National Register Listing

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

a.k.a. See Also:Yturri-Edmunds House

Mission and Espada Rds. and San Jose Dr., San Antonio, TX

The San Antonio missions were a major part of the Spanish colonial system for the establishment and management of its defensive and settlement frontier in the American Southwest. This frontier had significant and far-reaching effects on the development of the United States both politically and culturally, effects which are continuing today. The missions were directly involved in the military, religious, and cultural development of the Texas frontier, and they influenced policy-making in these areas across the entire Southwest. Their impact upon the development of the American cattle industry was pronounced. Their contribution to agriculture and commerce was of critical importance to the development of the state of Texas and to the San Antonio region. The structures themselves constitute a unique record of the architecture, art, and sculpture of the Spanish colonial period in Texas. This record has had a substantive influence on the study of the history of architecture and decorative arts in the American Southwest. Archival collections of the Mission documents offer unlimited opportunities for historical studies on the topics of acculturation, culture change, comparative frontier studies, and the mechanics and implementation of the Mission system. The unparalleled archeological record of each Mission offers a unique resource for study of the progressive changes in material culture which occurred at each of the missions, changes which may well be representative of culture change throughout the Southwest.

Local significance of the district:
Religion; Engineering; Architecture; Commerce; Military; Agriculture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.