Photographs Old mill, San Antonio

[Barbarian]

Built in the 1600s, by French missionaries, the mill ground only wheat (the padres thought good Christian citizens only ate flour tortillas), the mill was rebuilt in the 1950s, and is now functioning again, complete with the original stone.

 

[Barbarian]

Sideshot water wheel below the mill runs the grinding stone.

 

[John]

Neat. So you say its functioning, so one could visit this place and have old style tortillas?

 

[Barbarian]

The feed mechanism is an ingenious little device, that uses the roughness of the stone to jiggle the feed hopper and slowly drop the grain into the mill.

 

[Barbarian]

Well, the mission is now part of a national park, although the Church is still functioning and holds masses, the mill is now only run for demonstrations. The water used to come from a series of canals and aqueducts built by the indians, but in the 1950s, the Corps of Engineers changed the river so that the system didn't work any more.

There were still a lot of Hispanic people who had used the irrigation water for their crops for hundreds of years, and threatened to sue. The Corps lawyers laughed, and pointed out that federal law gave them complete jurisdiction.

Then the lawyers for the farmers explained the intricacies of the Spanish land and water grants, and the details of the Treaty of Annexation with Texas, and the Corps lawyers stopped laughing.

Cost them a bundle.

 

[Barbarian]

The Church, inside the Mission Walls. Very popular for weddings.

 

[John]

Hmmm, seems like a cool place to visit.

 

[Barbarian]

San Antonio has the world's best people; a very civilized and historically interesting place. The Alamo is the least of the treasures there.

There are five restored Missions in the National park, each with a functioning church.

And the River Walkway is a great place with restaraunts, shops, and water taxis. If you're in Texas, it's the very best place to be.

 

[freeway]

Man I love to go to those kind of old places.... love it.. The wifey and I try to take trips around these kind of places... have to get out some of my pics and post them...

thanks for sharing the photos.... freeway01