DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Nacogdoches County, there's a site that carries a story stretching back three centuries — a story of ambition, interruption, and a whole lot of moving around. This is the site of Mission Nuestra de la Purisima Concepción, and friend, that mission did not stay put.
In 1716, Franciscan missionaries established it right here, carrying with them the hope of civilizing and Christianizing the Indians of the region. That was the plan. Bold, serious, and set in motion with real conviction.
But plans have a way of meeting reality. Just three years later, in 1719, French incursions coming out of Louisiana forced the mission to be abandoned — temporarily, as it turned out, though I imagine nobody standing there watching it empty out felt too certain about the 'temporarily' part. Then along comes the Marquis of Aguayo.
By 1721, he had restored the mission, and you'd think that would be the end of the wandering. You would be wrong. In 1730, the mission was removed to the Colorado River — picking up stakes, moving on down the road, as if the whole enterprise hadn't already been through enough.
And then, one final move: 1731, the mission found itself situated on the San Antonio River, where it would at last settle into something like permanence. From Nacogdoches to the Colorado to the San Antonio River — fifteen years and three homes. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936 to make sure nobody forgets where it all began.
What the marker says
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1716 with the hope of civilizing and Christianizing the Indians of the region * Abandoned temporarily due to the French incursions from Louisiana in 1719 * Restored by the Marquis of Aguayo in 1721 * Removed to the Colorado River in 1730 and finally situated on the San Antonio River in 1731. Erected by the State of Texas 1936