Texas Almanac, 1958-1959 Page: 53
[706] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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HISTORY OF TEXAS
Mission San Jose de Aguayo, San Antonio, showing cloisters.
expedition into Texas to establish mis-
sions and settlements. The offer of St.
Denis to act as guide for the expedition
was accepted.
An expedition under the command of
Capt. Domingo Ramon was sent out from
San Juan Bautista. It went into East
Texas, establishing the first definite route
of travel in this state. Later it came to
be known as the Camino Real (King's
Highway) and still later was familiar to
I'exans as the Old San Antonio Road. It
extended from San Juan Bautista (near
present Eagle Pass) through San Antonio
to Nacogdoches and eastward. Part of
this route is incorporated in the state
highway system today.
Later East Texas Missions.
The expedition of Captain Ramon was
accompanied by Father Francisco Hidal-
go, who, with Father Massanet, had been
untiring in his effort to have missions
established among the Texas Indians. At
a place a few miles from the old San
Francisco de los Tejas mission, a new
mission called San Francisco de los Neches
was established. This was in 1716.
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe was es-
tablished at the present site of Nacog-
doches, and the Mission Nuestra Senora
de los Dolores was placed near the site
of present San Augustine. Two other
missions, La Purisima Concepcion and San
Jose de los Nazonis, were located in this
vicinity, and still another mission, San
Miguel de Linares, was located across
the Sabine in Louisiana.
Founding of San Antonio
In 1718 the viceroy, wishing a halfway
post between the East Texas missionsand the Spanish presidios in northern
Mexico, established a mission and presidio
at San Pedro Springs, laying the founda-
tion for the present city of San Antonio.
This mission was called San Antonio de
Valero and the accompanying presidio
was called San Antonio de Bexar. The
mission San Antonio de Valero is usually
accepted as the predecessor of the Alamo;
however, the present structure of the
Alamo was not erected until about 1754,
nor was the original De Valero on the
present site of the Alamo. In fact the
present Alamo was not a mission building
itself, but a chapel attached to San An-
tonio de Valero and possibly to other
missions in the vicinity. The early his-
tory is shrouded in obscurity, including
the name. The word, "alamo," means
poplar, or cottonwood. There is one
legend that the name of the Alamo came
from a grove of cottonwoods nearby.
Another story relates that it took its
name from a company of soldiers bearing
this name, that was quartered there.
In 1720 the Mission San Jose de Aguayo
was established at San Antonio and in
succession came the founding of the mis-
sions La Purisima Concepcion de Acuna,
San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco
de la Espada. Three of these missions at
San Antonio were really re-establish-
ments of the older East Texas missions
which had been abandoned. They were
San Francisco, Concepcion and San Juan
Capistrano, the latter succeeding San Jose
de los Nazonis, the name being changed
because of the prior founding at San An-
tonio of San Jose de Aguayo.
This era of mission building, which had53
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Texas Almanac, 1958-1959, book, 1957; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117139/m1/55/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.