Wooden cross and cactus before church.<BR>Mission San Juan Capistrano was transferred from East Texas to the San Antonio river in 1731, formerly San Jose de los Nazonis. It became one of the five Franciscan missions in this area which together form the largest concentration of early missions in North America. The stone church, a friary, and granary were completed in 1756, about the time San Juan became a regional supplier of agricultural produce with an established trade network stretching east to Louisiana and south to Coahuila, Mexico. Construction of a separate church was begun but never completed due to a decline in population. Coahuiltecan Indians built the missions under the direction of skilled craftsmen from Spain, acquiring valuable vocational knowledge that later benefited the entire region.