DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Somewhere out here in Milam County, the ground holds a story that starts with hope and ends with a name change and a long road south. Back in 1749, Franciscan missionaries came to this very spot and established Mission San Ildefonso.
Their aim was clear: civilize and christianize the Coco, the Mayeye, the Orcoquiza, the Karankawa, and other tribes of Indians living in this part of the world. That's no small congregation to dream of gathering. For a time, the mission stood.
But then came something the marker doesn't soften, and neither will I. A man named Padre Jose Ganzabal was martyred here. The marker calls it exactly that — martyrdom.
And the circumstances connected to that death sent everything unraveling. The Indians departed. The friars departed.
And in 1755, the mission itself was removed — picked up, essentially, and carried away to the San Marcos River. Now you might think that's the end of it. But 1762 rolls around, and the mission rises again — this time on the Nueces River, this time for the conversion of the Lipan Apaches, and this time under a brand new name: Mission San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz.
Same faith, different river, different name. Whatever happened here in 1755 didn't kill the mission — it just moved it. The ground out here in Milam County is the only thing that stayed.
What the marker says
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1749 with the hope of civilizing and christianizing the Coco, Mayeye, Orcoquiza, Karankawa, and other tribes of Indians. The martyrdom of Padre Jose Ganzabal and the circumstances connected therewith caused the departure of the Indians and the friars and the removal of this mission to the San Marcos River in 1755. Reestablished in 1762 on the Nueces River for the conversion of the Lipan Apaches with the new name of Mission San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz.