Mission Nuestra Señora del Espiritu Santo de Zuñiga

The mission's long name came from two places. La Bahia del Espiritu Santo, the Bay of the Holy Spirit, was the Spanish name for the waters now called Matagorda and Lavaca bays, and Zuniga honored Baltasar de Zuniga, viceroy of New Spain. Franciscans of the College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas took charge, and the governor fixed April 10, 1722, as its official founding. By April 1725 the padres were already asking to move, having failed to keep the Karankawas, a people who moved with the seasons, at the mission.

What the plaque says

Mission Nuestra Señora del Espiritu Santo de Zuñiga Situated in the present county of Jackson was the mission of Nuestra Señora del Espiritu Santo de Zuñiga. Established by Joseph de Azlor, Marquis of Aguayo, and Father Fray Agustin Patron, O.F.M. in 1722 for the civilizing and Christianizing of the Karankawa, Cujane, Coco, Copane, and other Indian tribes under the protection of the Presidio de Nuestra Señora de Loreto. Both moved to Mission Valley on the Guadalupe River in 1726. Moved finally to Santa Dorotea, now Goliad near the San Antonio River in 1749. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Famous Lavaca-Navidad Meeting of 1835 — steps away
• Brackenridge Cemetery — steps away
• Hernandez v. State of Texas — 0.2 mi
• Jackson County — 0.3 mi