mission dolores

The friendly people of San Augustine call their city "the Cradle of Texas." The Mission Nuestra Senora De Los Dolores De Los Ais [Our Lady of Sorrows, for the Ais], known as Mission Dolores, was established by Spanish priests from Mexico in 1717 with the purpose of converting the local native Americans [the Ais]. It served as the focus point of early Spanish settlement in East Texas and was abandoned in 1773. The Mission Dolores Visitors Center and Museum are located in the southern portion of the city. A helpful and knowledgeable volunteer at the visitors center gave me a quick overview of the complex and offered a number of brochures about the mission. Then crossing over to the museum, I was greeted by a friendly docent and watched an interesting 10 minute video about the establishment of the mission and early archeological projects. After the video, we toured the small museum, which contains a nice collection of maps, displays, and dioramas explaining the history of the mission. On display are some of the artifacts found during archeological "digs" at the site. Archeological research is still in progress, as there are no remains of mission buildings. A walking trail starts behind the museum and passes two informative historical markers before crossing over to the Mission RV Park. This is city owned and operated and is a good location for visitors exploring historic San Augustine. For anyone interested in early Texas history, this museum is an important and interesting stop.