held. In William Corner reported that the Mexican families were living in the old Mission quarters.

On April 22, the Redemptorist Fathers of San Antonio were placed in charge of the old missions; they conducted divine services in the San Jose chapel until the return of the Franciscans in Restoration on the old buildings began in when the church was cleared of debris and part of the north wall was rebuilt. This work was made possible by Henry Drought as a memorial to her husband. Cracks were patched and the spiral staircase which had fallen in was replaced. The chapel was also renovated and furnished, and the lower arches of the convent were filled in* Sometime between the evening of March 8 and the morning of March 9, the entire south facade of the southwest corner tower fell.

The front facade was largely undisturbed with the exception of the belfry itself, which was consider- ably damaged. Immediately after the event, Archbishop Drossaerts announced that the tower would be restored to Its original appearance, Restoration work was continued from to The church was in use and reded- icated April 18, Further work was carried out in when the facade statues were repaired and the structure as a whole was strengthened. MISSION SAN JOSE Y SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO HABS No, (Page 7) During the the San Antonio Conservation Society purchased the ruins of the old Granary, which it then proceeded to restore, In the Society deeded the Granary property to'Bexar County, and the county in turn transferred the Granary and the remaining property that it owned to the State of Texas.

The Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio, which owned the church and convent and one half interest in the main plaza, followed with a cooperative agreement with the State of Texas to have the San Jose Mission established as a State Historic Site. In that same year San Jose was declared a National Historic Site. It is currently administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in cooperation with the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the National Park Service, the San Antonio Conservation Society-,- and the County of Bexar. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Habig, Marim Alphonse. San Antonio's Mission San Jose: State and National Historical Site., San Antonio; Naylor Company, Corner, William. San Antonio de Bexar, A Guide and History.

San Antonio: Bainbridge and Corner, Chabot, Mission La Purisima Concepcion. San Antonio: Naylor Company, Chabot, ed. Excerpts from the Memories for the History of the Province of Texas by Padre Fray Juan Augustin de Morfi. San Antonio: Naylor Company, Chabot, With the Makers of San Antonio. Prepared by: John C. Garner, Jr. Director, Bexas County Architecture Survey

Project Information

The San Antonio project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in the summer of and was made possible with funds from HABS and two sponsors, the Bexar County Historical Survey Committee and the San Antonio Con- servation Society. Under the direction of James Massey, chief of HABS, the pro- ject was carried out by Wesley I. Shank (.Iowa State University), project super- visor, and by student assistant architects, Charles W. Barrow (University of Texas); Les Beilinson ([University of Miami); William H. Edwards (University of Illinois); and Larry D. Hermsen (Iowa State University) at the HABS field office in the former Ursuline Convent Buildings, San Antonio. John C.

Garner, director of Bexar County Architecture Survey, did the outside work on the written documentaries. Susan McCown, a HABS staff historian in the Washington, office, edited the written data in for preparation of transmittal to the Library of Congress. Devey G. Mears of Austin, Texas took the documentary photographs of the San Antonio structures. Addendum to HABS No. Mision San Jose Y San Miguel de Aguayo (San Jose Mission) Mission Road San Antonio & Bexar County Texas ' <T; v / m REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, DC