The original Presidio Nuestra Senora de Loreto de la Bahia functioned as a Spanish military garrison established in 1721-1722 on Garcitas Creek, at or near the ruins of La Salle's failed French settlement Fort St. Louis. Its everyday purpose was defensive and administrative: soldiers stationed there guarded Spain's claim to the Texas Gulf Coast against French encroachment, supported the adjoining Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga in its work among local Karankawa groups, and projected Spanish authority into a contested borderland. The coastal location proved difficult to sustain because of poor water access and friction with the Karankawa, so in 1726 both the presidio and mission were moved inland to a site on the Guadalupe River near present-day Mission Valley, in what is now Victoria County, where the garrison also oversaw ranching operations that helped supply other Spanish settlements. This inland site continued the presidio's function for roughly two decades before a final move in 1749 to Santa Dorotea, the location of present-day Goliad, where the restored presidio stands today as an active historic site. The original Garcitas Creek and Mission Valley locations no longer contain a standing fort; their historical use today is as documented archaeological and commemorative ground, marked by Texas historical markers noting their role as the first homes of the institution now preserved at Goliad.