San Antonio Missions

https://www.nps.gov/saan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Missions_National_Historical_Park San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Welcome to San Antonio Missions, a National Park Service site and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. After 10,000 years, the people of South Texas were faced with drought, European diseases, and colonization. In the early 1700s, many Native people of South Texas foreswore their traditional life to become Spanish, accepting a new religion and agrarian lifestyle in hopes of survival. Park Headquarter's is located 4 miles south of downtown San Antonio. The four mission sites lay as a chain south of downtown. Mission Concepción is 3 miles, Mission San José and the park visitor center is 6 miles south, Mission San Juan is 3 miles south of San José, and Mission Espada lays another mile beyond. Written directions and GPS addresses can be found at the link below. Visitor Center at Mission San José Park Store in the Visitor Center is open 9 am to 5pm, 7 days/week. Visitor Center is often closed for the lunch hour. Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1. Park Store operated by Western National Parks Association. Just outside of the Visitor Center, you will find a plaque recognizing the park's World Heritage designation. La tienda en el Centro de Visitantes está abierta de 9 am a 5 pm todos los días. El Centro de Visitantes está cerrado durante la hora del almuerzo. From downtown and the Alamo area: Travel south on South St. Mary’s St. Approximately one mile south of downtown, after passing beneath railroad tracks, South St. Mary’s becomes Roosevelt Ave. Continue on Roosevelt 4 miles to a large stone structure on your left: Mission San José. At the first stop light past the mission turn left onto New Napier Ave to parking lot. Mission Espada, World Heritage Site Mission Espada, World Heritage Site A part of Mission Espada's ranch is located 30 miles south-east, outside of Floresville, TX. Tours of Mission San José Park Ranger leads a tour through Mission San José Catch a tour at Mission San José at 10:00, 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00 daily. Rose Window at Mission San Jose Rose window at mission San Jose, with linestone carvings surrounding a small glass window. The Rose Window is a famous feature of Mission San Jose. Mission San Jose sunset Mission San Jose church and convento during the golden hour with tree Explore 18th century mission sites like Mission San Jose. Mission Concepcion Convento & Church Mission Concepcion convento with church in background. Mission Concepcion is the nation's oldest unrestored stone church. Q&A with MANO Project Interns at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Chantelle Ruidant-Hansen, Jazciel Solis and Tanya Helbig share their stories and goals working at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas. Jazciel and Tanya are currently Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) interns. An alum of LHIP and the MANO Project, Chantelle is now a permanent park guide! Tanya Helbig and Jazciel Solis taking a selfie, Ranger Chantelle Ruidant-Hansen, with a sheep NPS Geodiversity Atlas—San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Texas Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. [Site Under Development] san antonio mission 2014 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards Recipients of the 2014 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards Around the country with the monarch butterfly It's about to begin! What parks will the monarchs amazing journey take them? A mock monarch selfie at Ozakrs National Scenic Riverways Education Programs at San Antonio Missions NHP Field trip programs at San Antonio Missions NHP help students to find their park by understanding the people who built the historic missions. Dias de los Monarchs San Antonio Missions NHP is along the monarch migration path. As monarchs emerge in the South Texas sky, certain Mexican cultural traditions also emerge. For many local people celebrating Dia de los Muertos, monarchs represent deceased loved ones returning as monarch butterflies to visit their families through the migration each year. Monarch butterfly pollinating a purple native flower. Encontrando Su Parque When the Spanish established the San Antonio Missions, they laid the foundation for a new cultural group to emerge: the Tejano people. The missions are a representation of the shift in culture, religion, lifestyle, and people that occurred three hundred years ago. Tejanos represent that change as well. Modern Tejano culture is a result of the blend of Spanish and native cultures and distinct to South Texas. Latino Heritage Intern and Community Outreach Fellow hold water bottle Module Conducts Wildland-Urban Interface Projects Throughout the Intermountain Region In 2013, the Saguaro Wildland Fire Module (WFM) managed multiple projects simultaneously in AZ, TX, and NM. WFMs are highly skilled and versatile fire crews that provide expertise in long-term planning, ignitions, holding, prescribed fire preparation and implementation support, hazardous fuels reduction, and fire effects monitoring. With their help, fire fulfills its natural or historic role to meet resource and management objectives and create fire-adapted communities. Protecting Spanish Colonial Missions The Mission San Jose Church, part of the World Heritage listing for San Antonio Missions. The brown stone Mission San Jose Church. Spanish Colonial Missions of the Southwest Travel Itinerary Spanish Colonial Missions of the Southwest Travel Itinerary. The National Park Service invites you to travel the National Historic Trails, units of the National Park System, and other places listed in the National Register of Historic Places that bring alive the stories of Spanish colonial missions in the Southwestern United States. Missions were communities aimed at converting American Indians to Roman Catholicism and to Spanish ways of life. Spanish Colonial Missions of the Southwest Travel Itinerary A Day in the Life of a Spanish Missionary -- Friar Alonso de Benavides, 1630 A Day in the Life of a Spanish Missionary -- Friar Alonso de Benavides, 1630. An Essay from the Spanish Colonial Missions Travel Itinerary A Day in the Life of a Spanish Missionary -- Friar Alonso de Benavides, 1630 essay San Antonio Missions on El Camino Real de los Tejas Like Spanish Texas in general, San Antonio began as a response to encroaching French forces. Spaniards used three distinct institutions to populate New Spain’s northern frontier and preserve it from foreign influence: presidios, missions, and civilian settlements. The various branches of El Camino Real de los Tejas carried goods, people, and information that helped missions achieve this goal. Stone sign in front of a spanish colonial mission. Cultural Landscape Apprentices Address Deferred Maintenance Projects, Learn Career Skills at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Cultural Landscape Apprentices work alongside National Park Service staff to learn important job skills and address deferred maintenance projects such as grounds and acequia preservation, irrigation system management, landscape bed rehabilitation, and associated tasks during their time at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Poet Laureate Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson Tells a Story of Finding Identity at the National Park San Antonio Missions National Historical Park interprets the nation's history and heritage. The park is partnering with Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson, the first Black San Antonio Poet Laureate, to tell the story of identity and ancestry. This performance focuses on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the midst of uncertainty, insecurities and simply not knowing. It is about identity, heritage, and finding peace with who you are. San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson and dance artist Amber Ortega perform. Series: National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geoheritage-conservation.htm">geoheritage</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geodiversity.htm">geodiversity</a> resources and values all across the National Park System to support science-based management and education. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1088/index.htm">NPS Geologic Resources Division</a> and many parks work with National and International <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/park-geology.htm">geoconservation</a> communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available. park scene mountains Series: NPS Environmental Achievement Awards Since 2002, the National Park Service (NPS) has awarded Environmental Achievement (EA) Awards to recognize staff and partners in the area of environmental preservation, protection and stewardship. A vehicle charges at an Electric Vehicle charging station at Thomas Edison National Historical Park Be Our Guest! Corn (maize) was an important part of indigenous people's diets in the Americas, but the Spanish who colonized the area preferred wheat to corn. Colonized diets, meaning the diets the Spanish brought to the New World, became the main recipes at the San Antonio Missions. The Mission San José grist mill, powered by acequias (irrigation ditches), was built in 1794 to grind wheat using water from the San Antonio River. Artist's illustration of the irrigation ditch Meet Karli - Cultural Landscape Apprentice The Cultural Landscape Apprentice Program is a partnership between the National Park Service, National Park Foundation, Texas Conservation Corps, and Mission Heritage Partners. The program matches local Latinx young adults with opportunities to learn about cultural landscape management in a hands-on environment alongside National Park Service employees. Karli, a young woman, stands in front of a limestone wall with the church facade in the background. Meet Yukary - Cultural Landscape Apprentice The Cultural Landscape Apprentice Program is a partnership between the National Park Service, National Park Foundation, Texas Conservation Corps, and Mission Heritage Partners. The program matches local Latinx young adults with opportunities to learn about cultural landscape management in a hands-on environment alongside National Park Service employees. Meet Sarah - Cultural Landscape Apprentice The Cultural Landscape Apprentice Program is a partnership between the National Park Service, National Park Foundation, Texas Conservation Corps, and Mission Heritage Partners. The program matches local Latinx young adults with opportunities to learn about cultural landscape management in a hands-on environment alongside National Park Service employees. Preserving History & Our Ecosystem with Native Plant Relocation The Texas Conservation Corps and the San Antonio River Authority worked together at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park to relocate Sagittaria plants from the Espada acequia to the San Antonio River. Sagittaria is a native plant species, also known as the Arrowhead plant. This project not only supports the cultural resource of the acequias by removing plants that obstruct the water flow, but it also benefits natural park resources by preserving native plant species. Two interns in overalls and hard hats stand in waist-high water. Cherry Payne: A Career of Commitment and Compromise When Cherry Payne was first interviewed by Dorothy Boyle Huyck in the 1970s, she was a young interpretive ranger at Grand Teton National Park at the start of her NPS career. In an oral history interview recorded in 2020, she reflected on where that career had taken her. Each step of the way, Payne balanced commitment with compromise as she made decisions about family life, professional life, and park management. Portrait of Cherry Payne in a house The Cultural Landscape of the San Antonio Missions The 18th century mission complexes of San Antonio represent the most complete extant example of Spain’s efforts to use the missionary system to expand control of indigenous people. This presentation examines the mission remains and evidence of the influence of indigenous people. Q&A With Cultural Resource Management Intern Cristóbal López Meet Cristóbal López who spent his summer researching the origins of the cemetery located in front of the church at Mission San Jose, one of the four missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Learn about his work as an intern, and why he has dedicated his academic and professional career to preserving the rich history and heritage of people whose history tends to be lost or left out of certain narratives. man posing in front of San Antonio Missions' sign Staff Spotlight: Jorge Hernandez Meet Jorge Hernandez, Education and Community Engagement Coordinator with Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. Learn how he first got involved with the National Park Service as a volunteer, his journey with NPS, and advice for youth and young adults. Profile photo of Jorge Hernandez Conservation Diaries: Cristóbal López, Cultural Resources Intern Meet Cristóbal López. During the summer of 2021, he worked as a Cultural Resource Management Intern for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in San Antonio, Texas, under the Latino Heritage Internship Program. He researched the origins of the cemetery located in front of the church at Mission San José, one of the four missions of the park. man posing in front of San Antonio Missions sign San Antonio’s Bike-Share Expansion Project: A New Way to Explore the Community In San Antonio, Texas, the National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program helped the city link its historic missions and outdoor recreation to enhance active transportation routes. An expansion of the city’s bike-share system now allows residents and visitors alike to easily access their nearby national park and community open spaces. San Antonio Missions National Historic Park The Camposanto at Mission San José One of the many characteristics and customs of Spanish Missions along the borderlands was the establishment of a camposanto (sacred burial ground) for baptized Native Americans and citizens of New Spain. Generally, Spanish missionaries established camposantos in front of the church or as near to the front of the church as possible. Today, there are two grave markers in a small camposanto located in front of the church at Mission San José. Exterior of Mission San José with multiple graves outlined by grave fences c.1892. Outside Science (inside parks): Exploring San Antonio Missions National Historical Park with ground penetrating radar The Outside Science (inside parks) series shares stories of crucial, creative science. Each episode, produced in collaboration with Colorado State University, highlights the many ways young people are getting involved in science in parks. In this episode we follow scientists as they use ground-penetrating radar to explore what is below the ground at San Antonio Missions National Historic Site. two people push a ground penetrating radar machine with a historic mission in the background.