These unique photographs portray San Antonio's five Spanish missions, the largest such cluster in the United States. The first was San Antonio de Valero, established in 1718 with the founding
of the city of San Antonio and now better known as the Alamo. The others were built along some eight miles of the San Antonio River to the south. San Jos矇, founded in 1720, was restored with
its enclosed mission plaza during the 1930s. Three moved to San Antonio from East Texas in 1731. Concepci籀n has the nation's oldest intact Spanish-era church and significant remnants of early
frescoes. San Juan and Espada have picturesque chapels facing smaller plazas. Espada's mission acequia still flows across its original stone aqueduct. Each section includes a rare
nineteenth-century image, some previously unpublished.
