Spanish Mission History Runs Through the San Gabriel Near Rockdale

Three Spanish missions stood along the San Gabriel River near present-day Rockdale. The Spanish called the river San Xavier at the time. From about 1746 to 1755, the missions served Native groups in Central Texas. Their names were San Francisco Xavier de Horcasitas, San Ildefonso, and Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria.

The project began after a group of Native people asked Father Mariano Francisco de los Dolores y Viana to open a mission in their own country. In December 1747, the viceroy approved six missionaries for three new missions. In 1749, two missions taught more than 200 people each. A later count found people at all three sites. Work began on an irrigation canal in 1750, but it was never finished.

The sites did not last. Poor funding, conflict with soldiers, drought, disease, and violence wore the project down. By 1753, Father Dolores wanted to move the missions. In August 1755, the missions and presidio moved to the San Marcos River. The San Xavier chapter was brief, but it still ties this stretch of the San Gabriel to a recorded part of Spanish Texas.