We had the unique privilege to visit this park as part of field trip with our local homeschool group and it was such an awesome way to finally cross it off our list. We had behind the scenes tours set up at both the fort across the river and within the mission on state park grounds. I joked that this one field trip covered our Texas History curriculum for the year, haha!

We started our tour at Presidio La Bahia, the fort where the massacre of Col. Fannin and his men occurred during the Texas Revolution. Our tour guide seated us in the church and preceded to tell us the history, art design and current use of the building. Most interesting eerie detail I took away was the fact that over 300 captured Texians were held in that relatively small space for days before they were marched out to their execution. There were about 50 of us in there and the space felt tight enough! On a lighter note, we enjoyed the analysis of the symbolism in the mural in the church painted in 1946.

Afterwards, we took some time to explore the grounds of the fort before a stop in the museum and gift shop area. We learned about Captain Dimmitt’s flag that he designed and flew at what he called “Fort Defiance” in December of 1835 when Goliad declared its independence from Mexican rule. The image of the message that one would rather cut off their own arm than submit to tyrants predates the “come and take it” cannon flag, but wasn’t widely used because it was viewed too radical by many revolutionary leaders. I, however, loved it and purchased one for our home 🙂

From there, we entered the actual state park and had a picnic lunch before our tour of the Mission Espiritu Santo. We met up with our tour guide and he walked us through the many aspects of how the mission operated and what was original to its construction from almost 300 years ago and what restorations over the centuries took place. Many rooms were set up with displays giving us glimpses into the past and our guide had us for almost 2 hours answering any question those kids threw at him lol!

Once the official field trip was over and everyone dispersed, the kids and I took a walk down a trail along the San Antonio River to a camping area and back. We also visited the memorial for Col. Fannin and his men on the way home, but I didn’t get any pictures there.

We couldn’t have asked for a more educational and special way to visit such a historical state park! The camping and opportunity for paddling in the park looked appealing as well and could be worth another visit sometime.

-Lindsay