In 1745 a crucial part of the San Antonio Mission’s history was built and introduced to the Indigenous people and sacred land of Texas. The Spanish brought many different and new technologies with them to Texas. Many of which included the irrigation systems or as the Spanish would say, las acequias. The job of the irrigation ditches was to bring water from the creek or river to the Mission’s grounds or gardens. In order to redirect the steady flow of water to the various needs of the Mission, the Espada Dam was constructed.
As I walked the path that trailed the flow of water, I remembered who had made this incredible arrangement. I thought of who had walked these trails day after day to support life in an interlocking organization developed by the Spanish and Native Americans. As I strolled near the stream, history and nature combined into the most serene place a person could encounter. The weather was sunny but beneath the shade of the small long-limbed trees was a cool breeze and the walk could not have been more enjoyable. In the days of the missions, I imagined at the time of my stroll women and men alike would be bathing or swimming in the river to escape the sting of the sun. And in those days, that was the point of building so close to a river, to have access to bathe, swim, or even power a mill for the agriculture. I felt the presence, for I was alone, of our ancestors with me as I made my way to the dam. When I arrived to see the magnificence of the rushing water, a breeze suddenly hit me as if to wrap around my whole body and surround my soul with the spirits of those who had died trying to live. Never have I ever felt so at one with my heritage. The scene was interesting because the stones look so prehistoric but still do the job they were assigned so long ago. I sat as close as I could get to the actual dam in the green but dry grass meditating and relaxing to the sounds of birds and bugs. There is much brush in the area that has overgrown some of the historical stones. It would be hard to explain how this physical history can overwhelm a person in an extremely positive manner, but it does nothing but that.
The impact of the dam on the missions was astounding. Not only did it provide water, but it channeled water to the different places of work such as the crop fields. A better way to think of how the dam and irrigation systems impacted the missions is to ask the question of what would it have been like to not have las acequias and the dam at the missions? No irrigation system would have meant bringing pale by pale of spilling water to each area of need every single day for several hours. Not to mention they would have had to have an immense amount of stable water pales. A bigger problem would have been keeping the crops well nourished with water. Could anyone imagine those giant fields of harvest at least 500 feet away from the river being watered pale by pale? The work at the missions was already grueling labor for the Spanish but especially the Indigenous people who were just about forced to be there anyways. The dam and irrigation was no water hose or sprinkler system but indeed assisted the civilians of the missions a great deal considering the alternative.
In conclusion, I believe in history and in anything that can educate people of different cultures to realize how we all come together one way or another. These missions are of great importance to the past, present, and future generations. The dam of Mission Espada for instance is powerful and beautiful to witness. It holds the key to some of the success in the missions. Today we see stones overgrown with brush, but those stones have significance that exceeds splendor.