MISSION SAN
DIEGO DE
ALCALA
10818 San Diego Mission Road
San Diego, CA 92108
Established: July 16, 1769
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 1st of the 21 missions.
Location: 15 miles north of the CaliforniaMexico border, on a hill about eight miles
from the Pacific Ocean.
Named: In honor of Saint Didacus of
Alcalá, a humble 15th century Spanish friar.
(San Diego Bay was first named in 1602 by
the Spanish explorer Vizcaíno). Also
known as Mother of the Missions.
California Historical Landmark No. 242
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 135 feet long, 35 feet wide, 29
feet high. Built of adobe. Tile roof.
Style: Simple, setting the standard for the
"mission style." The façade (front) is plain,
decorated only with a few flat ornamental
columns at the side and above the entrance.
Wing-like buttresses (supports), added in
1931 to strengthen it, extend from each side
of the entrance. An arched corridor crossed
the front of the original church, but has not
been rebuilt.
Walls: Three feet thick, roughly plastered,
with small windows near the ceiling.
Campanario: The bells are hung in
openings cut in a wall (called a campanario)
that extends like a wing from the front of the
church. Five bells are arranged in three
rows (two on the bottom, two in the middle,
and one on top). The wall is 46 feet high,
topped by a wooden cross.
Mission Compound: The group of
buildings that made up the mission were
built around a square courtyard, 120 feet
long on each side. The church was at one
corner of this square. Living quarters faced
the courtyard, along with the kitchen,
storage rooms, blacksmith and carpenter
shops, and a granary. Unlike other missions,
not many of the Tipai (Kumeyaay) Indians
in the area lived at Mission San Diego.
Most remained in their own villages.
Mission Grounds: On the 50,000 acres of
Mission land were grazing areas for 20,000
sheep, 10,000 cattle, and 1,250 horses.
Among crops grown were wheat, barley,
corn, beans, and grapes. The mission was
known for producing fine wines.
Water System: Water was always a
problem for Mission San Diego. In 1807 the
Indians at the mission helped the padres
build a dam six miles up the river from the
mission. Cement troughs carried the water to
the mission.
Santa Ysabel: The Franciscans of Mission
San Diego built a branch, or sub-mission,
about 60 miles east of the main mission, in
the Santa Ysabel Valley. The first building
was erected there in 1818; an adobe church
was built was built a few years later.
EARLY HISTORY
1769 Father Serra and Governor Portolá (of
Baja California) arrived at San Diego Bay.
Mission site was dedicated on July 16, 1769,
with a wooden cross erected on a hill
overlooking the Bay. A small chapel was
built of brush and branches. The first
mission bell was hung on a tree.
1774 Mission moved to a site six miles
inland, on the San Diego River, in order to
have better soil and more water, and to be
further from the soldiers at the presidio
(fort). Buildings were made of logs driven
into the ground, with tule thatched roofs.
1775 Mission was attacked and buildings
burned beyond use. Father Luis Jayme died
in the attack. Other missionaries went back
to the presidio for safety.
1777-80 Church rebuilt on the burned-out
site; made of adobe with beams of pine and
poplar.
1792 Roof of tules replaced by tile roof.
1803 Earthquake severely damaged the
church.
1807-16 Dam built on the San Diego River
to provide better water supply.
1808-13 Final church built, dedicated
November 12, 1813.
1834 Mission secularized, transferred from
the Franciscans to the government.
1846-52 Buildings occupied by U.S. Army
troops and horses.
1862 22 acres of land returned by the U.S.
government to the Catholic Church.
MISSION SAN DIEGO TODAY
The mission buildings began to decay and
fall apart after 1834, when they were no
longer occupied by the Franciscan
missionaries. In the 1890's the site was used
for an Indian School run by Father Anthony
Ubach, who was interested in restoring the
mission. However, little was done after
1900, and soon all that remained was the
front of the church.
Serious restoration began in 1931 with the
rebuilding of the campanario (bell wall) with
its five bell niches. Several of the original
bells were located. The largest bell in the
campanario is the 1200-pound Mater
Dolorosa, made in 1894 in San Diego,
reportedly from the lead of five original
bells that came to the San Diego settlement
in 1796 from New Spain (now Mexico).
The restoration of the mission church has
been completed as accurately as possible,
though few pictures or descriptions exist of
the original church. In 1941 the restored
mission became a parish church. In 1976,
Pope Paul VI named the church a minor
basilica because of its historical importance.
A small part of the padres' building is all
that remains of the quadrangle. Excavation
of more foundations was done in the 1960's
by university students. Further excavations
of bones and artifacts in 1989 resulted in an
area set apart as a memorial to those who
died at the mission. At the mission are the
graves of five Franciscan friars, including
Father Jayme who died there in 1775. There
is a small museum, but articles relating to
Father Serra, the founder, are in the Serra
Museum on Presidio Hill. There, where the
mission was first established, is a large cross
and a plaque.
MISSION SAN
CARLOS
BORROMEO DEL
RIO CARMELO
3080 Rio Road
Carmel, CA 93923
Established: June 3, 1770
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 2nd of the 21 missions.
Location: About 120 miles south of San
Francisco at the mouth of the Carmel
Valley, on a hillside a half mile from the
sea.
Named: For St. Charles of Borroméo, a
16th-century cardinal and archbishop of
Milan, Italy. Also known as Carmel
Mission.
California Historical Landmark No. 135
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 150 feet long, 29 feet wide, 33
feet high. Made of native yellow sandstone
blocks from the nearby Santa Lucia
Mountains, held together with mortar made
from lime in abalone shells found on the
ocean beach. Tile roof.
Style: Designed by Manuel Ruíz, a master
mason from Mexico City, who also designed
the Royal Chapel in Monterey. He
incorporated Moorish elements into the
plan. The walls taper inward to form an
arched ceiling. The restored wooden ceiling
is painted to look like stone. A unique
feature is the Moorish window, often called
the "star window," over the entrance. It
appears to be made from a combination of a
circle and a square placed at an angle.
number than native people living near other
missions, so there was not as great a need
for large-scale farming. A simple canal
brought water from the Carmel River to the
mission compound for irrigation.
Walls: Five feet thick at the base,
becoming wider as they go up, so that the
walls curve inward. The windows are high
up on the walls.
Bell Towers: The two bell towers, which
differ in size and design, have held various
numbers of bells (from 4 to 11). The larger
is topped by a Moorish dome, with an
outside staircase giving access to the belfry.
Mission Compound: The living quarters
and workshops for the mission were built
around a quadrangle, but unlike most of the
missions, it is irregularly shaped. The front
of the quadrangle is shorter than the back
section. A fountain and gardens with olive
trees add beauty to the compound. Carved
in the stones of a wall of the courtyard are
the coats of arms of the Orders of the
Dominicans and the Franciscans, with
statues of their founders, St. Dominic and St.
Francis.
Mission Grounds: This mission did not
have extensive agriculture or livestock
herds. The Esselen Indians were fewer in
EARLY HISTORY
1770 Father Serra and Governor Portolá
arrived in Monterey Bay to establish a
presidio (fort) and what was intended to be
the northernmost mission. Under an ancient
oak tree, they dedicated the mission. The
presidio was built first and Father Serra held
church services in a storeroom there.
1771 Wanting the church to be separated
from the presidio, Serra selected a site five
miles south. A church was built of pine and
cypress logs, with a mud-covered thatch
roof.
1774 An adobe church replaced the log
church. Over the next decade the church
was replaced several times with other adobe
structures.
1784 Father Serra died on August 28 and
was buried in the church. Father Palóu
became President of the missions but soon
was replaced by Father Lasuén.
1834 Mission secularized, the lands sold
and the buildings abandoned.
1851 Roof beams had rotted and the roof
fell in. Only a small chapel survived intact.
1859 Mission returned to the Catholic
Church by the U.S. government.
1882 Father Angelo Casanova, pastor in
Monterey, ordered the graves in the church
opened, to quell rumors that Father Serra's
body had been removed.
1884 Father Casanova raised money to
repair the church in honor of the 100-year
anniversary of Father Serra's death. A steep
shingle roof was built over the church.
Though it helped to preserve the building
from further decay, it was not in style with
the rest of the Mission.
1791 Manuel Ruíz was hired to design and
build a stone church.
Of special interest at the mission is the small
cell where Father Serra lived, with its simple
furnishing of a board bed, single blanket,
table, chair, chest, candlestick, and gourd.
The mission library (California's first
library, once containing 1500 volumes) still
has books that belonged to Father Serra. In a
small chapel is the statue of the Virgin
which Father Serra brought to the San Diego
Mission and then on to Carmel. Many
historical treasures of the church are on
display here.
In 1933 Carmel Mission became the parish
church. It was designated as a minor
basilica in 1960 by Pope John XXIII,
honoring its historical importance as the
headquarters of the California mission chain,
and received a visit from Pope John Paul II
in 1987. A fiesta honoring St. Charles
Borroméo is held each September.
1793 Cornerstone laid for the church.
1797 Dedication of the new church was
celebrated with a grand fiesta.
1803 Father Lesuén died; buried beside
Father Serra in the church.
1814 Vaulted stone roof was replaced after
earthquake damage.
CARMEL MISSION TODAY
1818 The pirate Hippolyte Bouchard of
Argentina attacked the Monterey presidio,
but didn't harm the mission.
Downie. One of the first things Downie did
was to replace the shingle roof with an
accurate replica of the original tile roof. His
expertise has made this restoration complete
and authentic, including replacement of the
entire mission quadrangle based on
excavations of the original foundations. In
1984 the original fountain, which had been
held by a Carmel family for more than 100
years, was returned to its place.
True restoration of the mission began in the
1930's under the supervision of Harry
MISSION SAN
ANTONIO DE
PADUA
church. The floor is cobblestone covered
with a layer of plaster (unlike most of the
mission churches which had tile floors).
Ceiling is made of timbers, vaulted, and
painted blue with stars over the altar. Native
designs decorate the interior.
P.O. Box 803
Jolon, CA 93928
Walls: Six feet thick at the bottom, varying
to five feet thick at the top.
Established: July 14, 1771
Campanario: Made of burnt brick with
arched openings for three bells, the
campanario is connected to the church by an
enclosed passageway with an arched roof
(called a barrel vault), also made of burnt
brick.
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 3rd of the 21 missions.
Location: 60 miles SE of Monterey in a
valley of the Santa Lucia Mountains,
surrounded by the Hunter Liggett Military
Reservation.
Named: In honor of Anthony of Padua, a
13th-century Franciscan priest known as the
miracle worker. De las Robles (“of the oak
trees”) is sometimes added to the name.
California Historical Landmark No. 232
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 200 feet long, 40 feet wide. Made
of adobe bricks. Tile roof (the first use of
tile to roof a church in California).
Style: Plain exterior noted only for the
campanario (bell wall) that decorates the
front, and the barrel vault that leads into the
through aqueducts and stored in reservoirs.
The aqueducts (the first in California) were
made of 750 clay pipes on a tile bed,
covered with shale. The water was used to
turn a waterwheel that operated the grist
mill. There were also pools for laundry and
bathing. A fountain was added in modern
times.
Mission Compound: A quadrangle of
buildings around a patio included padres'
living quarters, dormitory rooms, shops for
weavers and other crafts people, a winery,
granary, and storerooms.
Mission Grounds: Near the mission
compound the Salinan Indians built their
dwellings to live in while they assisted with
the construction of the mission. Around the
mission were large vineyards, olive groves,
and wheat fields. The wheat was threshed at
the mission and ground into flour at the grist
mill, which was the first water-powered
grinding mill in California. Mission San
Antonio was also famous for the horses
which were raised here. At one time the
mission had over 800 horses.
Water System: Dams were built on the San
Antonio River about three miles above the
mission, and the water brought down
EARLY HISTORY
1771 Father Serra hung a bronze bell on an
oak tree, raised a cross, and dedicated the
site, naming it and the nearby river (Río de
San Antonio). Fathers Buenaventura Sitjar
and Miguel Pieras were left in charge of
building the mission.
1773 Mission was moved less than three
miles to present site on San Miguel Creek.
1775 Small church was built of adobe.
1779-1781
Larger adobe church was
completed with a tile roof (according to
Serra's diary, the first tile roof on a church in
California). The red tile roof has become a
symbol of the California missions.
1790 Large wing added to accommodate
the growing numbers of people.
1806 Water-powered grist mill completed,
the first in California.
1810-1813 Larger church built on a 10-foot
rock foundation.
1821 Campanario and barrel vaulted
passage added to the front of the church.
1834 Mission secularized (taken from the
Franciscans by the government).
1845 Buildings offered for sale but no one
bought them.
1851 Mission and 33 acres of land returned
to the Catholic Church; Father Dorotea
Ambris, a Mexican friar, took charge.
1882 Father Ambris died and the mission
was abandoned.
1928 Franciscan friars from Mission San
Miguel began to hold services here.
MISSION SAN ANTONIO TODAY
An early attempt at restoration of Mission
San Antonio was made beginning in 1903
when the California Historic Landmarks
League, led by Congressman Joseph R.
Knowland, chose San Antonio as its first
project. Stormy weather and the 1906
earthquake undid some of the restoration.
The church was rebuilt in 1907, but the
project was then abandoned.
When the second restoration effort began in
1948, the existing buildings had to be
leveled to the ground. Under the direction
of Harry Downie and financed by the Hearst
Foundation (William Randolph Hearst then
owned all the land around the mission) and
the Franciscan Order, a complete rebuilding
of the church and quadrangle took place.
The restoration was aided by Salinan
descendants of those who had helped to
build the original mission, using some of the
same techniques. New adobe bricks were
made from the ruins of the old walls.
The restored padres' quarters houses a
museum. There is a model of a pottery and
tile shop showing how the mission workers
made the adobe bricks and tiles. Part of the
original reservoir and aqueduct are visible
nearby.
Father Buenaventura Sitjar, who spent 37
years at Mission San Antonio, accomplished
the task of putting the native Mutsun
language into writing. He left behind a
grammar and dictionary that he had
compiled.
Mission San Antonio is an active parish
church, serving the people of the area. Since
1948 the Franciscans have been in residence
here. Of all the California missions, this is
the one whose surroundings are most like
they were in the early days of the missions.
The one remaining original mission bell,
called Osquila, rings out over an isolated,
rural setting, just as it did in 1821.
MISSION SAN
GABRIEL
ARCANGEL
537 West Mission Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Established: September 8, 1771
By: Father Pedro Cambón and Father Angel
Somera, near a site previously chosen by
Father Serra.
Order: 4th of the 21 missions.
Location: 9 miles east of central Los
Angeles, in the San Miguel Valley.
Named: For the Archangel Gabriel, named
in the Bible as the messenger to Mary the
mother of Jesus. One of three missions
named for angels. Also known as the Pride
of the Missions.
California Historical Landmark No. 158
1812 with pitched roof of tiles, finally
replaced in 1886 with a roof of shingles.
Style: Fortress style, with capped buttresses
(supports) along outside walls and long
narrow windows.
Copied from the
Cathedral of Cordova in Spain by Father
Antonio Cruzado of Cordova, who was in
charge of the construction. Outside stairway
leads to the inside choir loft.
Walls: Between four and five feet thick;
seven feet thick at the buttresses.
largest in California, with three wine presses
and eight brandy stills. It produced 50,000
gallons of wine a year.
Mission Grounds: Mission San Gabriel
has been called the Mother of California
Agriculture as it produced more wheat than
any other mission, as well as barley, corn,
beans, peas, lentils, many fruits, and
vineyards. Livestock numbered over 20,000
head. An aqueduct brought water from a
nearby lake and powered a grist mill.
Gardens were enclosed by a 12-foot high
cactus fence.
Bell Tower: Original bell tower at the NE
corner of the church was destroyed in the
1812 earthquake. Replaced in 1828 by a
campanario (bell wall) at the south end of
the church. Six bells of varying sizes hang
in niches cut to fit the bells, in three rows
(one bell on top, three in the middle, two at
the bottom). Oldest bell made in 1795 in
Mexico City; two others are from the
original set; two were made in 1828. The
largest, made in 1830, weighs 2000 pounds.
The location of the campanario extending
from the long side wall of the church, plus
the outside stairs, the unique capped
buttresses, and a door make this side wall
the façade (front) of the church.
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 150 feet long, 27 feet wide, 30
feet high. Made of stone and concrete up to
the windows, of burnt brick above. Roof
was vaulted concrete, replaced in 1804 with
a flat roof of brick and mortar, replaced in
Mission Compound: There were two
quadrangles covering several acres, with
buildings for sleeping quarters, storerooms,
kitchens, and shops. The Tongva Indians
(later called the Gabrielenos) were skilled in
weaving, leatherwork, and making soap
(which they supplied to other missions). A
winery, begun in 1771, was at one time the
EARLY HISTORY
1771 On a site along San Gabriel River, a
temporary chapel of willow poles with tule
roof was built, along with living quarters
and storerooms; all were surrounded by a
stockade of sharpened poles.
1834 Mission secularized, property used to
pay a debt of the Governor.
1775 Father Lasuén moved the mission
five miles north to higher ground to avoid
floods, and left Fathers Paterna and Cruzado
in charge. Adobe structures were built.
1843 Mission returned to the Franciscans.
1776 Father Sánchez replaced Paterna;
Sánchez and Cruzado served for 30 years.
1779 Building of the stone church was
begun.
1781 A group of padres and settlers rode
from Mission San Gabriel to establish the
Pueblo of Los Angeles.
1804 Vaulted roof replaced by a flat roof
after earthquake damage.
1805 Stone and brick church completed;
Fathers Sánchez and Cruzado died; Father
José Zalvidea in charge of mission.
1812 Earthquake damaged the church and
destroyed the bell tower. Granary used as a
temporary chapel while rebuilding.
1828 Church repaired again; a companario
(bell wall) replacing the bell tower was
completed.
1830 A ship was built at the mission, the
99-ton schooner Guadalupe, which was
launched at San Pedro and sailed south to
San Blas loaded with mission goods.
1854 Franciscans replaced by pastors
working under a bishop; operated as a parish
church.
1865 Roof replaced with shingles.
MISSION SAN GABRIEL TODAY
In 1908 Mission San Gabriel was turned
over to the Claretian Missionary Fathers,
who have maintained it since then. They
restored much of the quadrangles and patios,
as well as continued to provide the services
of a parish church. The church was in a fine
state of preservation until the 1987
earthquake, which left cracks in the roof and
caused so much structural damage that the
church and museum had to be closed to
visitors until 1993. The buildings were
shored up to prevent them from collapsing.
An earthquake in 1994 damaged the
museum wing, but repairs were made
quickly.
There have always been lots of visitors at
Mission San Gabriel, for at its founding it
was located at the crossroads of three main
trails, two running north-south from Mexico
to upper California, the other running eastwest from the eastern U.S. to the Pacific.
Today visitors to Mission San Gabriel will
see the canvas with the painting of the
Virgin which seemed to calm the anxious
natives when the Franciscans first arrived at
San Gabriel. Another unique work of art is
the series of 14 paintings of the Stations of
the Cross, created by an unknown artist and
considered one of the finest examples of
early Native Californian church art. Mission
San Gabriel has a fine collection of mission
relics. These include the original hammered
copper baptismal font, a gift of King Carlos
of Spain in 1771, and six altar statues
brought from Spain in 1791.
MISSION SAN
LUIS OBISPO DE
TOLOSA
782 Monterey Street (P.O. Box 1483)
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
round pillars with square openings, unlike
the arches of other missions.
Walls: Adobe covered with plaster and
whitewash.
Bell Tower: The bell tower, with its three
bells hanging in uniform arched openings,
serves also as the vestibule or entry to the
church. Bells were made in 1818 in Peru,
and were recast in 1878.
local clay was mixed by having horses walk
around in circles through the clay, which
was then formed over curved wooden molds
of tree trunks, dried in the sun and baked in
a kiln. The tiles were about 22 inches in
length and tapered from 12 to 20 inches in
width. Water came from a nearby stream,
and was used to power a gristmill.
Established: September 1, 1772
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 5th of the 21 missions.
Location: Halfway between the north and
south ends of the mission chain, in an inland
valley surrounded by mountains.
Named: For Saint Louis, a Franciscan and
Bishop of Toulouse (France) in the early
14th century; son of King Charles II of
Naples and nephew of Louis IX of France.
California Historical Landmark No.325
Mission Compound: Built around a
traditional patio, divided into four sections
by grape arbors. The church was on the
north side of the square, living quarters for
the priests on the east side, workshops and
storehouses on the west and south.
Mission Grounds: Mission noted for the
wines, olive oil, fruits and vegetables grown
there, but even more for roofing tiles and
cloth. Large flocks of sheep produced wool
which was spun into yarn and then woven
into cloth. Heavy wool blanket material was
used to make serapes (cloaks or ponchos);
light weight cloth for other clothing was
made in a quantity to be supplied to other
missions.
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: Adobe building, about 125 feet
long, 25 feet wide. Tile roof. Floor is
mezcla (stone and mortar).
Style: Simple "mission" style, noted for the
combination of belfry and vestibule (entry
hall). Porches around the courtyard have
To Mission San Luís Obispo goes credit for
establishing the use of red tile roofs that
became a symbol of the California missions.
Though first used at Mission San Antonio de
Padua, roofing tiles were perfected and
produced on a large scale by Mission San
Luís Obispo. The roofing tiles were
patterned on those remembered by the
padres from their days in Spain. Water and
EARLY HISTORY
1769 Governor Portolá, on his way from
San Diego north to Monterey, crossed a
valley where grizzly bears were eating the
tule roots in the marshy ground; named it La
Cañada de los Osos (Valley of the Bears)
and returned to the valley to get meat for the
soldiers and missions.
1853 Bandit Joaquin Murieta camped in
the mission garden.
1772 Father Serra founded the mission; left
the next day to return to San Diego, leaving
Father José Cavaller in charge of building a
chapel, barracks, priests' house and
workshops of logs and tules.
1859 Mission returned to Catholic Church.
1773
Group of Spanish
including four families, arrived.
emigrants,
1776 Tule thatched roofs set on fire by
flaming arrows; many buildings destroyed.
1792-1794 Construction of present church
with help from master Mexican craftsmen;
made of adobe with tile roof.
1796 Father Luís Antonio Martínez in
charge of mission for next 34 years; very
popular with the Chumash Indians of this
area.
1819 Quadrangle of buildings around the
courtyard completed.
1820 Bell tower added, built of adobe.
1832 Bell tower damaged by earthquake;
rebuilt in stone.
1835 Mission secularized, property valued
at $70,000 taken by the government.
1845 Mission lands sold for $510.
MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO TODAY
During the 1880's Mission San Luís Obispo
was "modernized" by a well-meaning parish
priest, who tried to make the mission look
like a New England church. Wooden siding
was placed over the adobe and a steeple was
added to the building. The bell tower and
the vestibule were torn down. The inside
was also modernized, with wood flooring
covering the original mezcla floor. For over
50 years there was little to remind one of the
original Spanish mission.
Authentic restoration was started in 1933
under the leadership of Father John Harnett,
who removed the wood siding and the
steeple, and rebuilt the bell tower and
vestibule. The three bells were returned to
their niches.
Restoration of the church interior to its 1794
condition continued during the 1940's. The
original beamed ceiling was uncovered. The
altar used in the early days is there, as well
as the original statue of Saint Louis above
the altar and the original baptismal font.
Mission San Luís Obispo serves as a parish
church. A large wing has been added to the
original church, doubling the seating
capacity. The original padres' quarters, with
eleven columns along its walkway, has been
restored as a museum.
The city of San Luis Obispo calls itself The
City with a Mission, in honor of its
beginnings as a Spanish mission. A town
plaza faces the restored mission church, and
each year a fiesta is held to celebrate the
founding.
MISSION SAN
FRANCISCO DE
ASIS
3321 Sixteenth Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
Established: October 9, 1776
By: Father Francisco Palóu, a companion of
Father Serra at Carmel Mission.
Order: 6th of the 21 missions.
Location: On San Francisco Bay near the
stream Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los
Dolores (Stream of Our Lady of Sorrows),
named by Juan Bautista de Anza.
Named: In honor of St. Francis of Assisi
(1182-1226), founder of the Franciscan
Order in Italy. More often called Mission
Dolores.
California Historical Landmark No. 327
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 114 feet long, 22 feet wide; made
of adobe, with tile roof and tile floors.
Style: Simple, clean lines. An exterior
balcony crosses the front, supported by four
Corinthian columns flanking a small arched
entrance. There is no bell tower; the three
bells ( the original ones) hang in niches in a
loft above the entrance. The bells were cast
in Mexico, one in 1792 and the other two in
1797. Rawhide thongs are used to hang the
bells, and also to lash together the redwood
ceiling beams inside the church. This
mission is distinguished by the redwood
used in the interior, the ceiling beams
decorated in brightly painted native designs,
and the wooden columns painted to look like
marble. Originally, outside stairs led to the
choir loft.
Spain and New England. Mission women
were skilled in tanning the hid.
The cemetery on the mission grounds grew
at an alarming rate due to the high incidence
of illness. Over 5,000 Indians are buried
here, many in unmarked graves.
Walls: Four feet thick.
Mission Compound: Rows of buildings
were placed around a patio to provide living
quarters, storerooms, workshops, a granary
(150 feet long), and an infirmary for the
Costanoan Indians who lived at the mission
(a necessity here, where the damp air slowed
recovery from diseases brought by the
Spanish).
Mission Grounds: There was neither space
nor good soil for growing crops. This is part
of the reason that Mission Dolores did not
become as prosperous as other missions.
Activities included making pottery and
weaving blankets on large looms. The
mission supplied all of the blankets for the
nearby presidio (fort). A major industry was
that of being a shipping center. Hides and
tallow were sent from other missions to San
Francisco, where the mission staff oversaw
the trading of these products with ships from
EARLY HISTORY
1769 Portolá’s expedition found the large
bay now known as San Francisco Bay. The
name had been given to a smaller bay (now
Drakes Bay) in 1597 by a Spanish explorer,
Sebastián Cermeño.
1776 Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza led a
group of settlers overland from Mexico,
1,000 miles to San Francisco Bay; he
selected sites for a presidio and mission. On
June 29 Father Palóu dedicated the site and
building began. October 9, formal founding
of the mission with dedication of a church
(wood poles plastered with mud, thatched
roof) amidst great celebration of flags,
feasting, a parade and firecrackers.
1782 Father Palóu moved the mission
about 1,100 feet west; new wooden church
built.
1791 Church made of adobe bricks
dedicated on August 2.
1798 Quadrangle buildings completed.
1810 Façade with balcony and bell niches
added.
1834 Mission secularized, taken from the
Catholic Church; portions of the quadrangle
were sold or leased to businesses.
1845 Mission lands sold; during the next
few years the land was used for bull-andbear fights, duels, horse racing, and taverns.
1857 Mission returned to the Catholic
Church; parts of buildings still leased for
private use.
MISSION DOLORES TODAY
The buildings in the mission compound
disappeared over the years, but the mission
church has changed little since the 1790's,
despite the catastrophic changes all around
it. It stands as the oldest building in San
Francisco. The church and a portion of the
cemetery are all that remain of the original
mission.
By 1876 the chapel was considered too
small to serve as the parish church for the
growing city of San Francisco, and a large
Victorian-style church was built right next to
the mission church. The 1906 earthquake
did not damage the mission church, but the
larger church, now known as the Mission
Dolores Basilica, had to be rebuilt.
The Mission Dolores church has never been
rebuilt; what remains has been preserved in
close to its original state. In 1917 steel
beams covered with cement on the exterior
and steel trestles millionsupporting the
roof were added. Since the 1989 earthquake,
a $2 refurbishing has stabilized the building,
cleaned the interior, and repaired the
gravestones in the elegantly planted, historic
cemetery.
In the mission church is the original altar,
considered the finest and oldest in any of the
21 missions. A room at the back of the
church serves as a museum. It has the
register showing baptisms dating from
1776. Services are occasionally held in the
Mission Church. The feast of Dolores, Our
Lady of Sorrows, is celebrated in September.
Go to Top
MISSION SAN
JUAN
CAPISTRANO
seven masonry domes, five over the long
nave of the church and one over each wing
of the transept. The design and elaborate
stone treatment were the work of Isidor
Aguilar, an expert stonemason from Mexico,
who was in charge of the construction.
Before the Mast, which tells of the stiff
hides being thrown from the top of the cliffs
to the beach 280 feet below, where they
were carried out to the ships.
Walls: Vary in thickness, up to seven feet.
Ortega Hwy. & Camino Capistrano
(P.O. Box 697)
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
Established: November 1, 1776
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 7th of the 21 missions.
Location: 70 miles north of San Diego, less
than three miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Named: In honor of St. John of Capistran
(Italy), a 15th century religious scholar.
Also known as The Jewel of the Missions.
Bell Tower: The Great Stone Church had a
massive bell tower, 120 feet tall with a
gilded rooster weathervane on top. It held
four bells cast in 1796 and 1804. These four
bells (two large and two small) now hang in
openings in a low campanario (bell wall).
Mission Compound: A patio around which
the compound was built was irregular in
shape, each side having a different length.
The compound covered about an acre of
land, and, in addition to living quarters, had
buildings for storage; workshops for making
candles, soap, shoes, hats, blankets and
harness; a metal-working furnace, olive
press; barracks for the soldiers that protected
the mission; a jail and ammunition storage.
EARLY HISTORY
California Historical Landmark No. 200
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: Now in ruins; known as the Great
Stone Church, 180 feet long, 40 feet wide.
Made of yellow sandstone quarried six miles
away, held together with limestone mortar.
Style: Cathedral-like grand style with a
cruciform, or cross, design (one of two
missions in this style). Roof composed of
Mission Grounds: San Juan Capistrano
was a prosperous mission with fields of
grain, vegetables and fruit. The climate was
moderate, and water was easily accessible
from the nearby streams. Eight ranchos
(covering most of what is now Orange
County) were owned, on which 20,000 head
of cattle and sheep grazed. Much of the
mission's wealth came from the sale of hides
to New England shoe factories. A
description of the loading of hides onto
cargo ships comes from Dana's Two Years
1775 Father Lasuén dedicated the site, set
up a cross, and began to build a church.
Work stopped when word came of the attack
on Mission San Diego. The mission bells
were buried; the Franciscans went to the
presidio for safety.
1776 Father Serra found the cross still in
place. The bells were dug up and hung from
a tree, the site was rededicated on November
1, and a chapel of poles plastered with mud
was erected.
1777 First adobe church, called Serra
Chapel, was erected.
1791 Bell tower built for the bells which
had been hanging from a tree since 1776.
1895 Landmarks Club of Los Angeles
saved Serra Chapel from falling apart and
restored a small section of the quadrangle.
1910-1920 Father St. John O'Sullivan did
major restoration of Serra Chapel; by 1924
services being held again.
build their nests of mud and saliva against
the arches of the ruins. Each year, for as
long as people can remember, the swallows
have returned around March 19, St. Joseph's
Day. A week-long fiesta greets the
swallows, who stay at San Juan Capistrano
until about October 23.
THE MISSION TODAY
1796-1806
Stone
church
under
construction, with local workers carrying
boulders from the quarry six miles away. A
two-day fiesta in September 1806 brought
many people to celebrate the completion of
the church.
1812 In December an earthquake destroyed
the church and bell tower, killing many
Tongva (Juaneño) Indians gathered there.
The bells, stone baptismal font, some statues
and pictures were saved. Church services
were held in Serra Chapel.
1813 Campanario built to hold the bells.
1818 Pirate Hippolyte Bouchard attacked
the mission and burned several buildings.
1833 Mission secularized, taken from the
Catholic Church by the government.
1845
Mission sold by the Governor to his
brother-in-law.
1865 Mission returned to the Church. An
attempt at restoration did more damage.
There has never been an attempt to rebuild
the Great Stone Church, and its ruins have
changed little over the century. Father
O'Sullivan concentrated on restoring Serra
Chapel and preventing further decay of the
other ruins. Serra Chapel is thought to be
the only building still existing where Father
Serra preached. Its ornate altar, installed in
the 1920's, is from Barcelona, Spain, and is
over 300 years old. The statue of Father
Serra and a native youth that stands near the
mission entrance, as well as the Moorish
fountain in the plaza garden, were added in
the 1920's.
Buildings around the quadrangle have been
restored over the years. Living history days
portray life in the mission period. There are
reconstructions of the tallow ovens where
soap and candles were made, tanning vats
for hides, and metal-working furnaces.
Many concerts, festivals, and exhibits are
held at the mission throughout the year. The
extensive grounds, pools, and gardens make
the ruins of the Great Stone Church look
beautiful.
The best-known feature of San Juan
Capistrano is the return of the swallows to
Go to Top
MISSION SANTA
CLARA DE ASIS
Lexington Street & The Alameda
(Box 3217)
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Established: January 12, 1777
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 8th of the 21 missions.
Location: 40 miles SE of San Francisco at
the southern end of San Francisco Bay, near
a stream called Río de Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe.
Named: For St. Clare of Assisi (11931253), founder of an order of nuns called the
Poor Clares, similar to the Franciscans.
California Historical Landmark No. 338
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: The fifth and most important
church was built in 1825 of adobe bricks,
100 feet long, 44 feet wide, 25 feet high.
Tile roof.
Style: Simple architecture was richly
ornamented with paintings, both inside and
out. Professional artist Agustín Dávila came
from Mexico to design and oversee the
painting. On the redwood slabs that formed
the ceiling he depicted hosts of angels and
saints. Designs painted to look like pillars
and statues flanked the entrance. Colors
were brilliant reds, yellows, and blues, dyes
made from local minerals mixed with juice
from the maguey cactus. Dávila directed the
work of native artisans who did the painting.
avenue in an attempt to improve
relationships between the pueblo and the
mission.
Walls: Wider at the bottom, narrowing to
two feet thick at the top.
Bell Tower: A square tower built to the left
of the entrance. Two of the three bells were
gifts of the King of Spain in 1799.
Mission Compound: Buildings that formed
the quadrangle served as living quarters for
priests and soldiers, kitchens, a guardhouse,
and work-shops. The Costanoan Indians at
Santa Clara were good spinners and
weavers, and their work was known
throughout the chain of missions. They also
made candles, and produced wine and
brandy. This mission's greatest mark of
prosperity was in the number of converts;
over 1,200 native workers lived at the
mission.
Mission Grounds: Fields and orchards
produced peaches, pears, figs, grapes and
grain. Nearby ranches had 5,000 head of
cattle and 12,000 sheep, adding to the
prosperity of the mission. A grand avenue
called The Alameda, lined with a triple row
of willow trees, connected the mission with
the growing Pueblo (town) de San José de
Guadalupe. The mission built the attractive
EARLY HISTORY
1776 Site chosen by Juan Bautista de Anza,
at the same time as he chose the Mission
San Francisco site.
1777 Cross planted by Father Tomás de la
Peña, at the direction of Father Serra.
Church built of logs.
1779 Second log church constructed on
higher ground, to avoid flooding.
1781 Site again shifted to higher ground;
Father Serra laid cornerstone for new
church.
1784 Adobe church completed, said to be
the most beautiful church in existence at that
time, designed by Father Murguía who also
supervised the construction but died just
before the dedication. Father Serra was
present at the dedication on May 15.
1794 Father Magín Catalá, called The Holy
Man of Santa Clara, began his 36 years at
the mission.
1812 Earthquake weakened the walls.
1818 Earthquake destroyed the church;
new church built but that too was destroyed.
1825 Fifth (and longest lasting) church
completed and dedicated on August 11.
1836 Mission secularized, lands taken from
the Franciscans. Building continued to be
used as a parish church.
1839 Bell tower, weakened by storms,
replaced with a wooden tower.
1851 Authority for the church transferred
from the Franciscans to the Jesuits, who
founded a college there which became Santa
Clara University.
MISSION SANTA CLARA TODAY
The natural disasters that plagued the early
mission church continued into this century.
As a part of Santa Clara University, the
church was remodeled several times. Each
time some of the original design was lost.
The adobe walls were replaced with wood
walls; a second bell tower was built on the
opposite side of the building; the roof was
widened.
In 1926 a fire destroyed the church, erasing
all of the changes. Students at the
University tried to save the important
furnishings from the fire. One of the
bells was melted by the heat; a second
was cracked. But the one bell that
survived (a gift of the Spanish king) was
hung from a tree and rang that night at
8:30 just as it had every night since
1799. Several years later, King Alfonso
XIII of Spain sent a new bell. The two
damaged bells were recast, and when the
bell tower was rebuilt, it had four bells.
In 1929 the church was reconstructed in
what is called "a modern interpretation in
stucco and concrete" of the 1825 church.
12,000 roof tiles salvaged from earlier
missions were used in the new church,
which is larger than the original. Replicas
of the ceiling paintings have been done. The
exterior designs have been replaced in stone
relief (carvings) rather than the original
painted form. Over the main entrance is a
statue of St. Clare, flanked by statues of St.
John the Baptist and St. Francis, all carved
in pearwood. The interior of the church has
been redecorated in Victorian style,
retaining only a little of the mission
atmosphere. There are some original statues
inside.
The cross that was erected in 1777 stands (in
a protective casing) across from the church
entrance. The few adobe walls of the
quadrangle remaining after the 1926 fire
have been restored. The old church
cemetery is now the Mission Rose Garden.
Many of the plants on the University
grounds are survivors of the mission days.
Go to Top
MISSION SAN
BUENAVENTURA
225 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
(front), which may be a religious symbol
representing the Holy Trinity. Another
architectural feature is the side door, under a
Moorish arch flanked by flat ornamental
stone columns. The curved lines above the
door may represent the two rivers that pass
on either side of the mission. A heavy stone
buttress is placed to the left of the main
entrance to give support to the structure.
Established: March 31, 1782
Walls: 6½ feet thick.
By: Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan
missionary, President of the missions.
Order: 9th of the 21 missions.
Location: 70 miles north of Los Angeles,
25 miles south of Santa Barbara, near the
ocean.
Named: For St. Bonaventure. Born John
Fidanza in Tuscany in 1221, he is said to
have been restored to health by St. Francis
and to have exclaimed "O buona ventura,"
(oh, good fortune!), thus acquiring his new
name. Also known as The Mission by the
Sea.
California Historical Landmark No. 310
Bell Tower: Single tall tower, unusual
because it is not symmetrical (the two upper
sections are not centered on the base).
There are five bells; the bell at the top, made
in 1956 in France, has an automatic ringing
system; four bells in the lower section are
old, hand-operated (two dated 1781, one
dated 1825, one undated). Topped by a
small dome and a cross.
Vancouver noted the beauty of the gardens
at this mission.
Water System: A reservoir and aqueduct
system brought water from the Ventura
River to the mission buildings and fields.
One of the clay pipe aqueducts was seven
miles long. Buenaventura was sometimes
called the place of canals. The receiving
reservoir was called Cabeza del Caballo
(caballo is Spanish for horse) because the
water came from the mouth of a stone horsehead.
Mission Compound: The quadrangle was
not large, but contained the usual living
quarters, artisan workshops, and a well-kept
garden. The Chumash Indians of the area
preferred to stay in their own homes rather
than move into the mission; some built their
conical huts of willow poles covered with
tule reeds near the Mission compound.
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 154 feet long, 40 feet wide; made
of adobe bricks and stone. Tile roof. Tile
floors.
Style: Traditional, distinguished by a
unique triangular design on the façade
Mission Grounds: Mission was surrounded
by orchards, vineyards, and grain fields;
known for the abundance of fruits and
vegetables produced, including tropical
fruits such as bananas, coconuts, figs, and
sugarcane. Pears were a specialty. Sailing
ships stopped at the mission to replenish
their supplies. In 1793, Captain George
EARLY HISTORY
1770 Father Serra wanted to establish the
third mission at this site, halfway between
the first mission (at San Diego) and the
second (at Monterey), but did not receive
permission of the Governor to do so.
1845-46 First rented and later sold by the
Governor.
1782 Mission site dedicated; Father Serra
left Father Cambón in charge. Church and
other buildings went up quickly with the
help of the talented Chumash workers.
1862 Mission returned to the Catholic
Church.
1790 Aqueduct system built to bring water
across hills from river into reservoirs and a
storage tank; water filtered by flowing
through a screen.
1792 First church destroyed when poles
and thatched roof caught fire.
1794 Construction started on a larger stone
and adobe church.
1809 Stone church completed after 15
years of work; altar and paintings sent from
Mexico.
1812 Church damaged by earthquake; bell
tower collapsed.
1816 Church reconstructed with stone
buttress for support and a double wall on the
bell tower.
1836 Mission secularized, lands taken from
the Catholic Church.
1842-43 Used as a parish church.
1857 Earthquake damaged the roof; tile
roof later replaced with a shingle roof.
MISSION
TODAY
SAN
BUENAVENTURA
In 1893 the resident priest, Father Rubio,
made extensive changes to the mission. He
tore down all the outer buildings, enlarged
the church windows and put in dark stained
glass, covered the Indian designs on the
walls with modern designs, removed the
canopied wooden pulpit, covered the
beamed ceiling and tile floors with wood,
whitewashed the walls, and removed the
Mexican altar.
plaza across from the mission church
entrance, so the view to the ocean is
preserved. Portions of the aqueduct walls are
visible several miles from the restored
mission.
The mission museum exhibits the work of
the Chumash people, who were noted for
their excellence in boat building and wood
carving. They also made exceptionally fine
baskets that held water. Interesting items for
visitors to see are the statue of St.
Bonaventure in the center niche behind the
altar, the old olive press that sits in a corner
of the garden, and the two wooden bells.
The only ones of this type known in
California, the wooden bells are lined with
metal and were used during special
ceremonies.
For over 50 years, the mission church bore
little resemblance to its original form.
Restoration begun in 1957 has returned the
church as much as possible to its 1812
condition. The windows were restored to
the original size; ceiling and floors were
uncovered, revealing the pine and oak
ceiling beams and the tile floors. In 1976 a
new pulpit was constructed from some
pieces of the old one.
The church itself is all that remains of the
mission compound. The fields and orchards
have been replaced by busy city streets. An
elementary school was built on the mission
cemetery. The City of Ventura has placed a
Go to Top
MISSION SANTA
BARBARA
2201 Laguna Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Established: December 4, 1786
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Order: 10th of the 21 missions.
Location: 220 miles north of San Diego, on
a hill about a mile from the Pacific Ocean.
Named: In honor of Saint Bárbara, a Roman
maiden who was beheaded for her faith.
(Santa Barbara Channel was named by the
explorer Vizcaíno in 1602.) Also known as
Queen of the Missions.
Roman architect, in 27 B.C. Interior walls
painted with designs of garlands and angels.
Walls: Six feet thick with nine-foot square
stone buttresses.
Bell Towers: Santa Bárbara is the only
mission with two matching bell towers, each
87 feet tall and 20 feet square. One tower
was built in 1820; the second was added in
1831. A narrow passage in one tower
allows access to the bells (eight bells in
1833, later increased to 11 bells).
Mission Santa Bárbara had the most
complete water system of any of the
missions, some of it still useable today.
Some water went through a filtration system
and was stored for drinking. Some went
into a Moorish fountain in front of the
mission, where the water spouted from the
mouth of a stone bear and then into the 70foot pool, used by the mission women for
washing clothes.
Statues: Statues on the roof represent Faith,
Hope and Charity. Statue of St. Bárbara was
added in 1927.
Mission Compound: The mission church
formed one corner of a quadrangle with a
patio in the middle. Facing the inner patio
were living quarters for priests, storage
areas, the kitchen, offices and dormitories.
About 250 small adobe houses with tile
roofs were built in rows near the mission
compound for the Chumash Indian families.
California Historical Landmark No. 309
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 162 feet long, 27 feet wide, 42
feet high. Made of blocks of yellow native
sandstone, held together with lime made
from seashells. Tile roof.
Style: Classic, Greco-Roman in design,
copied from a book in the mission library,
originally written by Vitruvius Polion, a
Mission Grounds: Outside the mission
walls were larger workshops, a cemetery,
grazing for livestock, fields and orchards, a
gristmill and a reservoir for water.
Water System: The mission site was
chosen in 1769 by Father Serra because of
its closeness to a good water supply. Two
dams and two stone basins were built on
Pedragoso Creek in a hilly area. Four-inch
stone aqueducts brought the water down to
the mission through the storage reservoirs.
EARLY HISTORY
1769 Father Serra asked permission of
Governor de Neve (of Alta California) to
build a mission at this location.
1782
Governor approved building a
presidio (fort) and a chapel, but not a
mission. Father Serra died in 1784.
1820 September, dedication of new church
with a 3-day fiesta of games, dancing,
singing and fireworks.
1786 Father Lasuén was permitted to found
a mission. Dedicated unofficially on
December 4, 1786, the feast day of Saint
Barbara. Official dedication of site,
December 16, 1786, attended by the new
governor, Pedro Fages.
1829 Mission and presidio attacked by
soldiers from Monterey who were rebelling
against Governor José María Echeandia.
Governor's troops successfully defended the
mission.
1787 First building made of wooden poles
with adobe front; a beamed ceiling was
covered with a roof of woven reeds, a layer
of mud, and straw thatch.
1789 Church replaced by a larger adobe
building with a tile roof. Construction work
done by the Chumash, who also built
quarters for the padres, servant quarters,
shops, kitchen, storerooms, and a dormitory.
1794 Church again replaced by a larger
adobe building.
1812 An earthquake damaged the church.
It was repaired enough for services to be
held and plans began for a new church.
1815-20 New church under construction,
directed by Father Antonio Ripoll.
1818 Argentine Pirate Hippolyte Bouchard
sailed into the harbor intending to plunder
the mission, but was frightened away by the
soldiers and by 150 mission workers who
had been trained by Father Ripoll.
The rooms in the mission that were once
living quarters are now a museum of life in
the early days of the mission, and house the
archives (important papers) of the
Franciscans. Nearby are the beautiful rose
gardens. Each August a Fiesta of Old
Spanish Days is held in Santa Barbara. The
Fiesta always begins at the mission,
commemorating the founding with music
and feasting.
1835 Mission secularized (mission lands
distributed among the community), but the
mission buildings remained under the
control of the Catholic Church and became a
parish church.
MISSION SANTA BARBARA TODAY
Mission Santa Bárbara has stayed under the
management of the Franciscan order of the
Catholic Church. It has escaped vandalism
because the buildings have been in
continuous use. It was a school for the
training of Franciscan priests from 1896 to
1968, and is now used for church services
and ceremonies such as weddings.
The Church interior has changed little since
1820. The tile flooring is original, as is the
ceiling decoration, a winged design with
tongues of lightning, copied from the book
by Vitruvius Polion. Two large paintings in
the church are over 200 years old. The light
on the altar is said to have burned
continuously since it was lighted by Father
Lasuén in 1789. The church was damaged
by earthquake in 1925 but was repaired by
1927. In 1948 the towers were reinforced
with steel and concrete.
Go to Top
MISSION LA
PURISIMA
CONCEPCION
2295 Purísima Road
Lompoc, CA 93436
Established: December 8, 1787
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra,
on orders left by Serra.
Order: 11th of the 21 missions.
Location: Halfway between Santa Barbara
and San Luis Obispo, near the middle of the
chain of missions, in an inland valley.
Named: For Mary the mother of Jesus. Full
name is La Purísima Concepción de María
Santísima, or The Immaculate Conception of
Mary the Most Pure.
California Historical Landmark No. 340
support the roof, rather than the arches
typical of most missions. Interior of roughplastered surfaces; exposed beams lashed
with rawhide. Wall paintings in colorful
native designs. Entrance is on the side wall.
Walls: 4½ feet thick.
Campanario: Reconstructed campanario
(bell wall) copied from Mission Santa Inés,
since no drawing existed of the original.
Three bells (one on top, two below) hang in
openings in the wall. Original bells cast in
bronze in Lima, Peru in 1817-1818.
Campanario extends out from one end of the
church, forming part of the cemetery wall.
Mission Compound: A series of long
buildings arranged in a line, rather than in
the traditional quadrangle, perhaps to
provide faster exit in case of earthquake.
Buildings included warehouses for storage
of hides and tallow; workshops for
blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, weavers,
and leather workers; residence quarters with
kitchens and guest rooms; a small hospital.
The weaving of woolen blankets was a
specialty here. The 300-foot-long residence
building was bordered by a walkway with
20 fluted columns.
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 140 feet long, 30 feet wide. Tile
roof. Tile floors.
Style: Plain, without any features of
distinction. Church described as built for
utility, not beauty. Used square posts to
Water System: Water was brought from
springs in the hills through three miles of
open aqueducts, clay pipes, dams and
reservoirs. It was purified by passing
through a filter of three feet of sand and
charcoal. The water flowed from fountains
into lavanderías (laundry pools), and then
on to the fields for irrigation.
Mission Grounds: About 100 Chumash
Indians built adobe houses nearby.
Surrounding the buildings were large vats
for making soap and tallow, a 10-acre
vineyard, gardens and a pear orchard. La
Purísima was third of the missions in
agricultural production, and had over 20,000
head of livestock.
EARLY HISTORY
1787 Mission founded.
1788 Construction of first buildings made
of wood poles plastered with mud.
1802 New buildings made of adobe, roofed
with tile.
1834 Mission secularized, land divided and
taken from the Catholic Church.
1804 Father Mariano Payéras in charge.
1845 Land and buildings sold.
1812 Major earthquake with severe aftershocks, followed by a flood, destroyed all
the buildings. Temporary quarters for
mission workers erected nearby.
1874 Buildings returned to the Church, but
they were too dilapidated to be used.
1815 New site selected four miles NW
across the river, in a valley called Canyon of
the Watercress.
1815-18 Construction of more permanent
buildings; walls of residence building
buttressed with stone to provide extra
support against earthquakes.
1816-17 Drought caused the death of many
livestock.
1818 Fire destroyed many native houses.
1821 Bell wall constructed.
1823 Father Payéras died after 19 years at
the mission, (and four years as President of
all the missions).
1824 Battle between mission workers and
soldiers caused damage to the buildings.
1826 Church damaged by water seepage;
small chapel at one end of residence
building used as a church.
MISSION
LA
CONCEPCION TODAY
PURISIMA
The mission buildings continued to
disintegrate until the property was in a state
of complete ruin. In 1934 the State of
California acquired the site, partly as a
donation from the Union Oil Company, and
over the next six years a massive restoration
project took place under the leadership of
the National Park Service. Historians,
archeologists, engineers and architects spent
a year in research on the project, and then
worked with 200 members of the Civilian
Conservation Corps for seven years in
rebuilding the mission. Only fragments of
the original walls remained, but these
fragments were incorporated into the
rebuilding. As much as possible, originaltype tools and original methods were used to
make the thousands of adobe bricks, roof
and floor tiles (110,000 adobe bricks just for
the monastery building, plus 32,000 roof
tiles and 10,000 floor tiles).
At a dedication ceremony on December 7,
1941, the property became La Purísima
Mission State Historic Park. At that time it
was said to be the largest and most complete
historic restoration in the Western United
States. Today on 967 acres are 20 rebuilt
structures, about half of them furnished as
they would have been in 1820. A five-acre
garden area displays plants typical of the
mission period, as well as the breeds of
animals (longhorn cattle, burros, sheep,
goats, geese and turkeys) that were at the
mission in its prime.
Since 1973 a group of volunteers (Prelado
de los Tesoros, or Keeper of the Treasures)
staff the mission on special days as a living
history museum, playing character roles and
involving visitors in hands-on activities that
were part of daily life in 1820. La Purisima
today provides the most complete
experience of life in mission days.
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MISSION SANTA
CRUZ
Corner of High & Emmet Streets
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Established: August 28, 1791
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Order: 12th of the 21 missions.
Location: 75 miles south of San Francisco,
near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River
and Monterey Bay.
Named: For the Sacred Cross of
Christianity. Full name is Mission la
Exaltación de la Santa Cruz.
California Historical Landmark No. 342
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: Destroyed in the mid-1800's. It
was 112 feet long, 30 feet wide, 25 feet
high, on a three-foot stone foundation; made
of adobe with a stone façade (front).
Vaulted roof made of redwood beams, first
covered with thatch, later with tile.
Style: Little is known about what the
church looked like. A painting of the
building that hangs in the museum was done
after the mission was destroyed, and may
not be accurate. Probably there were large
stone buttresses on either side of the
entrance, to strengthen the walls against
earthquake damage. It is likely that
redwood was used for beams as it was
plentiful nearby. The only drawing of the
interior was done the day after the building
collapsed from earthquake damage.
pueblo (town) nearby. Repeated conflicts
between the settlers and the mission resulted
in the loss of land and goods by the mission.
Walls: Reported to have been five feet
thick.
Bell Tower: The painting shows a square
bell tower with a small domed top, attached
to the church at the right of the entrance.
Records from 1835 mention the existence of
ten mission bells, but none of the original
bells are there today.
Mission Compound: The quadrangle of
buildings around a central patio contained
living quarters, workshops, and a two-story
granary. Weaving was done at the mission,
but the small number of Costanoan Indians
here meant that many crafts were not highly
developed.
Mission Grounds: A mill for grinding corn
and wheat was in operation after 1796,
supposedly made from ironworks donated to
the mission by the English explorer Captain
George Vancouver, who stopped to buy
produce in 1794. Crops and livestock
flourished, but the mission was never
prosperous. Though the site had good soil
and plenty of fresh water, its development
was hindered by the establishment of a
EARLY HISTORY
1791 Site chosen and blessed on August
28; first services held on September 25.
Temporary church of poles and slabs of
redwood built near the river.
1793 Site for permanent church moved to
higher ground to avoid flooding in rainy
season.
1794 Church completed; dedicated May 10
MISSION SANTA CRUZ TODAY
1795 Quadrangle of buildings completed.
On the site of the old Mission Santa Cruz
stands the Holy Cross Church, a whitepainted brick, Gothic-style structure with a
tall steeple. It bears no resemblance to the
mission days, though the bell that hangs in
an arch is said to be recast from original
mission bells.
1796 Pueblo (town) of Branciforte founded
near the mission; among the settlers were
criminals given a choice of prison or settling
in this town. They did not share the values
of the Franciscan fathers.
1811 Church roof replaced with tile.
1818 Under threat of attack by the pirate
Hippolyte Bouchard, the Mission residents
fled to Soledad Mission, leaving orders for
the residents of nearby Branciforte to save
the valuables at the mission from the pirates.
Bouchard never came, but the townspeople
themselves looted the mission.
1825 Church damaged by earthquake.
1830's Large buttresses put on either side
of the church front, to strengthen the walls.
1834 Mission secularized, livestock sold
and land granted to individuals.
1840 Bell tower collapsed; roof tiles were
carried off by local residents.
1857 Earthquake caused the rest of the
church to collapse.
1858 Frame church built on the site.
1859 Mission returned to the Catholic
Church.
only mission Indian housing to have
survived. This is now a part of the California
State Parks system. Rooms in the building
have been restored to show how the padres,
the natives, and the soldiers lived in the
mission days. Tours are conducted by
volunteers who dress in the style of the
mission period.
Just 200 feet from the original site, however,
is a replica , less than half size, of the old
mission church, built as a memorial in 1931
by Gladys Sullivan Doyle, who was
interested in preserving California history.
The concrete exterior of this small chapel
has been modeled on as much as is known
of the original church, including the square
bell tower. There has been less attempt to
recreate the interior of the old church, since
so little is known. The chapel does have a
painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe which
dates from 1797 and may have been in the
old church. The chapel is used for weddings
and other private ceremonies.
A small museum attached to the chapel
contains some statues, candlesticks, and
paintings from the old mission. In the
garden is the original baptismal font carved
of local sandstone.
Less than a block away stands the only
original structure remaining from Mission
Santa Cruz. An adobe building built in 1824
was once thought to have been the soldiers’
barracks. Recent archaeological work
indicates, however, that this building housed
Indian families at the mission. If so, it is the
Go to Top
MISSION
NUESTRA
SENORA DE LA
SOLEDAD
36641 Fort Romie Road
Soledad, CA 93960
wide), converted from a part of
storehouse. Made of adobe; tile roof.
a
Style: Plain white building. Original
paintings of the 14 stations of the cross
adorn the walls of the chapel. Behind the
altar is a statue of Mary dressed in the black
mourning robes of a Spanish widow.
Bells: There is no bell tower or bell wall. A
single bell, made in Mexico in the 1790's,
hangs from a wooden beam near the chapel
entrance.
The fact that Soledad was never a large nor
prosperous mission may be due to the
climate which was hot, dry and windy in
summer, and freezing and wet in winter.
There was much sickness, especially
rheumatism, and most of the priests did not
stay long at Soledad. An exception was
Father Florencio Ibáñez, who spent 15 years
here. Any mission was considered to be a
place of refuge for anyone needing it, and
Soledad, being so isolated, was sought out
often for this purpose.
Established: October 9, 1791
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra.
Order: 13th of the 21 missions.
Location: In the Salinas River Valley,
about 30 miles SE of Monterey.
Named: Full name was Nuestra Señora
Dolorosísima de la Soledad, for Our Lady
the Most Sorrowful, Mary the mother of
Jesus. Spanish visitors thought the Indians
used the word soledad (Spanish for
loneliness) to refer to themselves, and the
area looked desolate.
California Historical Landmark No. 233
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: Little is known of the original
church. The building that has survived is a
small chapel (about 60 feet long, 20 feet
Mission Compound: Building was slow at
this mission and construction was repeatedly
destroyed by flood, but at one time there
was a small quadrangle of buildings
adjoining the church. It had living quarters
and storerooms, workshops for weavers,
tanners,
masons,
carpenters,
and
blacksmiths.
Mission Grounds: Though the site was
barren and dry when the mission was
founded, irrigation soon created a fertile
valley. At the peak of prosperity about 6,000
head of cattle and 6,400 sheep grazed on
mission lands. In the fields, crops of horse
peas, Spanish peas, corn, beans, and wheat
were grown. A 20-acre vineyard produced
grapes from which wine and brandy were
made. Water was brought from the Salinas
and Arroyo Seco Rivers through a five-mile
system of cement aqueducts built by the
Salinan Indians. Adobe huts for the workers
were nearby.
EARLY HISTORY
1769 Father Crespí first visited the area.
1771 Father Serra passed through and
talked with local people.
1791 Mission was established, to be the
halfway point between Mission San Antonio
de Padua and the Carmel Mission.
1792 Temporary church of brushwood
erected.
1797 First permanent church built of adobe
with a thatched roof.
1805 Church enlarged; perhaps tile roof
was added.
1824 Flooding from the river destroyed the
church; replaced by a smaller chapel.
1828 Again floods destroyed buildings,
including the chapel. Rebuilding was slow.
1832 More flooding and an earthquake
damaged buildings; part of a storehouse
converted into a chapel.
1834 Mission secularized, control taken by
the government. Father Sarría, who had
come in 1828, continued to serve as priest,
but number of native workers diminished.
1835 Father Sarría died; everyone else left
the mission; buildings began to decay.
1846 Mission sold; roof tiles sold to pay
debts to the Mexican government.
Buildings used as a ranch house for a few
years, then abandoned.
1859 Buildings and 42 acres of land
returned to the Catholic Church, but the
property was left deserted and the buildings
continued to disintegrate.
MISSION NUESTRA SENORA DE LA
SOLEDAD TODAY
For almost a hundred years, Soledad
Mission was abandoned to the weather. By
the 1950's the only walls still standing were
at one corner of the chapel. Under the care
of the Native Daughters of the Golden West,
a restoration project was begun.
regular basis since 1835. Services are held
just four times a year. Visitors can
appreciate the restored garden and a small
museum. Further restoration efforts are
being conducted by a local committee as
funds are available. Each October a Mission
Fiesta is held to raise money for the mission,
as well as a barbecue fundraiser held each
June.
In 1954 the small chapel was rebuilt using
adobe bricks that were handmade from the
dust of the old adobes. Gradually some of
the original possessions of the mission are
being located and returned to their places.
The original bell once again hangs on a
beam near the chapel entrance. The
paintings of the stations of the cross and
some of the original vestments (religious
garments) had been preserved at other
missions while Soledad was deserted. They
have now been returned to Soledad.
The residence wing of the original
quadrangle was rebuilt in 1963. Beyond it
can be seen the ruins of the other buildings
that once bordered the gardens. Excavation
has uncovered the tile floor of the original
church, with the graves of Father Ibáñez and
Governor José Arrillaga, Spanish governor
of Alta California frp, 1792-97 and 1800-14.
Soledad Mission is a part of the parish of
Soledad, but no priest has served here on a
Go to Top
MISSION SAN
JOSE
43300 Mission Boulevard
(P.O. Box 3159)
Fremont, CA 94539
supported by large buttresses. Semicircular
brick steps lead up a slight rise to the front
of the church. Interior was painted by
Mexican artist Agustín Dávila, who also
painted the wooden base of the copper
baptismal font. The paintings on the walls
give the perspective of marble columns and
balconies. The altar area has carved wooden
furnishings, 23-karat gold leaf trim, and a
very old statue of St. Joseph.
24,000 head of livestock on 20,000 acres of
land. However, much of the early activity at
the mission was of a military nature as
soldiers from the San Francisco Presidio
used it as a base to make forays against the
local tribes. In 1827 trapper Jedediah Smith
stayed at the mission, and Kit Carson was a
visitor there in 1830.
Established: June 11, 1797
Walls: Vary from four to five feet thick.
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Bell Tower: A low square tower adjoins the
church to the left of the entrance. The four
bells are originals.
Order: 14th of the 21 missions.
Location: 15 miles NE of San Jose on the
east side of San Francisco Bay.
Named: In honor of St. Joseph, husband
and protector of Mary the mother of Jesus.
The town had been named San José de
Guadalupe 20 years earlier. Full name:
Misión del Gloriosísimo Patriarca Señor
San José.
California Historical Landmark No. 334
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 126 feet long, 30 feet wide, 24
feet high; made of adobe and redwood. Tile
roof; tile floor.
Style: Plain; exterior undecorated except
for a dark wood gable. The side walls are
Mission Compound: A quadrangle of
buildings covered five acres with a padres'
residence wing, storerooms, and workshops. Father Durán and Father Fortuni
taught the Costanoan Indians how to do
carpentry, rope-making, leather tanning,
weaving, sewing, and shoe making. Unique
to this mission was a hot spring from which
warm water was channeled to a lavendería
(laundry basin) in front of the church.
Mission Grounds: The livestock at San
José started with 600 head of cattle and a
flock of sheep given by Mission Santa Clara
as a founding gift. The herds multiplied,
and the rich soil produced fine vineyards
and fruit and olive orchards. A flour mill,
soap factory, tannery, and adobe houses for
the workers were added. This was the most
successful of the northern missions both in
terms of numbers of native workers and
agricultural production. In 1832 there were
EARLY HISTORY
1795 Mission site selected and a cross was
erected.
1797 Mission dedicated; church of wood
with thatched roof built.
1805 Permanent church building begun just
south of first site.
1806 Father Narciso Durán began his 27
years at the mission, 20 of them working
with Father Buenaventura Fortuni.
1809 Church dedicated on April 22.
1819 Dam built across Mission Creek and
a flour mill erected.
1830's Agustín Dávila hired to decorate the
interior of the Church.
1833 Father Durán left; Zacatecan Order of
Franciscans (Mexican) took over from the
Spanish Franciscans.
1836 Mission secularized, control passed
to the government.
1846 Lands were sold. During the gold
rush, the mission became a trading post
where miners bought supplies.
1858 Mission and 28 acres of land returned
to the Catholic Church.
1860's Mexican tavern and hotel occupied
part of the Mission buildings.
1868 Mission church destroyed by an
earthquake on October 21.
1869 Gothic-style church of wood built on
foundations of the mission church. Called
St. Joseph's, it served as the parish church
until 1969.
MISSION SAN JOSE TODAY
By the early 1900's all that was left of the
original mission was a part of the padres'
residence wing. With some repair work in
1916 and again in 1950, a small museum
was opened in this building.
A major effort from 1982-1985 resulted in a
replica of the mission church built on the
site. Authentic materials and historical tools
were used, though the new adobe is
reinforced
to
make
it
stronger.
Archeologists unearthed some of the
original floor tiles. Richard Menn of Carmel
was able to recreate Dávila's paintings by
following the designs on the baptismal font.
All four of the original mission bells were
returned to the church.
In the museum are exhibits showing the
skills of the Costanoan (Ohlone) Indians of
the area, as well as life in mission days, the
work and the recreation.
Mission San Jose was well-known for its
orchestra and choir. Among other talents,
Father Durán was a musician, and he taught
the mission Indians to make and play
musical instruments. People came from
other missions to hear the concerts, and the
orchestra was in demand for weddings and
fiestas. In 1832 an inventory listed 20
violins, 4 bass viols, 1 contrabass, 1 drum, 1
hand organ, and 26 band uniforms. In 1819
Father Durán had requested a pipe organ.
That request was finally filled in 1989 when
a pipe organ (in the style of 19th-century
Mexican organs) was installed.
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MISSION SAN
JUAN BAUTISTA
Second & Mariposa Street
P.O. Box 410
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
one aisle, distinguish this mission church
from others. Open-arched walls separate the
side aisles from the main aisle. Inside walls
are painted in native-style designs and bright
colors by Thomas Doak, a Boston sailor
who took up residence in San Juan Bautista.
Some walls are painted to look like marble.
Bright red drapery wall behind the altar
holds statues in niches, including a life-size
statue of St. John the Baptist.
farming that began under the first padres has
continued to the present. Much trading of
hides and tallow (animal fat used in soap
and candle making) took place with the
ships that put into the harbor at Monterey.
Established: June 24, 1797
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Order: 15th of the 21 missions.
Location: 90 miles southeast of San
Francisco, in a sunny inland valley of oak
trees.
Named: In honor of St. John the Baptist,
noted in the Bible as a contemporary and
kinsman of Jesus. Also known as The
Mission of Music.
California Historical Landmark No. 195
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 188 feet long, 72 feet wide, 40
feet high; the largest of any mission church.
Made of adobe; tile roof; tile floor.
Style: Grand and large, though the front is
plain except for three arches and a single
square window. Three aisles, rather than
Walls: Three feet thick, with cement
supports.
Bell Tower: Original church had no bell
tower; bells hung from a wooden crossbar in
the yard. A New-England style steeple
added in 1867 was destroyed in 1915; a
stucco tower from 1929 was taken down in
1949. In 1976 a campanario (bell wall) in
the style of other missions was erected. Of
nine original bells, most have been lost. The
present campanario has three bells, two of
which are original. The third is a recent gift
from Father Lasuén's home village in Spain.
Mission Compound: Living quarters were
in a wing 230 feet long, fronted with 19
arches. Two of the arches (1st and 13th) are
square instead of rounded, perhaps to allow
for processions to pass through. A large
kitchen had a fireplace along the entire
length of the room. Also in the quadrangle
of buildings were workshops for carpentry,
weaving, candlemaking, and leather work.
Mission Grounds: Included 36 acres of
pear and apple orchards, and many herds of
animals, making this a rich mission. The
EARLY HISTORY
1786 Site was selected for a mission.
1798 Church and other buildings were
completed, of adobe with mud and tule
roofs.
1803
Cornerstone laid, amid much
ceremony, for a larger church, needed both
because of earthquake damage to the first
church and because so many Costanoan
Indians came to the mission. A bottle with a
description of the event inside was sealed
into the cornerstone of the church.
1808 Father Felipe del Arroyo de la Cuesta
arrived to take charge. He convinced the
builders to enlarge the church plans to
include three aisles.
1812 June 23, dedication of new church.
By this time, though, several earthquakes
had convinced Father Arroyo to have the
arches separating the aisles filled in, making
a single aisle church. Father Estévan Tápis
joined Father Arroyo at the mission.
1814 Town began to grow up around the
mission. A plaza was laid out in front of the
mission, and adobe barracks for soldiers
built across the plaza.
1820 Interior painted by Thomas Doak.
1835 Mission secularized; lands taken by
the government; priests continued to
perform services there.
1859 55 acres of land and remaining
buildings given back to the Catholic Church.
1867 Beginning of a period of extensive
modernization by Father Rubio. Steeple
added, interior walls and floor covered with
wood.
MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
TODAY
Though it is built right on the San Andreas
fault line, the 1906 earthquake did relatively
little damage to the mission, perhaps
because of Father Arroyo's filling in of the
interior arches. After 1906 the buildings
were strengthened with steel and concrete.
Continuous use of the church has kept it
from vandalism and decay. Renovators in
1949-1950 removed the stucco tower and
put the bells back on a crossbar. The
interior also was restored to its 1820
condition. The wall paintings done in 1820
are still bright.
music notes on sheepskins so that large
groups could read them easily. Also in the
museum is a famous hand-organ, said to
have been brought to California in 1792 by
Captain George Vancouver. A story told is
that a group of people attacking the mission
were so charmed by the music of the handorgan that they stopped the attack to listen.
Near the cemetery is one of the few places
where a section of the old El Camino Real
trail can be seen.
Mission San Juan Bautista is an active
parish church, serving a mostly Spanishspeaking community in much the same
setting as in 1820. Of the mission
quadrangle, only the large front wing is
standing. The plaza facing the mission and
the buildings around it (from the 1840's) are
designated a State Historical Monument.
Excavations in 1991 revealed the
foundations of mission Indian housing
dating from 1821 and 1824.
Renovation in 1976 opened up the arches
into the side aisles. The bell wall was
added. Visitors can see the restored kitchen
area, and a museum with a multitude of
interesting objects from the Mission's past.
The museum shows the influence of two
Franciscans who spent the most years there.
Father Arroyo spoke seven native dialects
and compiled an index of phrases and
vocabularies of the languages. Father
Estévan Tápis was a musician who taught
others how to read music, writing out the
Go to Top
MISSION SAN
MIGUEL
ARCANGEL
801 Mission Street
(P.O. Box 69)
San Miguel, CA 93451
Established: July 25, 1797
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Style: Plain, almost severe exterior
conceals an elaborately painted, glowing
interior, the work of Estévan Munras of
Spain, who taught Salinan Indians to create
murals. Paintings on the walls look like
balconies, doors and arches. Stenciled
designs of flowers, leaves and borders
alternate with painted pillars, all in pastel
colors which have retained their brilliance.
Behind the altar a painting of the "all-seeing
eye of God" blazes in gold and white above
the statue of St. Michael. An unusual
octagonal pulpit with a crown-shaped cover
is highly decorated. Floor bricks alternate in
rows of rectangles and squares. Roof and
ceiling beams of pine were carried 40 miles
from the Santa Lucia Mountains. The
church is dimly lit by four small windows.
Mission Grounds: Lands owned by the
mission extended for fifty miles north and
south and over the mountains to the ocean.
Several prosperous ranchos, including one at
San Simeon, provided grazing for 13,000
head of livestock, and acres of wheat fields
and vineyards. Closer to home were soap
works, roof-tile works, a gristmill and
granaries. An extensive network of dams
and viaducts provided a plentiful water
supply from the Salinas River and
underground springs.
Order: 16th of the 21 missions.
Walls: Six feet thick.
Location: In an inland valley near juncture
of Salinas/Nacimiento Rivers, about halfway
between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Named: For the Archangel Michael, chief
of archangels, Captain of the Armies of
God. One of three missions named for
angels.
California Historical Landmark No. 326
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 144 feet long, 27 feet wide, 40
feet high at the highest point. Built of adobe
on a stone foundation. Tile roof; brick
floors.
Campanario: First bell was hung on a
wooden scaffold in front of the church.
Much later, in 1939, a campanario (bell
wall) was built behind the church. It holds
three bells, one weighing 2,000 pounds,
recast in 1888 from bells from other
missions.
Mission Compound: A 200-foot-square
quadrangle had workshops for craftspeople
working with wood, leather, wool, stone and
iron. A unique walkway along the front of
the padres' wing has 12 arches of various
sizes and shapes, arranged symmetrically
around the center arches. This is the only
mission in which the arches along a
walkway are not uniform in size and shape.
EARLY HISTORY
1797 Under Father Buenaventura Sitjar,
who spoke the native dialect fluently, a
wooden church was quickly built (34 feet by
20 feet, adobe with a thatched roof) with
living quarters surrounded by a pole fence.
The site chosen for the mission was near a
Salinan Indian village called Vahca.
1878 Catholic Church reactivated the
mission; priest again in residence.
MISSION SAN MIGUEL TODAY
1798 Church replaced by a larger one, still
with a thatched roof.
1806
Fire destroyed many storage
buildings and supplies, plus the roof of the
church. Father Juan Martín started workers
making adobe bricks for a new church.
1816 New church construction begun, this
time with a tile roof.
1818 Church completed in record time
because of the supply of adobe bricks ready
ahead of time.
1820 Father Martín's friend, Estévan
Munras, offered to decorate the church
without charging for the work.
1836 Mission secularized, land distributed
to native workers; mission continued to
operate, but many workers left.
1841 Last Franciscan left San Miguel.
1845 Property sold. The William Reed
family lived in the buildings until 1848,
when they were killed by bandits looking for
gold.
1859 Mission returned to the Catholic
Church, but no priest was assigned and
buildings were rented to a variety of small
businesses.
Considering that Mission San Miguel for
many years was not maintained by any
group, it is amazing that it has escaped the
work of vandals and the devastation brought
to many missions by weather and natural
disasters. It has also been spared from the
hands of misguided restorers. By the 1850's
half of the quadrangle had disintegrated, but
the church, padres' residence wing, and
other outbuildings still stood.
century. It was modeled after the fountain at
Mission Santa Bárbara. Near it are the
cactus gardens that have been a part of
Mission San Miguel since the early days. In
the adjacent cemetery are the graves of the
Reed family.
Mission San Miguel is known as having the
best-preserved church interior of any of the
California missions.
In 1928 the Franciscans returned to use the
mission as a parish church and monastery.
They did extensive repair and renovation
work, including the addition of the
campanario to hold the bells, and have
maintained the buildings since then. The
church interior is much as it was when
Munras finished the painting in the 1820's,
the green, blue, pink and brown colors still
vibrant.
The wing that once held the padres' living
quarters is now a museum, with rooms
furnished as they would have been in
mission days. An interesting exhibit shows
how sheepskin is used in place of glass in
windows. Other exhibits show tools used in
mission crafts and industries, such as a
spinning wheel and loom, beehive oven,
branding irons, and metal forging tools.
The large fountain is a modern addition to
the mission grounds, added in the 20th
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MISSION SAN
FERNANDO REY
DE ESPANA
15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd.
Mission Hills, CA 91345
striking architectural features. The church
interior is brightly painted in native designs.
Behind the altar is a statue of St. Ferdinand,
backed by a wall of mirrors.
Walls: Seven feet thick at the base, tapering
to five feet thick at the top.
Bell Tower: Plain two-story square tower
wedged between the church and a wing of
the quadrangle, holding three bells.
Established: September 8, 1797
By: Father Fermín Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra.
Order: 17th of the 21 missions.
Location: In a valley 25 miles NW of Los
Angeles, on property owned by Spanish
rancher Francisco Reyes, mayor of the new
pueblo of Los Angeles.
Named: For Ferdinand III of Castile, King
of Spain (1217-1252), who founded
churches and a university. He was made a
saint in 1671.
California Historical Landmark No. 157
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 166 feet long, 35 feet wide. Made
of adobe. Tile roof.
Style: Church is plain and unimpressive,
eclipsed by the Mission House or Long
Building which is larger and has more
Mission Compound: A quadrangle of
buildings around a patio measured 295 feet
by 315 feet, and included storage, living
quarters for the Tongva Indians (later called
Fernandeños), a flour mill, and workshops
for making wine and brandy, candles and
soap, for carpentry, weaving, and saddlery.
Most imposing is the Long Building or
Mission House, built outside the quadrangle
to serve as the padres' quarters and as an inn
for travelers. This two-story building is 243
feet long, 50 feet wide; the four-foot-thick
adobe walls have deep-set arched windows.
It is bordered by a walkway with 21 arches.
The Long Building contains 20 rooms,
including a large dining room, kitchen, and
reception room, all richly decorated with tile
floors and ornate iron grillwork (blacksmiths
here were known for their excellent work).
Before 1971 a bell hung in a small arch
perched atop the roof, but it was toppled by
an earthquake.
Mission Grounds: 121,500 acres of land
gave space for the mission's biggest
industry, cattle raising. 21,000 head of
livestock led to a business in hides, tallow,
saddle and shoe making. The nearby pueblo
of Los Angeles was a market for the
mission's products including wine from the
32,000 grapevines, olives, fruits, nuts, and
dates. In the mid-1800's the mission
grounds yielded both oil and gold (in 1842,
six years before it was discovered at Coloma
in northern California). Though the traces of
gold found in an onion field lasted only a
few years, treasure seekers dug around the
mission for many more years, thinking the
padres had buried a fortune.
EARLY HISTORY
1797 Mayor Reyes' ranch house served as
living quarters while the first small chapel
and other buildings were constructed.
1799 First permanent church built.
1800 Church replaced by a larger building.
1902 Permanent pastor assigned to the
mission, the first since 1852.
and their guests lived. A library contains
many old books.
MISSION SAN FERNANDO TODAY
The bell tower now holds a carillon of bells
(operated automatically) installed in 1974,
incorporating five of the original mission
bells. A large star-shaped fountain in a
plaza across from the Long Building is an
original part of the water system that kept
the mission abundantly supplied. One side
of the original quadrangle has been restored
as a museum and workshop area. Once
again Mission San Fernando welcomes
visitors, as it did in its prime.
1806 Third and final church completed.
1808 Dam built on a stream about one mile
north of the mission; open ditches brought
water to the fields and buildings.
1810-22 Long Building under construction.
1812
Earthquake damaged the church;
new beams and brick buttresses (supports)
added as reinforcement.
1834 Mission secularized, taken from the
control of the Catholic Church. Used in
next years as military headquarters for
various officials, including Governor Pico
and Colonel Frémont.
1842 Flecks of gold discovered clinging to
an onion pulled from a mission field.
1846 Lands sold.
1861 Mission with 75 acres of land
returned to the Catholic Church, but
buildings were disintegrating. Beams, tiles
and nails were taken from the church by
settlers. Long Building was leased to a
succession of businesses, including a hog
farm.
1896 Landmarks Club under Charles F.
Loomis began efforts at restoration. A
shingle roof was put on the church to
prevent further collapse of the walls.
August 4, 1916, was a bright day for the
future of Mission San Fernando. On that
day, called Candle Day, about 6,000 people
paid $1 each for candles, then formed a
procession through the arches of the Long
Building to declare their support for
restoring the mission. Under the leadership
of the Landmarks Club and later the
Southwest Museum of Los Angeles, much
has been restored.
In 1923 the mission became an active
church again under the Oblate Fathers, and
the original church building was again used
for services. During the 1930's extensive
restoration of the church, Long Building,
and quadrangle took place. However, a
severe earthquake in 1971 damaged the
church beyond repair, and it was replaced in
1974 by a replica of the original building.
Another earthquake in 1994 severely
damaged the Long Building which had
survived so many years as the largest adobe
building in California and the largest
original structure remaining from the
mission days. Almost a year of repair work,
in which steel bars were used to reinforce
the interior, was needed to stablilize the
building. In its big hand-hewn doors can be
seen the small holes cut for the cats that
were acquired by the padres to cut down on
the rat population. Restored rooms of the
Long Building show how the mission people
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MISSION SAN
LUIS REY DE
FRANCIA
4050 Mission Avenue
San Luis Rey, CA 92068
formed by a long nave (chapel) crossed by a
shorter transept with two side altars. At the
crossing is an octagonal (eight-sided) domed
ceiling made of pine wood, centered with a
smaller dome of glass to let in the light (the
only mission with such a dome). The
interior, including each ceiling beam and the
pillars lining the walls, is colorfully painted
in native designs.
Water System: An intricate aqueduct
system brought water from a nearby river
through a series of 12 underground pipe
lines made of burnt brick. A charcoal
filtering system purified water for drinking.
Water from springs flowed out of the
mouths of two stone figures into a large
lavandería (laundry), where the mission
women scrubbed their clothes. The water
then went into the fields for irrigation.
Walls: Vary from six to nine feet thick.
Established: June 13, 1798
By: Father Fermin Lasuén, Franciscan
missionary and successor to Junípero Serra
as President of the missions.
Order: 18th of the 21 missions.
Location: 40 miles north of San Diego, in a
valley about five miles from the Pacific
Ocean.
Named: For Louis IX, King of France
(1215-1270), made a saint for his part in the
Crusades. Also known as King of the
Missions because it was the largest.
California Historical Landmark No. 239
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 180 feet long, 28 feet wide, 30
feet high. Built of adobe bricks; faced with
burnt bricks. Tile roof.
Style: Cruciform, or cross, design (one of
two missions in this style). The cross is
Bell Tower: A single domed tower served
as a bell tower and as a lookout from which
a guard could signal workers in the fields or
announce the approach of visitors.
Mission
Compound:
The
mission
buildings covered six acres around a 500foot square patio. There were more than 200
arches along the walkways that led to the
dormitories, an infirmary, kitchen, storage
rooms, and workshops for carpenters,
weavers, spinners, soap and candle makers.
The padres' wing had a balcony over it. In
the 1890’s, a second story was added to the
building.
Mission Grounds: In 1830 the mission had
30 square miles of land on which they
grazed 27,000 head of cattle, 26,000 sheep,
2,000 horses, plus pigs, goats, ducks,
chickens, and geese. There were large
wheat fields, vegetable gardens, vineyards
that produced fine wine, and groves of olive
and orange trees. Close to the mission
compound was a grand set of steps leading
down to an elaborate sunken garden.
Antonio de Pala: In 1815 a branch or submission (also called an asistencia) was
established about 20 miles east of Mission
San Luís Rey, at the foot of the Palomar
Mountains. This church, almost as grand as
a main mission, has a chapel 144 feet by 27
feet. The bell tower has two arched
windows, one above the other, in which the
bells hang. A small cross tops the tower.
The buildings serve as a church and school
for residents of the Pala Indian Reservation
(established in 1903).
1815 Official dedication of new church on
October 4.
1815-30 Construction of new buildings was
almost continuous during this time.
1834 Mission secularized, taken from the
Catholic Church, and the buildings sold to
private owners.
1846 Occupied by U.S. Army troops under
Captain Frémont.
1865 Some mission buildings and 65 acres
of land returned to the Catholic Church.
MISSION SAN LUIS REY TODAY
EARLY HISTORY
1798 Father Lasuén founded the mission,
then turned it over to Father Antonio Peyri,
who was in charge there for 34 years.
1802 First adobe church built to hold 1,000
worshippers.
1811 Work began on a larger church, with
assistance from the soldiers at the San Diego
presidio as well as from the Indians (called
Luiseños).
The neglect that began in 1834 continued
after its return to the Catholic Church. By
1892 most of the buildings around the patio
had collapsed and the dome of the church
had fallen. Many works of art and even tiles
from the roof had disappeared. In 1893
some Franciscan monks began to restore the
mission as a seminary for training new
priests. Father Joseph O'Keefe guided this
restoration in which fountains were
uncovered, bells were hung again, and old
treasures found and returned to the mission.
Mission San Luís Rey is now owned by the
Franciscans and serves as a parish church
and religious retreat center. An excellent
museum has recreations of a mission
kitchen, workshop, and a padre's bedroomcell. Some items on display were brought
here by Father Serra.
In the middle of the courtyard is a pepper
tree planted in 1830, thought to be the first
pepper tree in California. Mission workers
dried the peppercorns and ground them for
seasoning.
The restored buildings are painted a
gleaming white. Visitors can see the original
copper baptismal font, the wooden pulpit,
and a statue of Louis IX, patron saint of the
mission.
To the right of the entrance to the church is
an octagonal room with a domed ceiling,
decorated with many paintings and with
arches and columns made to look like
marble. This small chapel, now called the
Chapel of the Madonna, was originally the
Mortuary Chapel, where mission people
could go to mourn for the dead. The
cemetery is still functioning as a place
where people of all faiths may be buried.
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MISSION SANTA
INES
1760 Mission Drive
P.O. Box 408
Solvang, CA 93463
design features from earlier missions (San
Gabriel and San Luis Rey). Carved wooden
doors with a small arched window above the
entrance. Beams and rafters made of pine,
sycamore and oak brought 45 miles down
from the mountains, held together with
rawhide strips. Interior walls painted with
murals in native style; some walls painted to
look like marble. Dark brown columns are
painted on the exterior, flanking the door.
to the Santa Barbara presidio. 450 mission
workers lived in barracks adjacent to the
mission compound. At a water-powered
grist mill both corn and wheat were ground.
The water came from the mountains several
miles away through underground clay pipes,
to be stored in two reservoirs.
Established: September 17, 1804
By: Father Estévan Tápis, successor to
Fathers Serra and Lasuén as President of the
missions.
Order: 19th of the 21 missions.
Location: 35 miles north of Santa Barbara,
iamong rolling hills near the Santa Ynéz
River.
Named: Full name: Santa Inés Virgen y
Mártir. For St. Agnes, a 13-year-old Roman
girl who was martyred in 304 A.D. Also
known as Mission of the Passes.
California Historical Landmark No. 305
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: 139 feet long, 26 feet wide, 29
feet high; made of adobe faced with brick,
cemented with lime made from seashells.
Tile roof; tile floor.
Style:
Classic, designed by Father
Francisco Javier de Uría, borrowing some
Walls: Five to six feet thick with heavy
buttresses (supports).
Campanario: Three bells (one on top, two
below) hang in openings cut in a
campanario (bell wall). Bells were cast in
1807, 1817, and 1818.
Mission Compound: A quadrangle of
buildings formed a square 350 feet on each
side, around a patio. Lining the square were
living quarters, storerooms, work shops and
a guard house. A residence wing, which
extends from the church, had 22 arches
along a porch. A walkway on top of the
porch (similar to one at Mission San Luís
Rey) served as a balcony; a second story
was added later. Special skills of the
Chumash Indians here were leather and
metal work. They made fancy saddles
decorated with silver, and candlesticks and
other objects from copper and silver.
Classrooms were included, as Santa Inés
was a center for instruction of the Indians.
Mission Grounds: Fertile lands supported
13,000 head of livestock and excellent
crops, yielding enough food to export some
EARLY HISTORY
1804 Established with help from other
prosperous missions; adobe church with roof
of poles and thatch built.
1804-1812
Continuous building projects
enlarged the compound.
1812 Earthquake destroyed the church,
severely damaged other buildings. Work
was begun on new church.
Though never entirely abandoned, regular
maintenance at the mission was neglected
and by 1870 some buildings had collapsed.
The Donahue family lived in the buildings
from 1882-1898 and made some repairs.
Today the mission is an active church,
served by the Capuchin Franciscan fathers.
Much of the interior is original, including
the tile floor and the baptismal font made of
zinc and copper by native craftsmen. The
statue of St. Agnes over the altar was carved
in wood in the early 1800's.
In 1904 Father Alexander Buckler began a
20-year clean-up, patch and repair program.
He rebuilt the campanario, which had
collapsed in 1911, in a different form.
Major restoration in 1947-48 and 1953-54
returned the campanario to its original style
and began the rebuilding of the residence
wing. The balcony walkway, which had
been roofed over since 1817, was discovered
and restored.
In 1972 the mission gardens were restored in
the shape of a cross, with a fountain in the
middle. Eighteen of the 22 arches along the
residence building have been rebuilt. The
ruins of arch number 19 stand waiting. The
museum in the residence wing has a large
collection of garments used by the
Franciscan fathers in religious services.
Ruins of the gristmill built in 1820 by
Joseph Chapman are nearby.
MISSION SANTA INES TODAY
1817 Present church dedicated on July 4.
1820 Gristmill built by Joseph Chapman,
who came to the area as a pirate with
Hippolyte de Bouchard. Chapman left
pirating and settled at Santa Inés, where his
skills in carpentry and engineering were put
to good use.
1824
Conflict between soldiers and
Chumash Indians at the mission resulted in
fires that destroyed some buildings
including part of the church.
1825 Repairs made; interior repainted in
designs seen today.
1836 Mission secularized, part of buildings
rented out; padres kept the half that included
the church, which became a parish church.
1843 Governor gave 350,000 acres to
Bishop Francisco García Diego to establish
a school, the College of Our Lady of
Refuge, the first college in California.
1846 College moved to another site;
Mission lands sold.
1862 Some of the property was returned to
the Catholic Church.
MISSION SAN
RAFAEL
ARCANGEL
1102 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
Established: December 14, 1817
By: Father Vicente de Sarría, President of
the missions at that time.
Order: 20th of the 21 missions.
Location: 15 miles north of San Francisco,
between Mt. Tamalpais and San Francisco
Bay, on the north side of the Golden Gate.
Named: For the Archangel Raphael, patron
of good health, considered the messenger
"who announces the healing of God." One
of three missions named for angels.
California Historical Landmark No. 220
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Mission House: Unlike other missions, a
church was not the first building at San
Rafael, which was established as a branch of
Mission Dolores (in San Francisco) to serve
as a sanitarium or hospital for ailing mission
workers. Mission House was 87 feet long,
42 feet wide, with storerooms, kitchen, and
living quarters sharing the building with
hospital facilities. Made of adobe. The
church was built a year later at one end of
the Mission House.
Style: Mission House was plain, bordered
on one side by a long porch held up by
square wooden posts, with a thatched roof.
Church was connected to the Mission
House, set at a right angle to it. Church also
was plain with a square door and small
square window above it. Made of adobe.
The baptistry was a small lean-to at one side
of the building.
Bells: There was no bell tower or bell wall.
Four small bells hung on a simple wooden
frame just outside the entrance to the church.
Mission
Grounds:
The
traditional
quadrangle of mission buildings was never
developed at San Rafael. Nevertheless,
many Costanoan and Coast Miwok Indians
became a part of San Rafael Mission, and a
colony of native huts surrounded the
Mission House. At first, the main business
of the mission was healing. The damp,
foggy weather at Mission Dolores added to
the slow recovery of the victims of the new
diseases brought by settlers and soldiers.
Mission San Rafael, on the other hand, was
in a sunny, sheltered spot, which helped
people get well. The hospital was first
supported by supplies from Mission
Dolores. Soon, however, the San Rafael
workers were raising a small herd of cattle
and harvesting crops, even more than they
needed to feed themselves. There were
skilled workers in other trades as well,
including boat building. This was one of the
few missions where boats were built.
EARLY HISTORY
1817 Mission founded as a hospital branch
for Mission Dolores, and also to protect the
Spanish interests against the Russians, who
had established Fort Ross on the coast to the
north. Father Luis Gil y Taboada (from La
Purísima Mission) placed in charge because
he had medical knowledge. Hospital
building erected.
1818 Church added to one end of the
original building.
1822 Full mission status was given, under
the leadership of Father Juan Amorós.
1828 It is recorded that more than 1,000
people were living at Mission San Rafael.
1834 Mission secularized; taken from the
Catholic Church and put under the control of
Governor Mariano Vallejo (commandant of
the San Francisco Presidio). Vallejo took
much of the livestock, equipment and
supplies, and even the fruit trees, to his
ranchos in nearby Sonoma.
1842 Mission abandoned; lands sold.
1846 Captain Frémont and his men found
the buildings deserted and used them as
shelter.
1855 6½ acres of land returned to the
Catholic Church, but the building was in
ruins.
1861 Sold to a carpenter, who soon
demolished the church.
1869 Gothic-style church built on the site.
Mission San Rafael church was constructed.
This building is near the original site, though
oriented in the opposite direction. It faces
the mountains, while the old mission church
faced the bay. It is crowded onto the
property of St. Raphael’s Church, a larger
church on the site that serves as the parish
church.
The new Mission San Rafael is made of
concrete plastered to look like adobe bricks.
The design of the building relied on artists’
drawings and remembrances of people who
had seen the old mission. One artist,
drawing pictures of the missions for a series
of postcards in the early 1900’s, added a
star-shaped window above the door. This is
similar to the star window at Carmel
Mission. The postcard artist may have
wanted to make the little mission church
look fancier. When the reconstruction was
done in 1949, the postcard picture was
thought to be accurate. It is now considered
most unlikely that Mission San Rafael had
such a window.
The bells at Mission San Rafael hang from a
simple wooden frame in the front yard. The
interior of the new mission church is modern
in design with only a few mission-style
features, such as an arched sanctuary and
deep-set windows.
MISSION SAN RAFAEL TODAY
Nothing remains of the original Mission San
Rafael buildings, and no actual plans exist to
show how they were laid out. In 1949, with
funding from the Hearst Foundation, a new
A small museum in a wing attached to the
church exhibits some paintings of the
original mission and the few existing statues
and art objects from the mission, plus some
objects from other California missions.
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MISSION SAN
FRANCISCO
SOLANO
114 East Spain Street
Sonoma, CA 95476
Established: July 4, 1823
By:
Father José Altimira, a Franciscan
missionary assigned to Mission Dolores in
San Francisco.
Order: 21st of the 21 missions.
Location: 40 miles north of San Francisco
in an inland valley called Sonoma, or the
Valley of the Moon. Most northern of the
missions.
Named: In honor of St. Francis Solano, a
Franciscan born in Spain in 1549, who spent
20 years as a missionary to the Peruvian
people. Also known as Sonoma Mission.
California Historical Landmark No. 3
DESIGN OF THE MISSION
Church: First church was made of wood,
whitewashed with mud; used for three
years. Replaced by a larger church made of
adobe on the opposite side of the compound;
destroyed in 1838. Restoration is based on a
church built on the original church site in
1840, after the Franciscans had left. This
church is 105 feet long, 23 feet wide. Tile
roof.
Style: None of the three churches had any
grand distinguishing characteristics. The
1840 church was plain, built of adobe and
decorated on the exterior only by wooden
beams above the recessed entrance and
windows. Inside walls probably had
paintings in native style and colors.
history, there was little time for this mission
to develop in the way that the earlier
missions did. Also, this mission was not
well managed by Father Altimira. His
replacement, Father Buena-ventura Fortuni,
tried to undo the damage of the first three
years, and is credited with what limited
success Mission Solano had.
Bells: There was no bell tower or bell wall.
A single bell was hung from a simple
wooden frame in front of the church. The
original bell at the mission was a gift of the
Russians at the Fort Ross settlement. A later
bell was made in Mexico in 1829.
Mission Compound: The monastery wing
was a long, low adobe structure which
provided living quarters for the mission
staff. It had a covered porch supported by
square posts, rather than the arched supports
typical of many missions. The quadrangle
also included workshops, a granary, a
guardhouse, and barracks. The Coast Miwok
Indians who lived here were especially
skilled in weaving cloth.
Mission Grounds: Though Mission Solano
was never as prosperous as most other
missions, it did have over 10,000 acres of
orchards, vineyards, grain fields, and
livestock grazing lands. There were kilns
for firing tiles, and many roofing tiles were
made here. Being established so near the
end of the mission period in California
EARLY HISTORY
1823 Father Altimira chose a site and
started building a church without the
approval of the President of the Missions.
He wanted his mission to replace Mission
Dolores and Mission San Rafael. The
Mexican Governor liked this, because it
would provide a better defense against the
Russians who were along the coast at Fort
Ross. Altimira was allowed to go ahead, but
the other two missions were not closed.
1824 First church, made of wood and
plastered with mud, was dedicated; other
buildings were soon constructed. The
Russians sent fine gifts to the mission.
1826 Church was destroyed by fire. Father
Fortuni replaced Father Altimira; he
replaced wood and thatch buildings with
adobe buildings.
1827-32 Church replaced with a larger
church at the east side of the quadrangle.
1834 Mission secularized, with General
Mariano Vallejo appointed as commissioner
of the lands. He distributed some property
to the mission workers, but then transferred
them to his own ranchos.
1835 Vallejo laid out the town of Sonoma,
with a large plaza in front of the old
mission. Tiles from the church were used to
roof Vallejo's house.
1838 The 1827 mission church was torn
down.
1840 Vallejo had a chapel built on the site
of the 1824 church as a parish church for the
town of Sonoma, which was growing up
around the mission site.
1846 On June 14 Sonoma was taken over
by a group of American settlers who
declared a "California Republic," took
General Vallejo prisoner, and raised the
Bear Flag. The Bear Flag flew over
Sonoma until July 9, when the American
flag was raised in Monterey.
portion of the mission still in existence.
Where once there were 27 rooms around a
courtyard, now there are five. A museum in
this building houses a collection of historic
paintings of all the California missions.
Also on the plaza in Sonoma are the restored
barracks, built in the late 1830’s by General
MISSION SOLANO TODAY
The mission buildings were neglected
for many years. From 1880 to 1900
they were used for a variety of purposes,
including as a winery, a blacksmith
shop, and as storage for hay. In 1903 the
Historic Landmarks League, under the
direction of Congressman Joseph
Knowland, purchased the mission
buildings, and later deeded the site to
the state of California. The 1906
earthquake caused severe damage to the
remaining buildings.
From
1911-1913,
State
funding
provided for the restoration of the 1840
chapel. Further restoration took place in the
mid-1940's. The reconstructed church is not
used regularly for religious purposes.
Mission San Francisco Solano is now
included in the Sonoma Mission State
Historic Park, which is part of the California
State Park System. The monastery (or
padres’ quarters) wing is the only original
Vallejo to house the Mexican army troops.
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