San Antonio Missions

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas, US. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

In geographic order from north (upstream of the San Antonio River) to south (downstream) the missions are Mission Concepción, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. The Espada Aqueduct, also part of the Park, is due west of Mission San Juan, across the river.

The fifth (and best known) mission in San Antonio, the Alamo, is not part of the Park. It is located upstream from Mission Concepción, in downtown San Antonio, and is owned by the State of Texas. The Alamo was operated by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas until July 2015, when custodianship was turned over to the Texas General Land Office.^[​3]



On July 5, 2015, the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, along with the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.^[​4]

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Mission Concepción
Location	San Antonio, Texas, United States
Nearest city	San Antonio, TX
Area	948 acres (384 ha) 572 acres (231 ha) federal[​1]
Established	April 1, 1983
Visitors	1,238,920 (in 2022)[​2]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: (ii)
Designated	2015 (39th session)
Part of	San Antonio Missions
Reference no.	1466
Region	Europe and North America