The Acequias of San Antonio

But how do you irrigate arid landscape without modern plumbing? You build acequias. Brought by 18th century Spanish missionaries, these gravity-based canal systems are ingenious ways to share water. Acequias helped establish the city of San Antonio and have fed people along the San Antonio River for 300 years.

I'm Jason Epperson, and on this episode of America's National Parks, the acequias of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

With over 4 million nights booked and thousands of 5-star reviews from happy campers, RVShare is the largest RV rental website in the U.

S. A wide-ranging inventory from affordable pop-up campers to luxury motorhomes means RVShare has a rental that's perfect for you. Choose from thousands of options, including pet-friendly RVs and RVs that can be delivered right to your campsite. Each booking on RVShare also includes 24-7 roadside assistance. for the ultimate peace of mind on the open road.

Get ready to use your outside voice. From camping at a local state park to checking a national park, stay off your bucket list, the adventure begins as soon as you step inside your RV rental. There's no better way to explore America's National Parks than with an RV trip. Check out RVShare.com for helpful tips for first-time renters, travel inspiration on the best RV-friendly places to visit, and discover a budget-friendly way to have an epic adventure. And when you're ready to book, use promo code PARKS30 for $30 off a $500 or more.

booking. That's RVShare.com with promo code PARKS30 for $30 off a $500 or more booking.

Just south of the city, the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park has the largest concentration of Spanish colonial missions in North America. The park was formed in 1978 and preserves 826 acres of land. It's recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site and is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Texas. Where there is water, there is life. A vast network of waterways flow through the park and trace a path between the 18th century missions, bringing nourishment to the communities there.

Four missions feature at the park. The Concepcion, the San Jose, the San Juan, and the Espada missions. The Alamo, the fifth and best-known mission, is just upstream. While not part of the park, the Alamo is a part of this historical transformation of water systems called acequias. Acequias were developed in arid regions of Spain and brought over by missionaries.

Acequia is an adaptation of an Arabic word for waterway, al-acequia. Spanish missionaries used these canals for a farming technique that floods fields. Acequias rely on the force of gravity, and so, instead of straight lines, they zig and zag to follow the downward flow of water. Changes in elevation? No problem.

Aqueducts carry water over an obstacle to the other side. Gates are lifted to allow water into a field. Lowering the gate redirects the flow back to the main channel and a system open on both ends. They start and end with a natural stream. Acequias in the park still flood fields in the same way hundreds of years later.

Wetland ecosystems along the San Antonio River highlight the acequias left by the shadows of the Spanish agricultural past. Vegetation is largely second growth after the Spanish cleared the land for cattle grazing and agriculture. Riparian woodlands closest to the river and creeks contain black willow, pecan, and sugarberry. Further out, the land is dotted with mesquite and spiny, hackberry, and shrublands with blackbrush. acacia and roughleaf.

dogwood meet old farmland. More than 300 species of wildlife make these ecosystems their home. Along the river, visitors are likely to see many colorful migratory songbirds, especially in spring. The missions weave together Spanish and indigenous cultures. Like that of the Coahuiltican peoples, these lands were first known as Yeneguene, or Land of the Spirit Waters, and were ancestral homelands to the First Peoples for thousands of years.

Spanish explorers renamed this area San Antonio. after St. Anthony. San Antonio prospered as a new center of cattle culture. The major trails for driving cattle to markets and railroads often began in this frontier city, but with more cattle comes the need for more water to grow feed and pastures.

Mission communities also needed water for farmers to grow corn, beans, squash, and peppers in the South Texas climate. Aseke has helped shape the layout of the city of San Antonio, its streets, its farmlands. The city is now the second largest in Texas by area, and the top ten largest in the United States, thanks to the large irrigation systems that bring water, and thus food and commerce, to its inhabitants. In the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Aseke has changed the landscape, as well as the lives and livelihoods of those who lived there. By diverting water, lands once stewarded by indigenous peoples became a system of waterways for settlers.

These Asekeas held such power that regulating them was one of the most important duties of the first government of San Antonio. Each farmer was granted water rights, called dulas, which allotted the amounts and days of the week the land could be flooded. The newly irrigated lands were called suertes, or chances, named for the lottery system of dividing them. Water flowed from the large Asekea Madre to smaller upper and middle ditches, and then to distribution ditches near farmlands. Each mission had its own system of Asekeas to bring water from the river to the mission and fields.

This elaborate network of canals once irrigated more than 3,500 acres of mission lands as vital sources of water for communities in the area. Concepcion Asekea, also known as Pajalache Ditch, is the oldest in San Antonio. The canal was so broad that Franciscans used boats to get to town on it. By 1869, the Asekea's northern section was abandoned due to the threat it posed to the city during floods. The mission still stands today, protecting the oldest unrestored stone church in the United States.

Though they have faded, on a visit to the park, you can still see original frescoes in some of the church rooms. Another Asekea, the San Pedro, was the largest of the seven canals. It drew from the San Pedro Springs and flowed for more than three miles along what are now streets like Flores Street in San Antonio. The San Pedro irrigated land until 1906.. The Alamo Madre was built to supply water to Mission San Antonio de Valero and began at the eastern bend of the San Antonio River headwaters.

When the Pajalache Dam was torn down, the Alamo Madre Asekea supplied water to the Pajalache's southern points. Part of the Alamo Madre is preserved in the fishpond behind the wall of the Alamo Chapel today. Mission San Jose was known as the Queen of the Missions. It's the largest mission in San Antonio and presents the oldest grist mill in Texas. The San Jose Asekea that brought water to this mission also powered the wheel of the mission mill.

The reconstructed mill is a testament to the San Jose Asekea, which once drew water from the river below San Pedro Creek before rejoining the river north of the Espada Dam. Using this mill, missionaries added wheat to modify the traditional indigenous diet of maize. In 2024, Mission San Jose was added to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, overseen by the Park Service. This designation honors places that were part of the secret network used by enslaved people, many of whom traveled through Texas to escape. The Asekea was finally abandoned after too many washouts at its Diversion Dam after the Civil War.

Just across from Mission San Jose, a canal flows south to Mission San Juan. Visitors to this mission can explore the chapel and bell tower, along with its Romanesque archway at the entrance gate, and can also take self-guided tours on the trail to the river. The San Juan Asekea has brought water to farmlands on this side of the river for hundreds of years. A portion has been renovated and provides water to several farms south of San Antonio. The San Juan Asekea provides water for the farm of the San Antonio Food Bank.

The farm is at Mission San Juan, and it produces potatoes, watermelon, cabbage, and corn. It's the only food bank in the United States that partners with the National Park. In an interview with National Park's traveler, Michael Guerra, the San Antonio Food Bank's Chief Resource Officer, said, quote, it really reminds you that people settled here, and they had to have water. And so, educationally and culturally, what an opportunity to touch all these topics, from justice to conservation, to climate, to crops.

Thanks to the Asekea, the Mission San Juan's farmlands continue to bring abundance to the community and nourish those who need it most with fresh, healthy, and sustainable food. The last irrigation projects south of the Alamo were the Espada Dam, Asekea, and Aqueduct. They are the best-preserved working remnants of Asekeas in the United States. This National Historic Landmark diverts water towards Mission Espada, crossing Piedras Creek. Dams like the Espada helped raise the river to bring water to the Asekeas.

Although a fire destroyed many Mission buildings in the early 19th century, the chapel, granary, and two walls remain. Visitors can see the massive Arbol de Vida, or Tree of Life, that displays personal stories and local San Antonio history. While there, the unusual door and stone archway make beautiful backgrounds for photos. Finally, the Elasian Ditch was the last large Asekea built in San Antonio, more than a century after the others. Though it was built most recently, the least evidence of it remains.

It's gone without a trace. As farms and fields gave way to factories and urban streets, Asekeas were replaced by modern underground pipe systems. Pollution of the canals led to their condemnation as, according to the city physician in 1883, channels of infection and annoyance. By World War I, many Asekeas were shut down. The remarkable preservation of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is important to maintain the heritage of the Asekeas.

Today, the Missions are part of the culture of San Antonio. It's a vibrant, living history. People whose ancestors lived on the lands before and after colonization make up the community today, with Indigenous, Latino, and Spanish heritage. The National Park Service acknowledges the San Antonio River as Yanagwene, spirit waters, and that the park is also an ancestral homeland to Indigenous peoples, whose descendants maintain unbroken ties with traditional lands and waterways. The history of the Missions includes sovereign nations like the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Canary Island Descendants, the Tewan Band of Mission Indians, the San Antonio Mission Indian Descendants, and several more.

Community members and descendants still gather at the Missions for weddings and prayers, weaving together storytelling about the past and present. The community itself blends together. In the same way, waters of the Asekeas around them flow toward communal nourishment. But it's no easy feat to maintain historical innovation. The urban park setting of the Missions means finding balance between cultural heritage and natural landscapes.

For centuries, inhabitants of these lands have been working to clean the Asekea systems, and that work continues today from the community. Many of the miles of Asekeas in the park run through heavily wooded vegetation. This poses a challenge to maintaining the waterways. The canals need frequent cleaning to protect them from vegetation encroachment and erosion that impede the water's flow. But there's also been littering and contamination from oil spills too.

In 2023, park staff brought a youth team with the Texas Conservation Corps, together with the San Antonio River Authority, to clear native arrowhead plants. These plants were moved from the Mission San Juan Asekea to the river for habitat restoration. The youth corps is a team of enthusiastic, hard-working young people helping to keep these ecosystems and waterways healthy. The project is funded by the National Park Service and the Land Restoration Fund, and is part of the Great American Outdoors Act. Maintenance action.

teams like this are helping in hundreds of national parks and training the next generation of park stewards. Cleaning ensures the water flows through the Asekeas unimpeded, but also protects native plant species along the river. As in the past, the Asekea system in the park today represents the strength of the community.

Visitors to the park can enjoy the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project that added 15 miles of hiking, biking, and paddling trails to the San Antonio Missions. This project connects the four missions in the park to the city of San Antonio's Riverwalk through a series of park portals. The Riverwalk is one of the most visited places in all of Texas. Walking the Riverwalk feels like strolling along the canals of Venice. Much of the appeal is walking beside the river, smelling the aromas of sizzling food on restaurant grills.

Pleasant shops beckon while tourists sit on patios along the river. Architecture styles along the river's south shore range from adobe to victorian, to texas limestone and are highlighted on the National Register of Historic Places. Following the Riverwalk all the way to the San Antonio Missions can make this experience more meaningful and connected to history. The architecture and artwork of the missions themselves is a fascinating glimpse at the past that deepens our understanding of today. The missions add a one-of-a-kind educational experience and a dose of nature to go with it.

Park staff offer free daily tours at Mission. San Jose. Rangers often offer tours to school children too, who delight in hearing the splash of water as the acacia gates slide open. Entry to the park is free and no reservations are required. Even the parking is free.

It's worth a visit, but remember that summers are hot and humid in Texas, so plan accordingly. When you do visit, you'll notice parts of the missions are still active. Regular service is held in each mission in English and Spanish. If you're so inclined, current members of the church can even get married within the historic missions and the National Historical Park. Art, architecture, nature, cultural memory, and agricultural history are just a few of the many reasons to add the park and its breathtaking acacia network to your travels.

This episode of America's National Parks was hosted by me, Jason Epperson, and written by Jennifer Molydore. If you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a rating and a review. If you're new here, make sure to subscribe to the podcast to get new episodes delivered to your feed. If you're looking for photos and tips about visiting national parks, check out our America's National Parks Facebook group. And if you're interested in RV travel, we hope you'll also check out our RV Miles podcast and YouTube channel.

Today's show was sponsored by RV Share. Use the promo code PARKS30 for $30 off a $500 or more RV rental booking for your next national park adventure at rvshare.com.