Alamo Hardwoods Blog: Mission San Jose National Park

Mission San Jose National Park

alamo hardwoods | san antonio | mission san jose | restoration lumber

Mission San Jose, Sanctuary

It's true. Some things you just don't do unless there's friends in from out of town, which is a shame. My cousin has moved to town and had a friend visiting. All the years my cousin had lived in San Antonio before, she had never been to see the missions. So we picked a beautiful fall day and headed off on our adventure. The drive was quite easy down St. Mary's street until it turned into Roosevelt. Past the "Everkleen" motel and trailer park full of vintage 50's Airstreams. On the left the remains of the Mission drive in come into view and the Mission Trace Library (worth the drive by itself) designed by Kell Munoz Architects. Up on the hill the majestic mission appears, the beacon that guided travelers for centuries. Mission San Jose was the largest and most elaborate of the Texas missions.

alamo hardwoods | san antonio | mission san jose | cypress lumber

Injun shootin platforms, main entrances

After falling into disrepair in the last century (and falling down, literally), these outposts on the western frontier were brought back to life, stone by stone. The National Park Service works in conjunction with the Catholic Church and the Compadres de los Missiones to preserve and reconstruct what we imagine these places were like. The current guidelines require that all materials used be what could and should have been used during the original construction. No pressure treated lumber is allowed. We have to know what species of trees were present in the area at the time. With that repertoire, we can assume what woods would have been used in what situations. Mesquite and Live Oak are very hard and resist rot, but are short, stubby, crooked trees. The wood would have been used for wagon wheel hubs and lintels over doorways and windows. Cypress may have been present on the creeks and river, so it's natural oils make it acceptable for use on the exterior of the buildings. Aromatic cedar was present and it's oils make it quite useful as well on the exteriors. We see cedar that has survived from the restorations of the WPA days in the 1930's. The platforms that perch above the gates are cypress with cedar supports. The doors and windows are currently a combination of cedar and cypress. The issue at hand is how to make these woods last for decades without replacement. We hand select pieces that show tighter growth rings and have more of the natural oils present. When the budget allows, we use salvaged antique woods that were "old growth", and very slowly grown (see longleaf pine and cypress pages). To add durability and water resistance, we have recommended that they use natural oils, like linseed and tung oils to help repel water. these finishes have been around for thousands of years and have been incorporated into many modern products. One of our clients takes the cedar stumps from the Hill Country and squeezes it to extract the oils. He then sells it to his friends back in France in the perfume industry. That same natural oil keeps fungus and insects away from wood and can be used to repel fire ants. Sites like this show us that people have been clever for a very long time and when put in a tough situation, we can figure things out. (and it's not always "aliens", regardless of what that guy on the History channel says)