Indian Quarters
Its imposing complex of stone walls, bastions, granary, and magnificent church was completed by 1782. At its height, the community contained about 350 Indian neophytes,
sustained by extensive fields and herds of livestock. Viewed as the model among the Texas missions, San José gained a reputation as a major social and cultural center.
So rich an enterprise was a natural target for Apache and Comanche depredations. Although they could not prevent raids on their livestock, the mission itself
was almost impregnable. In his journal, Fray Juan Agustín Morfí attested to its defensive character: "It is, in truth, the first mission in America . . .
in point of beauty, plan, and strength . . . there is not a presidio along the entire frontier line that can compare with it."