DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Three names. Say them slow, because they deserve it.
San Francisco Xavier de los Dolores. Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria. San Ildefonso.
Three missions, each one a world unto itself, and each one carrying a story that doesn't end where you might expect. It began on the San Gabriel River. Between 1746 and 1749, Franciscan missionaries came to this country with a very particular hope — to civilize and Christianize the Coco, the Mayeye, the Orcoquiza, and other Indian tribes.
That's no small ambition for any stretch of Texas ground, and the land had opinions of its own. For a time, those missions held. But then came something the marker doesn't soften: the martyrdom of Padre José Ganzabal.
The circumstances connected to his death — and the marker lets those words carry their full weight — caused the Indians and the friars alike to depart. And in 1755, the missions were removed to the San Marcos River. Now, you might think that's the end of the story.
Most things that get uprooted once don't survive a second planting. But these three missions weren't finished. By 1757, and on through 1762, they were reestablished — this time on not one river, but three.
The San Saba. The Nueces. The Sabinal.
Spread across the country now, their purpose turned toward the conversion of the Lipan Apaches. Three missions. Two rivers abandoned.
Three rivers tried. One padre who didn't make it home. The State of Texas saw fit to mark this ground in 1936, and standing here, it's not hard to understand why.
What the marker says
San Francisco Xavier de los Dolores, Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria, San Ildefonso. Originally established on the San Gabriel River by Franciscan missionaries in 1746-1749 with the hope of civilizing and Christianizing the Coco, Mayeye, Orcoquiza and other Indian tribes. The martyrdom of Padre Jose Ganzabal and the circumstances connected therewith caused the departure of the Indians and the friars and the removal of the missions to the San Marcos River in 1755. Reestablished on the banks of the San Saba, Nueces and Sabinal rivers for the conversion of the Lipan Apaches in 1757-1762. Erected by the State of Texas 1936