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The Old Stone Fort reminds me of churches (oratories, actually) that dot Ireland, particularly in the west.

I would love to know the orientation of the building as that might provide a clue as to its intended use.

(I find the name Isleta to be curious as well.)

Thanks for sharing!

Notice that today the old stone fort has a doorway. Archaeologists assume that it had no door when it was originally built ~ instead it had a window with an iron screen. A Christian would go there and stand outside the window accepting the host, doing confession, whatever. It'd be high enough to allow a man to stay on horseback so he could get away quickly in case of attack.

Spaniards were a walking, talking warehouse of advanced technology from the viewpoint of the Indians in all quarters ~ they'd take the horse, the harness, his belts, buttons, studs, metal pieces, firearms, bullets, pocket change, knives, swords, helmets ~ you name it ~ you see this same accomodation for men mounted on horses in the sachresty at the Alamo in fact! This way of life went on a couple of hundred years ~ the solutions were the same for the Spanish missionaries as they had been for early Christian missionaries moving North into primitive Europe.

I found a picture on the net of an early building in San Angelo TX that had the exact same stone work ~ but it was from the 1700s. This is earlier.

Whoever laid out the building used the Spanish El and not the English or French yard. d'Iberville may well have been advancing on the St. Joseph, not the Ohio. The map by d'isles in 1709/17 clearly shows French claims extended only to Michigan's southern bounds ~ the north line of the lowest tier of counties ~ which was a wild frontier.

There was a Spanish Fort on the St. Joseph (In Michigan) During the American revolution the Spanish militia at Cahokia joined with their American allies to retake that post from the Brits ~ and did so under a Spanish flag. Which meant somebody knew where the claims had always been and were willing to make good on them with military power. The Revolution rolled back Queen Anne's War for many Americans of the day.