Rancho de las Cabras functioned as a working cattle ranch operated by Mission San Francisco de la Espada, established to raise livestock on open range land southeast of San Antonio near present-day Floresville. Its primary purpose was economic and logistical: the ranch supplied beef, hides, tallow, and wool to sustain Mission Espada and the broader chain of San Antonio missions, making it an essential agricultural production site within the Spanish mission system rather than a residential or religious center itself. The ranch was worked largely by mission-affiliated Native American laborers, who managed herding, branding, and processing operations under the mission's administration, and a walled compound with a stone house and chapel provided housing, defense, and religious oversight for those stationed there. As part of the larger Spanish colonial ranching economy, Rancho de las Cabras also contributed to the development of ranching techniques and livestock traditions that later shaped Texas cattle culture. Following mission secularization, the ranch's agricultural function ended and the buildings fell into ruin. Today the site functions as an archaeological and interpretive unit of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, administered by the National Park Service. It preserves standing ruins, wall foundations, and an interpretive trail, and is used for guided tours, research, and public education about Spanish colonial ranching rather than any ongoing agricultural production.