The Socorro Mission is a historical site that was built in 1683 near Fabens, Texas by many Spaniards and French. These conquistadores were on an expedition and exploration through New Mexico. Some were recruited south due to the Pueblo Revolt, taking Native Americans along with them. As they passed through the El Paso area, they decided to build a mission to house the Native Americans, Including the Piro Indians. They housed these Indian's to turn them into Catholics, and to become more civilized.
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Explores achieved in putting the mission on the Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe. After many Indian's revolted against the mission, it was moved for the first time by the Spanish Governor Diego de Vargas and given the name
Mission de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de los Piros de Socorro. The town of Socorro was established due to the Pueblo Revolt and was on the Camino Real trail that helped explorers voyage from Mexico to Santa Fe.
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Early Spanish Conquistadores and settlers that founded the Mission gave the mission the names of; San Pedro de Alcantará, La Limpia Concepción, La Purísima Concepción, San Miguel, and La Purisima. In 1766, the mission was given the name that it still has today, La Purísima Concepción del Socorro. The site of the mission was placed fifteen miles from El Paso del Norte, after it was moved from the previouse location. It is believed that the Franciscan pastor ,Antonio Guerra, marked the founding of the town of Socorro with a Mass that day.
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There is a legend based off of the founding of the Socorro Mission, known as the Legend of San Miguel. in this legend, the statue of San Miguel was being pulled on a cart by Native American's and oxen of the Camino Real trail. As they were pulling the statue, the cart got stuck in the mud, and the oxen could not pull the cart any longer. After hours of work trying to pull the cart out, they realized that San Miguel wanted to have a Mission built in his honor where he stood.
The mission stood tall and proud after so many years, but it was to be moved to a new location due to a natural disaster. After years and years of flooding, the Rio Grande's course changed to interfere with the mission. when the Rio Grande collided with the mission, the nearby adobe houses including the mission were swept away, along with the mission.
After the mission's new location was ready, workers had to begin to rebuild the Socorro Mission for the third time. The workers had to carve new blocks of adobe for the structure of the mission, and paste all of the bricks together. They took the same vigas, or wooden columns, from the roof of the old mission and added them to the new mission. After many years of work, the mission was finally built and ready for use.
After the mission's new location was ready, workers had to begin to rebuild the Socorro Mission for the third time. The workers had to carve new blocks of adobe for the structure of the mission, and paste all of the bricks together. They took the same vigas, or wooden columns, from the roof of the old mission and added them to the new mission. After many years of work, the mission was finally built and ready for use.
Recently, the mission walls began to crack, so workers were called in to fix this problem. they began to tear down the outer wall and replace it with a more weather resistant material. Unfortunately, about a week after the workers did this, the walls began to crack again and huge pieces of the mission began to fall off of the exterior of the church. This was because the workers used the wrong material to fix the walls instead of using lava rock. Many people were disappointed in the workers shabby job, and because the mission would not be in use as often as before.