Texas Tech archeology team uncovers lost mission site nearly 300 years after it was last occupied

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Tamra Walter is an associate professor of archeology at Texas Tech.

For archeologists in the state, the mission known as Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo established by La Salle was difficult to pinpoint.

“It was definitely in the top five for archeologists to find, if not number one,” Walter said, “and we knocked that off the list. We found it.”

La Salle was a French explorer who was stranded with his crew off the coast of Texas during the 1680’s. His arrival to the area caused trouble almost immediately.

“This was in Spanish claimed territory,” Walter said, “so Spain really did not think much about Spanish Texas until the French arrived. They were really concerned that the French were gonna make inroads into the area that was producing a lot of wealth for Spain, and that was in what is now northern Mexico in the silver mines.”

When Spain heard of La Salle’s colony in territory they claimed, they started expeditions to find it. The colony was later found, but only after La Salle had been assassinated.

“That didn’t stop them from worrying about future incursions,” Walter said, “and that propelled a concerted effort to colonize Texas. It started the colonizing of Texas through missions and military forts or presidios.”

In the 1720’s, Spain put a presidio and a mission on La Salle’s former colony. 300 years later, the mission was still lost.

In April, Walter put together a team including Texas tech Students, in collaboration with the Texas Historical Commission, to survey what they thought was the area of this mission site. After finding encouraging pieces and receiving additional funding, the team was able to explore more of the property earlier this month and finally discover the long-lost site.

“I was elated and excited about finally being able to tell this story,” Walter said, “and I think everybody that was there, including our students, was feeling a part of something bigger.”

Walter says this discovery from her team couldn’t have been possible without work from those who came before them. She adds finding the location is just phase one, as more work will be needed to tell the full story of Spanish civilization during this important period in Texas history.

“The only way to get to those kinds of things, to tell that story, is through archeology,” Walter said, “so we will plan to do a full-scale excavation in the future so that we can gather additional information about this really important site.”

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