The first stop in Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park when coming from Austin is the visitor center in Johnson City. After visiting the museum and watching films there, you can walk to President Johnson's Boyhood Home where he lived from the age of five through high school.
The historic Withers and Spauldings General Store is nearby which is also the city's visitor center. If you are spending more than a few hours in the area, it's worth a stop to see what else you might want to see.
Then you can walk to and around the Johnson Settlement. Lyndon Johnson's grandfather and great-uncle established a cattle driving headquarters in the 1860s on land that became part of Johnson City, Texas. Their log cabin, barns, cooler house and windmill still stand here.
Dog trot cabins were common in Texas. They have a breezeway between two sides to help the cabin stay cool before air conditioning.
This part of the park does not just show President Johnson's history, but also the history of settlers and farmers in Texas in the 1800s.
A visit to this area takes about an hour or two. After here, head west to see LBJ State Park and Historic Site Visitor Center along with the LBJ Ranch area of the park.
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Mission Concepcion is the furthest north mission in San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. Unlike the others that have the courtyards and walls, this one currently has only the church building. Mission Concepcion was originally founded in 1716 as Mission Nuestra Seora de la Pursima Concepcin de Acua in eastern Texas. It was to serve as a buffer against the French in Louisiana. In 1731, like other missions it moved to the San Antonio River area. The stone church took 15 years to build and was dedicated in 1755. This church is the only one in the park that has two bell towers.
This is the fourth part of our series on San Antonio Missions NHP which also includes: Mission San Juan, Mission Espada and Mission San Jose.
Before going into the main church, you pass through some side rooms showing frescos which covered most of front of the church and the convento rooms.
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Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, founded in 1720, is the largest of the four Spanish missions making up the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. It has had the most reconstruction and is also the location of the main visitor center. The church is on the far side of the courtyard from the visitor center. It is the largest church of the four missions. This was also known as "Queen of the Missions" and is the best one to see how the missions were more than just the churches; they were also communities where Native Americans lived.
The church is made of limestone and has Spanish colonial Baroque architecture and statuary.
It has an arched ceiling, a dome and a choir loft.
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The furthest south of the four Spanish missions in San Antonio Missions Natinal Historic Park is Mission Espada. It is not right on the San Antonio River, but is not far from it. This mission was founded in 1690 near present-day Weches, Texas as San Francisco de los Tejas. Like Mission San Juan it was moved to the San Antonio River area. The current mission was built in 1731 and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada. This one felt the most like an active parish with the parking right next to the church and the parish offices on the other side.
The church itself is small. I like how the bells were visible above the main entrance.
The inside takes you back to the 1700s when this area was controlled by Spain.
Right next to the church is the convento with the church offices in a section of the wall that is intact. I am not sure if this section was maintained or rebuilt.
The south east corner of the mission has the NPS visitor information center and a small museum. An overview of this National...
