Mission Dolores was one of the most important Spanish missions in Texas for nearly 50 years. Today it’s a state historic site in San Augustine, but you’ll have to use your imagination to see what the Spanish outpost might have looked like.
Officially known as Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais, it was one of six religious settlements established on Spain’s northeastern frontier in 1716. The colony was less than 75 miles from the French community in Natchitoches and 1,100 miles from Mexico City.
The presidio soldiers at Los Adaes (now a historic site in Robeline, La.) were supposed to keep the French in check, and the missions were to convert the friendly members of the Caddo Confederacy.
Neither met with much success. The French were already well-established in the area, and the Native Ais people already had their own religion and agriculture. The mission was finally abandoned in 1773.
Within five years the towns of San Augustine and Nacogdoches began filling up with Anglos and remnants of tribes from the Southeastern U.S. The walls of the mission melted into the fertile soil.
Mission Dolores State Historic Site occupies a beautiful plot of land a few blocks from the San Augustine town square, and it’s easy to see why the Spanish chose this spot. The state has added a visitor center, a small museum, and a well-shaded campground. Locals have added a disc golf course.
A walking trail leads around the wooded grounds. Near the creek are swales, the remnants of El Camino Real de los Tejas, the road (roughly SH 21) that led from Mexico City to Los Adaes, once on the farthest reaches of the Spanish empire. The area where the mission stood is a field of wildflowers.
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This article appears in July 28 • 2023.