Mission Sonoma

The Sonoma Mission was the last Spanish mission built in California, founded in 1823 by Father Jose Altimira. Its official name is Mission San Francisco Solano, named for St. Francis of Solano, a 17th-century missionary to the Peruvian Indians, but it's more commonly called Mission Sonoma.

Interesting Facts

Mission Sonoma was the last and northernmost California mission. It was the only one founded after Mexico gained independence from Spain and it was the only one founded without the Catholic church's prior approval.

1820's - 1830's

Father Jose Altimira came from Barcelona, Spain, to California in 1819, to help at Mission Dolores. The ambitious young man soon got tired of the routine work at the established mission, and he devised a plan to move it north to a warmer spot.

Instead of asking the church for permission, he went to the Mexican Governor Don Luis Arguello. Altimira wanted to move both the San Francisco and San Rafael missions to the new location. Arguello thought that would help keep the Russians out of northern California.

Altimira went north to scout a spot founded Sonoma Mission on July 4, 1823. He went back to San Francisco and took soldiers and supplies back to the new location. Other Fathers in the church opposed his plan, and when the Church finally approved the new mission, they insisted that the two remaining ones stay in place.

Father Altimira was determined to prove that he was right about the new mission, and it had a good start. He brought almost 700 Indian neophytes from San Francisco. The vineyards, planted in the midst of what is now the Sonoma Valley wine area, flourished.

However, Altimira was a cruel man who flogged and imprisoned the natives in an attempt to "civilize" them, and they soon revolted. A large group attacked the mission. They stole and burned, and soon afterward Father Altimira fled to San Rafael. After that, he worked at San Buenaventura and returned to Spain in 1828.

Father Buenaventura Fortuni, who had worked at Mission San Jose, replaced Altimira. He rebuilt the mission and its buildings and regained the Indian's trust. 1832 was the mission's most successful year, when Fortuni recorded 127 baptisms, 34 marriages and 70 deaths, and a total of 996 neophytes. The mission also had 6,000 sheep and goats, 900 horses, 13 mules, 50 pigs and 3,500 cattle. The fields produced wheat, barley, beans, peas, and corn.

In 1833, the Zacatecan Franciscan priests from Mexico took over the Sonoma Mission, and Father Jose Gutierrez was placed in charge. Father Gutierrez also punished the Indians by beating them in an attempt to control them, an action that eventually helped General Vallejo gain control.

Secularization

The mission buildings were barely finished when Sonoma Mission was secularized on November 3, 1834.

General Mariano Vallejo, Commandant of the San Francisco Presidio, took control. He was supposed to give the property to the Indians, but he kept it for himself instead. Vallejo founded a town around the mission, which is now the town of Sonoma. The chapel was used as a parish church until 1880 and was eventually sold to a man who built a saloon in front of it and used the chapel as a storehouse.

The Historic Landmarks League bought the mission property in 1903. They finished restoring the mission in 1926 when they turned it over to the State of California. After further restoration, the mission is part of the Sonoma Mission State Historic Park.

Mission San Rafael

Mission San Rafael Arcangel was founded on December 14, 1817, by Father Vincente de Sarria. It was named for Saint Raphael, the Angel of Healing. It was a good name for a mission created as a medical sub-mission of Mission San Francisco de Asis.

Interesting Facts

Mission San Rafael is one of the few missions that never had a quadrangle and one of only a few missions that built ships.

1817 - 1820's

At Mission San Francisco de Asis in 1817, Indian converts were sick and dying from white men's diseases. They couldn't get well in the cold, damp climate. In 1817, the Fathers decided to build a hospital, an extension of the main mission, north of San Francisco where the climate was warmer and drier.

On December 14, 1817, Father Serra, the President of the Missions, raised a cross and performed the founding ceremony.

Father Luis Gil, who knew some medicine and spoke many native American languages, was put in charge of the tiny outpost. The Fathers in San Francisco wrapped the sick Indians in blankets, put them in boats, and took them to San Rafael to recover.

By the end of the first year, Mission San Rafael's population grew to 300, including transfers from San Francisco and some local converts. Father Gil served two years and then turned the mission over to Father Juan Amoros.

Father Amoros was an energetic priest who went out looking for converts. He was the only priest there, and a busy man who also grew the businesses — farming, ranching, sandal-making, blacksmithing, harness-making, carpentry and boat building. By 1822, Father Amoros converted so many of the local Miwok Indians that Mission San Rafael Archangel got full mission status on September 19, 1822.

The next year, some people wanted to Mission San Rafael Archangel and build a new mission at Sonoma. Eventually, the Catholic church decided to have two missions north of San Francisco, and Mission San Rafael Archangel was saved. It grew to 1,140 converts by 1828.

1830's

In 1829, local Indian converts Chief Marin and his friend Quintin left the mission. They attacked Mission San Rafael Archangel, but the neophytes formed a human shield to protect Father Amoros, hiding him in the marsh until the fighting ended.

The buildings were damaged but quickly rebuilt. Later, both Chief Marin and Quintin returned as converts, and both are buried in the cemetery. Today, Marin County and nearby San Quentin prison are named for them.

Father Amoros died in 1832. An inventory taken after his death lists 5,508 animals and a harvest of 17,905 bushels of wheat and 1,360 bushels of beans. Pears grown at San Rafael were highly desired in the area.

In 1834, Zapatecan (Mexican) Franciscans took control and put Father Jose Maria Mercado in charge. He was a short-tempered man who caused a lot of trouble. There are many versions of exactly what happened, but all agree that 21 innocent Indians died because of his actions.

Some say he saw unknown natives approaching, thought they were going to attack and ordered his people to attack them first. Others say he armed his neophytes and sent them out against a group who had scorned him. Another account says he accused some innocent Indians of stealing, then armed his converts to keep them from coming back for revenge. They wrongly attacked some innocent visitors, thinking they were the ones he feared.

Whatever the truth is, Mercado was sent away and punished.

Secularization

Mission San Rafael Archangel was secularized in 1834. General Vallejo (who was in charge of the Presidio in San Francisco) became the administrator. In 17 years, Mission San Rafael Archangel had converted 1,873 Indians and raised 2,210 cattle; 4,000 sheep and 454 horses. In 1834, it was worth $15,025, mostly for its land.

Vallejo transferred the livestock to his ranch and dug up grapevines and pear trees and moved them his estate. By 1840, there were only 150 Indians left.

General Fremont used the buildings as his headquarters for a while when he was taking over California from Mexico for the United States.

The site was abandoned in 1844. What was left was sold for $8,000, a sale declared illegal a few months later when U. S. took over. A priest returned in 1847.

The United States returned 6.5 acres of land to the church in 1855. By then, the buildings were ruined. A new church was built next to the ruins in 1861. In 1870, the rest of the buildings were torn down to make room for the growing town. Eventually, all that was left was a single pear tree from the orchard.

In 1949, Monsignor Thomas Kennedy built a chapel on the site of the original hospital.

Few drawings or sketches remain today to give clues about what the buildings at San Rafael were like. The first mission building was a simple building 42 feet x 87 feet with two stories, divided into rooms for the hospital, chapel, storage, and father's quarters.

Because it was not built originally as a full mission, it did not have a quadrangle like many of the other missions. The design did not change when it got full mission status in 1822.

The chapel building that stands in San Rafael today was built in 1949. It is more of a memorial to the mission than a reproduction. Its walls are hollow concrete plastered to look like adobe, and it faces a different direction than the original. Four bells are some of the few objects that survive from the original mission, and three of them stand by the chapel door.

Mission Santa Ines

Santa Ines Mission was the nineteenth one built in California, founded September 17, 1804, by Father Estevan Tapis.

Interesting Facts

Santa Ines was the last mission to be built in Southern California and was the home of California's first seminary college.

1804 - 1820

Father Estevan Tapis and Captain Felipe de Goycoechea surveyed sites in the mission's area in 1798. They recommended the place the local Indians called Alajupapu, but changes in Spanish governors and Catholic leadership caused delays.

Finally, Father Tapis founded Santa Ines Mission on September 17, 1804, naming it for Saint Agnes. Two hundred Chumash Indians attended the first mass, and 23 were baptized.

The first priests were Father Jose Rumualdo Gutierrez and Jose Antonio Calzada. By the end of 1804, they reported 112 converts, and there was constant construction in the early years.

By 1812, the complex was well built. Then, on December 21, 1812, two earthquakes struck. It took more than four years to repair the damage. In 1817, the mission produced 4,160 bushels of wheat; 4,330 bushels of corn and 300 bushels of beans. Records listed 1,030 converts; 287 marriages, and 611 deaths and its largest-ever population of 920.

Father Uria was in charge into the early 1820s. Building continued into the early 1820s when the church murals were painted.

1820 - 1830's

When Mexico won independence from Spain, they had little money to support the missions. Soldiers were forced to get their supplies from the missions and pay with IOUs. They got no salary and became frustrated until their anger came out toward the Indians.

In 1824, a Spanish guard beat a Purisima Indian. That set off a revolt that spread to all the Santa Barbara area missions. At Santa Ines, two Indians were killed, buildings were burned, and the priests were taken hostage. The Indians burned the soldiers' quarters, but not the Fathers'. When the fire threatened the church, they stopped fighting and helped put the fire out.

Secularization

After secularization in 1834, the Fathers kept the mission running for a while by selling its cattle, tallow, hides, and grain. Eventually, the Indians lost interest and drifted away.

In 1843, Governor Manuel Micheltorena granted part of the land to Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, first Bishop of California. He used it to create the first seminary in California, College of Our Lady of Refuge. The college later moved near Santa Ynez, where it stayed open until 1881.

The next Mexican Governor, Pio Pico, illegally sold Santa Ines Mission to Jose M. Covarrubias and Jose Joaquin Carrillo for $7,000 just weeks before the United States took California over from Mexico. The United States revoked the sale in 1851 and returned the mission to the church.

The mission was never entirely abandoned, but the buildings fell into disrepair. Finally, in July 1904, Father Alexander Buckler was put in charge. He and his niece Mary Goulet spent 20 years restoring it and preserving its artwork and fabrics.

When Father Buckler retired in 1924, the church was offered back to the Franciscans, and Franciscan Capuchin fathers from Ireland took over. They modernized the buildings to make them livable. A full restoration began in 1947, returning the buildings to the way they were before the 1812 earthquake.

In 1989, a multi-million dollar project reconstructed eight of the 19 arches on the eastern facade and restored the east wing.

Santa Ines Mission is now an active parish church with regular services.

Mission San Luis

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was the eighteenth one built in California, founded June 13, 1798, and was the last California mission founded by Father Fermin Lasuen. It was named for Louis, King of France (Mission San Luis Rey de Francia).

Interesting Facts

The mission has the oldest pepper tree in California, brought from Peru around 1830, still growing in its quadrangle.

1798 - 1820

San Luis Rey Mission was founded on June 13, 1798, by Father Fermin Lasuen. It was number eighteen out of twenty-one missions.

Father Lasuen chose the San Luis Rey Mission site because there were lots of friendly Indians living in the area, but he also picked a place with good soil. Under the guidance of Father Antonio Peyri, who stayed here for more than thirty years, it soon became the most productive of all the California missions.

The natives liked to work and accepted baptism readily. Soon, they were making adobe bricks; within two years, many tile-roofed buildings were completed, and a big church with room for 1,000 people was under construction.

1820 - 1830's

By 1821, the first church was finished. Only six years after its founding, the San Luis Rey was already producing 5,000 bushels a year, and its herds numbered more than 10,000 animals. The Fathers trained the Indians to do many kinds of work: candle and soap-making, tanning, wine-making, weaving, farming, and ranching. They also taught them to sing in the choir.

San Luis Rey Mission reached its peak in 1831 when records show there were 2,800 natives living there. It produced 395,000 bushels of grain, and its vineyard yielded 2,500 barrels of wine.

Secularization

Father Peyri stayed here for 34 years, but he couldn't bear to see what would happen with secularization, so he retired in 1832 and went back to Spain. The decline began as soon as he left. The natives tried to maintain the place but were unsuccessful. Eventually, Mexican Governor Pio Pico sold the San Luis Rey Mission buildings 1846 for $2,427, a fraction of their $200,000 value.

The Indians moved to a reservation at Pala where they still live. The U. S. Army occupied Mission San Luis Rey de Francia site for a time, but then it was neglected. It was returned to the Catholic church in 1865, but it languished until 1892 when Franciscans from Mexico returned along with Father Joseph J. O'Keefe, an American Franciscan. The church was rededicated in 1893, and reconstruction started in 1895.

It took until 1905 for the Fathers to finish enough reconstruction to move back in, and it continues today.

Mission San Fernando

Mission San Fernando was the seventeenth Spanish mission built in California. It was founded on September 8, 1797, by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name San Fernando de Espana was to honor Saint Ferdinand III, King of Spain.

Interesting Facts

Many travelers stopped at the mission. There were so many that the fathers kept adding onto the convento wing to accommodate them. The hospice (hotel) became known as the "long building" of the El Camino Real.

Also, actor Bob Hope is buried in the mission cemetery.

1797

The Spanish first discovered the San Fernando Valley in 1769. In the late 1790s, Father Lasuen, successor to Father Serra, wanted to close the gaps in the El Camino Real. In 1797, he established four missions in four months, including San Fernando Mission.

Francisco Reyes, mayor of the Los Angeles pueblo, owned the best land in the area. He got rights to the property shortly after Los Angeles was founded, and he raised cattle there. Some historians say Reyes got his land from the king and he was thrown off it. Others say he had only been using the land and gave it up gracefully.

The San Fernando Mission was founded on September 8, 1797, and named for Saint Ferdinand III, King of Spain in the 1200s.

Five Indian boys and five Indian girls were baptized at the San Fernando Mission that day.

The San Fernando Mission church was completed within two months after the dedication, and by then, more than 40 neophytes lived there.

Because it was so close to the Los Angeles pueblo, there was a market for the mission's goods. Its location close to Los Angeles and on a favorite traveling route made it unique.

1800 - 1830's

By 1804, nearly 1,000 Indians lived at San Fernando Mission. By 1806, they were raising cattle and producing hides, leather goods, tallow, and cloth.

In 1810, work began on the convento (priest's residence). It took twelve years to complete it.

After 1811, the native population began to decline, and productivity was threatened. By 1812, there were not enough workers to farm the produce required for the military in Los Angeles. When an earthquake damaged the buildings in 1812, there were not enough people to do the repairs.

Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1822. In the California province, people fought to control the mission land. A few Indians in the valley received land grants, but most of the surviving Indians remained dependent on the San Fernando Mission.

When Mexican Governor Echeandia arrived in 1827, Spanish Father Ibarra was in charge. Ibarra refused to give up his allegiance to Spain, but the Mexican government let him stay there because they couldn't find anyone else to run the operations.

Secularization

Starting in the 1830s, the California officials began taking over mission lands. They usually left the buildings under the control of the church. From 1834 to 1836, most of the Indians stayed. The rest of them looked for work in Los Angeles or joined relatives and friends who were still living in the nearby hills.

In 1835, Father Ibarra left because he could not tolerate the secularization. In 1842, gold was discovered on a nearby ranch. Prospectors overran the area. A rumor that the missionaries had been prospecting gold for years drew prospector to the church. They dug up the floor looking for buried treasure.

The fight between northern and southern Californians to control the land got worse. In February 1845, two armed groups met at the Cahuenga Pass between the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles. They shot at each other for half a day, but the only casualties were two horses and a wounded mule. The northerners gave up and left. In 1845, Governor Pio Pico leased the land to his brother Andres for $1,200 a year.

The San Fernando Mission was abandoned in 1847. From 1857 to 1861, part of it was a stagecoach station. By 1888, the hospice was used as a warehouse and stable, and in 1896, the quadrangle became a hog farm.

In 1896, Charles Fletcher Lummis began a campaign to reclaim the property, and conditions improved.

Mission San Miguel Arcangel

Mission San Miguel Arcangel was the sixteenth Spanish mission built in California, founded July 25, 1797, by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name San Miguel comes from Saint Michael, Captain of the Armies of God.

Interesting Facts

Mission San Miguel is the only one with unretouched original paintings. It was the last to be secularized.

The mission's cemetery contains some very interesting markers, for people from all over the world who were buried at San Miguel in the late 1800s.

The mission's bells can be seen from the cemetery, atop a long wall section behind the main church.

The structure they hang in wasn't part of the original mission but was built in the mid-1930s by Jess Crettoll, a stonemason from Switzerland. The largest bell is said to weigh 2,000 pounds and was made in 1888 by melting and re-casting six cracked and broken bells from other missions.

1797

On July 24, 1797, Father Fermin Lasuen founded his third mission of the year. It was next to a large Salinan Indian Village called Cholam or Cholami. Halfway between San Luis Obispo and San Antonio, it made a convenient place to stop along the El Camino Real.

Salinan Indians heard about the Catholic Fathers before they came and were anxious to join them. At the founding, 25 children were baptized.

Father Buenaventura Sitjar was the first administrator. Father Juan Martin took his place. By the end of the first year, Fathers and Indians had built a 71-foot-long brush fence, an adobe chapel, and a house.

1800 - 1830's

More than 1,000 neophytes were at the mission by 1803. By 1805, there were 47 Indian houses.

Despite poor soil and hot climate, San Miguel Mission succeeded. Indians came to live and work. Some worked in fields and vineyards or were herdsmen. Others learned to be carpenters, stone masons, blacksmiths, weavers, soap makers, and leather workers. They were good at making roof tiles and made 36,000 of them between 1808 and 1809.

In 1806, a fire destroyed most of San Miguel's buildings and supplies. Other missions helped them recover. By 1810, San Miguel had 10,558 cattle; 8,282 sheep and 1,597 horses.

Father Martin died in 1824. His assistant Father Juan Cabot took over. In 1827, Father Cabot reported San Miguel owned several ranchos covering an area18 miles north and south, 66 miles east and 35 miles west. He also reported it had an adobe house on the coast at San Simeon.

At a hot spring south of the mission, Father Cabot had a shelter built where the Indians could soak and get relief from arthritis, a common ailment.

Secularization

San Miguel Mission was the last to be secularized, on July 14, 1836. Three years later, most of the natives were gone. Father Abella, the last Franciscan Father there, died in 1841.

In 1846, Mexican Governor Pio Pico sold the land and buildings. The new owner lived in it and had a store there. After the Gold Rush, it was a stopping place for miners traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It was also used for a saloon.

In 1878, the Catholic church returned. Father Philip Farrelly became the first pastor.

In 1928, the Franciscan Fathers returned. After earthquake damage in 2003, the old mission has now been repaired.

cemetery entrance

bell tower

old adobe wall

Mission San Juan Bautista

Mission San Juan Bautista was the fifteenth one built in California, founded June 24, 1797, by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name San Juan Bautista means St. John the Baptist.

Interesting Facts

Mission San Juan Bautista was the largest mission church in California. It has been in continuous use since 1812.

San Juan Bautista Mission is part of State Historic Park. It faces a plaza little changed since the late nineteenth century that includes a hotel, stable and two adobe mansions, all of them are original buildings more than 100 years old.

Just inside the massive carved entrance doors, on the old red tile floor you can see 180-year old animal paw prints, probably left by some wandering pets before the tiles dried. Look for the cat door in one of the side doors, left over from a time when cats kept mice away.

1797 - 1800

In 1797, Father Junipero Serra led a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to bring Christianity to the wilderness in California. For the location, he and the Franciscans chose a site at the foot of the Gavilan Mountains near the El Camino Real, which they named San Juan Bautista Mission after Saint John the Baptist. The site was chosen because it promised an "abundant harvest of souls" in the San Juan Valley. In late spring, Spanish Corporal Juan Ballesteros and five men came, and in a month they erected a chapel, houses for themselves and the Padres, and a granary.

Then, only thirteen days after he dedicated the San Jose mission, Father Lasuen arrived for the formal San Juan Bautista mission dedication on Saturday, June 24, 1797.

The first baptism at San Juan Bautista was an Indian child about ten years old, with Corporal Ballesteros as a sponsor. The first white baptism was the corporal's son and the first funeral, in September, was for his infant son.

Fathers Jose Manuel de Martiarena and Pedro Martinez, who supervised the construction, found the native people friendly and cooperative and the San Juan Bautista Mission grew quickly. The first six months were busy, and by Christmas, they built an adobe church, a monastery, granary, barracks, guardhouses and adobe houses for the neophytes. By 1800, more than 500 Indians were living at San Juan Bautista mission.

1800 - 1830's

When San Juan Bautista Mission was founded, no one knew that it was located on top of the San Andreas Fault. However, they soon learned about the fault and its intermittent tremors. In October 1798, the shaking was so severe that the missionaries slept outside for the whole month. There were as many as six tremors in one day, making huge cracks in buildings and the ground.

The Fault caused several damaging earthquakes during the early history, but San Juan Bautista mission never moved. The first significant earthquake occurred in October 1800, doing considerable damage, and a portion of the original building fell.

The Indian population continued to increase, and by 1803 there were plans to build another church. People from all over the province were invited to an elaborate ceremony which kicked off the construction. The new San Juan Bautista mission church was not completed until 1812.

In 1808, a new padre, Father Arroyo de la Cuesta, arrived. Father Cuesta was energetic and enthusiastic, and he convinced the builders that a wide church with three naves would be an unusual asset here. Because of Father Cuesta's influence, it was the largest church in the province and the only structure of its kind ever built by the Franciscans in California.

While the church grew, the congregation it was planned for declined. In 1805, the native population was 1,100, but by 1812 it was reduced to less than half because of death and desertions. The great new space dwarfed the small congregations, and Father de la Cuesta walled in the two rows of arches which separated the three naves of the church.

In 1812, Father Tapis retired from the office of Presidente and joined Father de la Cuesta. Teachings continued under Father Tapis from 1812 to 1825.

During 1824, the San Juan Bautista mission population grew again, with people moving in from the Tulare Valley, possibly because of aggressive military expeditions to the interior territories. The population peaked during 1823, with 641 male and 607 female residents. Twenty-two adobe dwellings for Indians were constructed that year, and there were reports of adobe corrals, a granary, a kiln, and weaving rooms restored with the new large labor force.

In 1827, a report filed to the governor listed San Juan Bautista mission livestock and rancho lands, listing holdings that included 6,500 head of cattle, 750 horses, 37 mules, sheep. There was no irrigation, but the pastures were watered by an overflow of the Pajaro River. They got good timber from the mountains to the northeast. Springs from the Gavilan Mountains ran to irrigate the gardens, vineyard, and cornfield.

In 1833, Zacatecan Franciscans from Mexico took over.

Secularization

The Zacatecan period lasted a brief two years. After Mexico won its independence from Spain, it could not afford to keep the missions running as Spain had done, and in 1834, Mexico decided to end the system and sell all of the lands. In 1835, under the secularization act, San Juan Bautista Mission was reduced to a curacy of the second class, under a civil administrator, and its assets sold.

The history after secularization is happier than at some of the other missions. The people continued to support the church, and services have been held here without interruption.

After secularization, San Juan Bautista became a pueblo. The mission property was inventoried in 1845 by Pio Pico's brother Andres, who listed at a parish house of 16 rooms made of adobe with brick tile and packed clay floors and tile roofs. The garden to the north of the complex and an orchard of 875 fruit trees were surrounded by a wall constructed of old cattle bones. The abandoned vineyard still held 1,200 vines. Total land at that time consisted of 7,500 square varas. A small settlement of whites grew up in the pueblo, and there were some 50 inhabitants in the town of San Juan by the end of 1839.

Nearly 30 years after secularization, the missions were returned to the Catholic Church. When the title was restored to the church, its lands comprised 55.13 acres.

Mission San Jose

San Jose Mission was the fourteenth one built in California, founded June 11, 1797 by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name Mission San Jose is in honor of Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church.

Many sources incorrectly name Mission San Jose as Mission San Jose de Guadalupe.

Mission San Jose is located not in the city of the same name but in Fremont, east of the San Francisco Bay.

1797 - 1800

The Franciscan missionaries hoped to create a mission "chain," each a day's ride apart on horseback. In 1796, they were well on their way, with 13 of them along the California coast. El Camino Real, the road joining them, was a well-traveled road joining north and south, but there were still long dangerous stretches with no stop nearby. Father Lasuen and the new governor decided to create five more missions.

The first of the five, and the only one east of the San Francisco Bay, was founded on June 11, 1797, by Father Fermin Lasuen. No one knows exactly why San Jose Mission was built here, but some have suggested that the missionaries wanted to keep it further away from the new city of San Jose so the Indians would not be tempted by the city ways, or that it was a good place for the military to protect travelers crossing the mountains. It was located near the Ohlone Indian village called Orisom where the town of Fremont now stands. It was named for Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ and Patron of the Universal Church.

After the dedication, the soldiers quickly built shelters for themselves and the priests, and within 3 weeks, there were seven more buildings laid out in a rectangle (instead of the square pattern used elsewhere). They received supplies and gifts from nearby mission settlements to help them get started, including more than 500 head of cattle and a large flock of sheep from Santa Clara.

The Ohlone Indians did not want to change their way of living, and in the beginning, the fathers found it difficult to get them to move in. Only thirty-three Indians were living at San Jose Mission at the end of that first year. However, the location had military importance, near the western approach to the Central Valley.

1800 - 1830's

Around 1805, Father Jose Fortuni and Father Narciso Duran arrived at San Jose Mission. They worked together to attract the Indians and trained them as weavers, blacksmiths, rope makers, leather tanners, tile and adobe brick makers, shoemakers and carpenters. The women learned to sew, spin, cook, launder and do needlework.

In 1805 a new church was started and it was finished on April 22, 1809. It was a simple, solid building with walls 8 feet thick in some places.

San Jose Mission prospered in the 1800s and it controlled all the land around it, north almost to Oakland, east into the Livermore Valley and up through the Sacramento Delta and west towards the Bay. The small herd of 500 cattle grew to 350,000 - the largest herd of any mission. With so much land, the agricultural output was second in the territory, and its olive oil production was the highest. By 1816 they were trading Indian-made goods for coffee, sugar, spices, hardware, fabrics, and supplies. They even bought a boat and sailed across the Bay to trade with ocean-going ships.

New homes were added as needed because by 1825 they had more than 1,800 Indian neophytes living there. In 1830 there were 2,000 making it the largest Indian population in northern California.

In 1833, San Jose Mission was one of the most prosperous in the territory. A church inventory, listed the church building, monastery, guardhouse, guest house, and women's dormitory, in addition to the thousands of acres of crops and grazing land.

Secularization

In 1833 leadership was given to the Mexican church leader Friar Rubio. The Spanish priests left, Jose de Jesus Vallejo was appointed civil administrator and within three years the lands, which were supposed to be given to the Indians, were divided into ranchos. The church was apparently plundered by Vallejo and there was little left to sell.

At the end of the Mexican War in 1848, California was given to to the United States. During the Gold Rush, H.C. Smith converted the buildings to a place of lodging and added a general store to the south end. The town became a thriving provision center at the gateway to the southern mines. Names of many pioneer families prominent in early California history - Livermore, Peralta, Alviso - were closely linked to San Jose Mission.

In the later part of the 1850's, the Catholic Church was given the church building as well as some of the land that surrounded it.

The church was severely damaged in an earthquake on October 21, 1868 and a wooden building took its place. In 1956, the town incorporated with four others to become the City of Fremont. In 1982, the wooden building was moved and rebuilding began. The San Jose Mission church was restored to look like the original and construction began in 1982 and was completed in 1985.

Mission Soledad

Soledad Mission was the thirteenth one built in California, founded October 9, 1791, by Father Fermin Lasuen. It gets the name Nuestra Senora de la Soledad which means the Solitude of Most Holy Mary, Our Lady.

Interesting Facts

Spanish Governor Arrillaga died at Mission Soledad in 1814. It was built so priests could break their journey between San Antonio de Padua and Carmel. It had more than 30 priests in its 44-year history.

The bell hanging outside the chapel door today is the original one sent from Mexico in 1794.

1791 - 1800

Soledad Mission was founded on October 9, 1791, by Father Fermin Lasuen, naming it Nuestra Senora de Soledad, dedicated to "the Solitude of Most Holy Mary, Our Lady." The name was taken from the remote location, and because of an expression the native Esselen Indians used that sounded like "soledad," the Spanish word for solitude.

It was an unlikely spot for a mission, in a hot, windswept, treeless valley. The Soledad Mission location was chosen because it provided a break on the 100-mile journey between San Antonio de Padua to the south and Carmel to the north.

Mission Soledad floundered during its first years. The weather was terrible - hot, dry and windy in summer and freezing cold on winter nights. No one wanted to stay very long. Not only was it hard for the Fathers, but very few Indians lived in the area.

To make matters worse, the first two priests at Mission Soledad, Father Marino Rubi, and Father Bartolome Gili were young men who had caused constant trouble during their priestly training. They did nothing to help Soledad Mission grow, and from the time they were assigned there, they complained (mostly about a shortage of altar wine) and asked to be transferred. Father Rubi left in 1793, and Father Gili left a year later.

Circa 1900

1800 - 1830's

Father Florencio Ibanez arrived at Soledad Mission in 1803 and was the first to give it consistent leadership. He stayed at Mission Soledad for fifteen years, installing an irrigation system, and raising crops and cattle. Despite an epidemic in 1802 that killed many Indians, by 1805 there were 727 people, 688 of them neophytes, at Soledad Mission. By 1810, the population dwindled to 598.

In 1814, California's first Spanish Governor, visited Soledad Mission to see his old friend Father Ibanez. While he was there, Governor Arrillaga died and was buried in the old church. Father Ibanez died four years later and was buried next to his friend.

Father Vicente Sarria, who was once Father-Presidente of the California Missions, came to take care of Soledad Mission after Father Ibanez died. An 1827 inventory included 5,400 sheep, 4,000 cattle and 800 horses.

Floods in 1824, 1828 and 1832 destroyed the church and chapel, and they were not rebuilt. Father Sarria stayed on as Soledad Mission became poorer and poorer, sharing his small amount of food with the Indians until he died of starvation. He was buried at Mission San Antonio.

Father Sarria was the last priest to serve Soledad Mission. During its history, the Fathers performed 2,000 baptisms and 700 marriages.

Secularization

When Soledad Mission was secularized in 1834, it had a 5,000-vine vineyard, three ranchos, 3,246 cattle, 2,400 sheep and 32 horses. Its assets were $556, but it owned $677 in debts. The Mission Soledad roof was sold to pay its debt to the Mexican government. By 1839, only 78 neophytes, 45 cattle, 586 sheep and 25 horses remained.

In 1845, Governor Pio Pico sold the site to Feliciano Soberanes for $800. Without a roof, the building's walls had crumbled from the weather by the time the United States government returned the property to the Catholic Church.

Reconstruction of Soledad Mission began in 1954. So far, only the chapel and a few rooms next to it have been rebuilt.

 

Mission Santa Cruz

Mission Santa Cruz was the twelfth mission built in California, founded September 25, 1791, by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name Mission Santa Cruz means Holy Cross Mission.

Interesting Facts

Mission Santa Cruz was known as the "hard luck mission." Today, it has the only remaining example of Indian housing in California.

1774 - 1800

In 1774, Father Palou chose a mission site near a river flowing into the ocean. On August 28, 1791, Father Fermin Lasuen raised a cross where Santa Cruz Mission would be built.

On September 25 of that year, Fathers Salazar and Lopez held the founding celebration.

Older missions sent gifts to start the new one. Buildings were constructed, and the Indian population grew. Within three months, there were 87 neophytes.

Santa Cruz Mission did well in its first few years. After floods, the Fathers moved uphill to a permanent location, and more Indians came.
 

In 1796, Santa Cruz Mission produced 1,200 bushels of grain, 600 bushels of corn, and 6 bushels of beans. They planted vineyards and raised cattle and sheep. Their property extended from Ano Nuevo south to the Pajaro River. Native workers made cloth, leather, adobe bricks, roof tiles, and worked as blacksmiths.
 

Ohlone Indians came to Santa Cruz Mission to work and go to church, but many of them still lived in their nearby villages. By 1796, there were 500 neophytes.

Because problems came up when missions were too close to settlers, the Franciscan fathers said there should be at least three miles between a mission and a town. At Santa Cruz, Governor Borica ignored them. In 1797, he started a pueblo (town) just across the river and named it Villa de Branciforte.

Some people say Branciforte was California's first real estate development. Borica asked the Viceroy in Mexico to send colonists. He promised them clothing, farm tools, furniture, a neat white house, $116 annually for two years, and $66 annually for the next three years after that.
 

The community was laid out in a square, with a farming area divided into units for each settler.

Borica wanted Branciforte to be like Latin America, where the races mixed successfully, and houses were set aside for Indian chiefs. The plan worked in Mexico but was doomed to fail in California.
 

The settlers who came were criminals who didn't want to run farms. They stole things and tried to pay the Indians to leave the mission. Borica's assistant wrote a letter saying if the settlers were a few million miles away, it would be good for the area.
 

Neophytes started leaving Santa Cruz Mission. The population went from 500 in 1796 to 300 two years later. Father Lasuen complained, but the Governor just said if there were fewer Indians, then Santa Cruz Mission needed less land.
 

In 1799, a rainstorm damaged the church, and it had to be rebuilt.

1930

1800 - 1830's

From 1800 to 1820, the natives had no resistance to European diseases like measles, scarlet fever, and the flu. The priests tried to read medical books and help them when they got sick, but they had little success. Thousands of Indians died, and others ran away.

Indians ran way because of sickness but also because of strict rules and harsh punishment. They were beaten for working too slowly or bringing dirty blankets to church. When they ran away, they were punished for that, too.
 

Some priests were exceptionally cruel. In 1812, Father Andres Quintana had two natives beaten with a wire-tipped whip. Because of the cruelty, angry Indians kidnapped Father Quintana and killed him, a case that prompted California's first autopsy.
 

In 1818, a pirate named Hippolyte de Bouchard attacked the Monterey Presidio south of Santa Cruz. The Fathers and Indians went inland to the mission at Soledad. Father Olbes asked the settlers to pack up their belongings for them, but he should have known better. After the pirates had taken what they wanted, the settlers stole the rest. Father Olbes was so upset that he wanted to abandon the place, but Father Lasuen wouldn't let him.

The native population remained small, and the Branciforte settlers kept causing trouble. Records from 1831 say the mission owned thousands of cattle and sheep and produced hides and tallow, but it never returned to its former prosperity. By 1831, only about 300 neophytes were left.

Secularization

Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, but it couldn't afford to keep the missions running. In 1834, they decided to close them and sell the land. Mission Santa Cruz was one of the first to be secularized. The Mexicans offered the land to the natives, but they either didn't want it or couldn't pay for it. The property was then divided and sold to Mexican citizens. By 1845, of the 400 people at Santa Cruz, only 100 were Indians.

In the next few years, the church buildings fell apart. An earthquake in 1840 toppled the bell tower and another earthquake in 1857 destroyed the church. People carried roof beams and tiles away for other uses, and no trace of the original church remained. The 35 adobe structures on the hill became part of the town.
 

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln returned the lands to the Catholic church, but there was little left of Mission Santa Cruz. What little that remained was put up for sale, but no one would buy it. In 1889 a white-painted, Gothic-style brick church was built on the mission's site.

In 1930, a wealthy family started to build a full-sized replica near the original site, but they lost money in the stock market crash and could only build something half the size of the original.

The only original building left was used for Indian housing, built-in 1824.

 

Mission La Purisima

La Purisima Mission was the eleventh mission built in California, founded December 8, 1787, by Father Fermin Lasuen. Its name La Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima means "The Immaculate Conception of Mary the Most Pure."

Interesting Facts

Mission La Purisima is the only mission built in a straight line. It is the most thoroughly restored mission in California.

The mission bells were made especially for the mission in Lima, Peru in 1817-1818. Other missions cared for the bells while the mission was in ruins, and they returned during the restoration.

1787 - 1800

Father Fermin Lasuen founded La Purisima Mission on December 8, 1787, naming it La Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima, The Immaculate Conception of Mary the Most Pure. The Spanish called the fertile valley west of the El Camino Real the plain of Rio Santa Rosa, and the native Chumash Indians called it Algsacpi.

Winter, 1787, was very rainy, and construction had to wait until Spring. In March 1788, Fathers Vincente Fuster and Joseph Arroita arrived at La Purisima Mission. They built temporary buildings and started translating the Catholic mass and instructional materials into the native language. A corporal and five soldiers protected the settlement.

Other missions sent farm animals, food, seeds and cuttings for orchards and vineyards to La Purisima Mission. Supplies came from Mexico by ship. The natives started coming, and in a report dated December 31, 1798, La Purisima reported it did not have enough space for its 920 inhabitants. A new church building was started.

1800 - 1830's

In 1800, Father Horra, who was formerly at San Miguel, accused the La Purisima Mission Fathers of mistreating the natives. The Spanish governor investigated, and the Fathers at La Purisima reported about their life. They said natives received three meals a day, and also gathered their wild foods. Neophyte men got a woolen blanket, a cotton suit, and two woolen breechcloths, while women received gowns, skirts, and woolen blankets.

The natives continued to live in their traditional tule (reed) houses. They worked no more than five hours a day. Neophytes were punished if they left without permission, or stole something. Punishment included beatings, shackles, stocks and being locked up. The Spanish governor decided Father Horra's charges were unfounded.

In 1802, the new church was completed, and in 1804, when Father Mariano Payeras arrived, there were 1,522 neophytes. La Purisima Mission prospered under Father Payeras, producing soap, candles, wool, and leather. The Fathers also earned money by sending the neophytes to work at neighboring ranchos.

In the early 1800s, smallpox and measles struck and 500 natives died between 1804 and 1807.

On December 21, 1812, an earthquake damaged the buildings. More quakes followed, and most of the buildings fell. When heavy rains began, the unprotected adobe mud bricks melted back into the mud. They chose a new site, four miles away in a small canyon, across the river and closer to the El Camino Real. The Fathers officially moved there on April 23, 1813.

Construction began immediately using materials salvaged from the ruined structures. Instead of the typical square layout, the new complex was built in a line along the base of the hill.

In 1815, Father Payeras became Presidente of the California Missions, an office he held for four years. He stayed at La Purisima instead of moving to Carmel. In 1819, he was appointed to the highest rank among California Franciscans.

After the Mexican Revolution in 1810, supplies stopped coming from Mexico, and so did money. Spanish governors would not let the Fathers buy things from foreign merchants, and there were shortages. The soldiers also grew dependent on the mission for their support and often abused the natives.

Father Payeras died on April 28, 1823, and was buried under the pulpit. In 1824, the growing conflict between the soldiers and the Indians turned into an armed revolt, starting when soldiers at Santa Inez flogged a La Purisima Mission neophyte. When the news reached La Purisima, the neophytes took control. Father Ordaz, the soldiers, and their families fled to Santa Inez, leaving Father Rodriguez behind.

The natives built a fort and barricaded themselves inside, where they held out for more than a month. It took more than 100 soldiers from Monterey to regain control. Six Spaniards and seventeen Indians died in the conflict. As punishment, seven Indians were executed, and twelve others sentenced to hard labor at the Monterey military fort.

Secularization

La Purisima Mission never recovered after the uprising, and in 1834, an administrator took over. The Indians disappeared, and the Fathers moved to Santa Barbara. The buildings were left to ruin, and in 1845, John Temple bought everything at a public auction for $1,100.

The buildings lay in ruins until 1903, when Union Oil Company bought the property. Recognizing the historical importance of the site, they donated it to the state. In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps started restoring La Purisima Mission. They used the same methods as the missionaries and made new adobe bricks from the remains of the old walls. They also recreated the water system and replanted gardens and orchards.

The restoration, the most complete of all the California missions, was finished in 1951. Today, there are ten fully-restored buildings with 37 furnished rooms in a state historic park.

Mission Santa Barbara

Mission Santa Barbara was the twelfth mission built in California, founded December 4, 1786, by Father Fermin Lasuen. The name Mission Santa Barbara means is in honor of a fourth-century martyr, because it was founded on her feast day.

Interesting Facts

Mission Santa Barbara is the only one in constant operation by the Franciscan Order since its founding. Also, it is the only one mission with two bell towers.

1786 - 1800

The place that became Santa Barbara mission was shown on Spanish maps long before the beginning of the missionary era. The spot was named by Vizcaino about forty years after Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo first discovered it in 1542.

The Catholic fathers were in California for 13 years before they founded Santa Barbara Mission, and they had a very difficult time in the beginning. Governor Felipe de Neve openly preferred colonists to Native American neophytes. However, at a meeting in San Gabriel, de Neve agreed to let the fathers start the Santa Barbara Mission. In 1782, a party set out from San Gabriel to found two new sites.
 

The town was founded without de Neve and the fathers moved on to Santa Barbara Mission, where de Neve joined them. The military presidio was established and Father Serra helped prepare the military chapel. However, when Father Serra wanted to start work, de Neve refused.
 

It would be four years before Santa Barbara Mission was finally founded. In the meanwhile, Father Serra returned to Carmel, where he sickened and died in 1784. De Neve was replaced by former governor Pedro Fages. Fages was not friendly to the missionaries either, but finally, he gave permission to start. Father Fermin Lasuen presided over the founding on December 4, 1786, the day of the feast of Saint Barbara.

Lasuen left Father Antonio Paterna in charge, and he supervised early construction. Santa Barbara mission had good luck from its beginning. The first permanent church was completed in 1789. Within five years, it became too small for the growing population and it was replaced.

The native people liked the fathers and soon there were more than 1700 neophytes living in 250 adobe houses. A large stone reservoir they built is still part of the city's water system.

1800 - 1820

In 1812, an earthquake destroyed the church and construction of the current church began shortly afterward. Father Antonio Ripoll supervised construction. Built of stone, it was begun in 1815 and finished in 1820.

In 1818, the French pirate Bouchard approached the coast and threatened the nearby town. The Fathers armed and drilled 150 of their neophytes to prepare for the attack. With their help, the Presidio soldiers faced Bouchard, and he sailed out of the harbor without attacking.

1820 - 1830's

The Mexican Revolution occurred in 1822, and the Fathers started to have more and more trouble with the soldiers at the Presidio. Long-standing resentment between the Spanish-born and those born in the Americas was fueled by the Spanish king's preferential treatment for the Spanish-born.

Shortly after the revolution, all Spaniards under the age of 60 were ordered to leave California, but the order was never enforced. The soldiers began to take over the task of policing the natives, and trouble between the soldiers and the natives began.
 

In 1824, there was an Indian uprising against the soldiers at three places including Santa Barbara Mission. The Indians broke into an armory and overcame the guard. Two soldiers were wounded. The soldiers punished the Indians so severely that all of them who were not caught immediately fled the area. It took the Father Presidente more than six months to secure a pardon for the Indians, and a few then returned.

Secularization

In 1833, governor Jose Figueroa put American-born Franciscans in charge of all missions north of San Antonio. In 1834, Mexico decided to end the missionary system and sell the land. Father Presidente Narciso Duran moved his headquarters here, and in 1842 he was joined by Francisco Garcia Diego, first bishop of the Californias.

Their presence saved Santa Barbara Mission from being appropriated until 1846 when they both died. Pio Pico immediately tried to sell Santa Barbara Mission, but it was saved when the United States took over California before the new buyer could occupy their property. The buildings were used for a school and seminary in the late 1800s.