The Dam at Mission Espada

My Humanities class was recently asked to write an essay on a number of topics that relate to the mission system in San Antonio Texas. I chose to write my essay on the dam that is on the grounds of Mission Espada in San Antonio Texas. This Dam is connected to an acequia system that was used to bring water to crops. Acequia's are ditches that channel water from the dam to crops. This acequia system at Mission Espada is the only acequia system in the whole United States. This was a marvel of engeneering when it was constructed in the mid 1700's. This acequia system was vital for the Spanish because it was essential for the farming of crops. When the spanish arrived here they had the task of teaching Native Americans a new way of life. This included converting a hunter and gatherer society into a society that could learn to farm and no longer had to constantly move around in search of food. Without the dam and corresponding ditch system the crops the spanish and natives were attempting to grow would die in times of drought. With a constant food supply the spanish had stability and could use their energy on teaching the natives the catholic religion and spanish ways. This dam system was dependant on a source of water. This water source was the San Antonio River. If you look at the layout of the Missions in San Antonio They are all along the banks of This river. Without this river the Missions would not have been able to function. Now I am going to discribe the way the dam functions in more detail so you can get a clearer picture of the layout of the dam and acequia. The san Antonio river sits right at the edge of Mission Espada and the dam is built on the river. The water at the dam will dam up and eventually the pressure of the current will force the dam to overflow. This is exactly what the makers of the dam wanted. With the water that is flowing over the dam they dug ditches (or Acequias) to catch this water. The ditches ran down to the fields where the crops were planted and now the crops had a constant supply of water in order to grow. This was a very well built dam and proves this in the fact that people who farm near Mission Espada in the current time still use the dam and acequia system to water their crops. The Area around the dam is lush and very green due to the fact that there is never a shortage of water in this area. The Mission is a very beautiful place and if you are ever in San Antonio I encourage you to stop by the mission and see for yourself this amazing place.