The mission was built in order to convert local Native Americans to Christianity and solidify Spanish territorial claims in the New World against encroachment from France.

The relocation was in part inspired by fears of French encroachment and need for more missionaries to tend to San Antonio de Bexar's Indian population.

[4] The mission encountered great difficulties in presiding over the Indian population and experienced common rebellious activity.

Rancho de las Cabras was established between 1750 and 1760, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Antonio de Bexar under the jurisdiction of Mission Espada, so as to provide land for cultivation of crops and livestock for the Mission's population without intruding on private lands.

[6] The ranch was primarily made up by low fences and thatched buildings known as jacales for the native workforce to inhabit.

When Franciscan missionaries arrived in the desert Southwest they found the system worked well in the hot, dry environment.

In order to distribute water to the missions along the San Antonio River, Franciscan missionaries oversaw the construction of seven gravity-flow ditches, dams, and at least one aqueduct – a 15-mile (24 km) network that irrigated approximately 3,500 acres (14 km2) of land.