San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Book GRSA You weren’t there in 1869—but

You weren’t there in 1869—but now you can hold a piece of that historic day

The pitch-black underground is as different from the bright sun and blue sky of the surface world as the plants and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert are different from the rocks and minerals of the Cavern

Official park mug approved by the National Park Service for Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

the village of Orayvi is considered the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States

some risking significant danger and hardship

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Book GRSA You weren’t there in 1869—butThree centuries ago, Spain's territorial claims to lands north and west of the Gulf of Mexico were tenuous at best. The fertile plains of what is now southern Texas lay on the outer frontier of a far flung colonial empire, and here Spanish civilization had yet to gain a foothold. It was a two week ride for Franciscan fathers to get from their northernmost settlements to the headwaters of the San Antonio River, where they established the first of five