Mission Concepción

Mission Concepción began in East Texas in 1716 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais, among the Hasinai Caddo, whom the Spanish called the Tejas. Drought, hunger and an epidemic marked its first years, a war between Spain and France drove it back in 1719, and in 1731 it moved to the San Antonio River. It was the seat of the Father President who oversaw the Querétaro missions here, Concepción, San Juan and Valero. The stone church was dedicated on December 8, 1755: about 89 by 22 feet, with walls 45 inches thick, two towers and a cupola.

It has never fallen into ruin, which is why it is counted among the oldest unrestored stone churches in the United States. Its builders covered it inside and out with colored geometric designs. Outside they have worn away; inside, the frescoes survive in the convento's four rooms, the store room, porter's lodge, library and dining hall, the best known being the face called the Eye of God on the library ceiling. The stone for walls, mortar and plaster came from the quarry in front of the church, beside the parking lot.

On October 28, 1835, Texan volunteers under James Bowie beat Mexican troops under Martín Perfecto de Cos on the mission grounds, the fight that opened the siege of Bexar, and some buildings were damaged. Settlers then used the church as a barn and the U.S. Army as a supply depot, until the Marianists cleaned and reopened it on May 28, 1861. It is still a parish church.