Mission San Jose

Yesterday I rode the bus out to Texas' most famous mission, San Jose, which was founded in 1720 to convert the local Indians and help expand Spanish control in North America. This was done by converting and protecting small bands of local Indian who were being raided by some of their stronger neighbors. Most notable were the Apache and Comanche.
The mission was not only a church but a walled fortress community with living quarters for 80 families plus the Franciscan missionaries inside its walls. While the church is still part of the Archdiocese of San Antonio the mission grounds and buildings are now a National Park.
Originally this area was open on the bottom as you see it now but had rooms above it for work and living quarters for the missionaries.
This was one of the common room most likely used for eating and meetings, especially when the weather was bad.
This is the mission church from the front. The main part of the mission area was to the right of the church and was completely walled as it is today. To the left is part of the wall that protected the mission from attacks.
This was the enclosed area which housed work shops and likely small gardens. Most of the orchards and fields were located outside the walls. Some of the natives worked as field hands and cowboys on nearby farms and ranches.In this photo you can see one of the walls which also housed the living quarters for the 80 families or so. In front is a communal oven not unlike those seen throughout much the world at that time. The walls with living quarters enclose the three sides of the mission not occupied by the church.

Outside the walls today is the small community of San Jose. They have a small chapel and are still being ministered to by the Franciscans.