San Juan Capistrano: (Find on Yelp)

While researching the San Juan Capistrano I learned the simple facts. This mission was the Seventh Mission in the Catholic California mission chain. The date the mission was founded was October 30, 1775 by Father Lasuen. The date the mission was refounded was November 1, 1776 by the famous Father Serra. Altogether all the founders are officially titled as follows: Father Fermin de Lasuen and Father Junipero Serra. The mission itself was officially named after St. John of Capistrano, Italy, a theologian and inquisitor of the 14th century. 

Unique to this specific mission San Juan Capistrano was founded twice. Mission San Juan Capistrano is the seventh mission founded November 1, 1776 by Fr. Junipero Serra. Previously established by Fr. Fermin Lasuen October 30, 1775, but abandoned because of Indian unrest at Mission San Diego. The mission was named for St. John of Capistrano, Italy, a theologian and inquisitor of the 14th century. The Great Stone Church begun 1796; competed 1806; destroyed by earthquake 1812. Mission secularized 1833, sold 1845, and returned to Church 1865. while researching the San Juan Capistrano I learned about a pirate attack on the mission. In 1818, the mission was visited by California's only pirate, Bouchard. Equipped with two sailing ships, he attacked missions on the coast in the name of a South American province which was engaged in revolt against Spain. His connection with the revolutionists was more fiction than fact, but he found it provided a convenient excuse for his attack on the settlements. Having been warned of Bouchard's approach, Padre Geronimo Boscano gathered up his neophytes and fled into the interior. The little mission guard made a feeble effort to hold off the pirates, and succeeded only in spurring their foes to do greater damage. 
When the padres returned, they blamed the soldiers more than the pirates for conditions they found, especially as the wine barrels seemed to be the principal objects of attack. While researching the San Juan Capistrano I also learned about the numbers. I learned about the cattle numbers which was considered a source of value and worth to the priests. San Juan Capistrano well as this the mission being a mission the number of converted Indians was a sign of worth as well and I learned their number as well. In 1819, there were over 31,000 animals, cattle, sheep, horses, mules, goats and pigs on the livestock rolls, owned by the Mission. In 1812, the year of the disastrous earthquake, there were 1361 Indian "neophytes" under the care of the padres. 
In 1865, part of the former mission holdings were returned to the Church and some attempt was made to halt further decay. The results were ineffective and the condition of the mission continued to deteriorate. Lucky for us however this was only so until 1895 when Charles Fletcher Lummis, founder of the Landmarks Club, was able to set up a more permanent protection. This protection has been able to keep up and manage this mission since then for it to be the mission it is today.

San Fernando: (Find on Yelp)

The Basics about the San Fernando are as follows:

• Fernando is the seventeenth mission in the chain to be founded.
• The date Fernando was founded was September 8th of 1797.
• The mission was named after Saint Ferdinand, King of Spain.
• The founder of the Fernando mission was Father Fermin Lasuen, the soon to be president of the California mission chain.

While researching the San Fernando Mission I learned about how the friars were originally from Baja. The Franciscan Friars who were assigned to the Baja missions were chosen to lead the expeditions to Alta California. Interestingly enough for the religious types they were accompanied by the military in order that would protect them in cases of danger (which meant killing any wild beasts or natives that they confronted and felt were threatening). Father Junipero Serra was chosen Superior of the Franciscans and Gaspar de Portola was the military leader. Five expeditions were dispatched from New Spain (Mexico) - three expeditions by sea and two by land.
Also while researching the San Fernando Mission I learned about the misfortune that befell it. The entire goal of the mission was neophytes, converted natives. After 1811, the neophyte population began to decline, and their lessening numbers coincided with the decreasing productivity of the mission. Soon there were frequent times when the padres were barely able to supply the produce demanded by the military headquarters in Los Angeles. Further misfortune occurred during the earthquake of 1812 when a considerable amount of rebuilding was necessary to insure the safety of the buildings.


I by God's graciousness was able to acquire an average on the amount of livestock they had to look after in those days. After the early eighties, the years that passed were peaceful. At the height of its prosperity, Mission San Diego possessed 20,000 sheep, 10,000 cattle and 1,250 horses. It covered an area of 50,000 acres and had a great reputation for its wine.

Lastly while researching the San Fernando Mission of course, I learned about the restoration of the mission. When restoration began in 1931 only the facade (front wall) of the church and the base of the belfry (bell tower) remained. Using these, the church building and the bell tower were rebuilt in exact duplication of the original. Recently, a long entrance was added, which, from sufficient distance, indicates the size and appearance of the original structure. The mission's relics, while interesting, are not extensive for most of them are now in the Sera Museum, a public repository of mission history which stands on the opposite side of the valley, some miles to the west. It is an active Catholic parish and is visited by thousands of fourth graders from throughout the state studying California history.


San Gabriel: (Find on Yelp)

The Main facts about the San Gabriel are as follows:

• San Gabriel was the fourth mission in the chain.
• The San Gabriel mission was founded September 8, 1771.
• The mission founder was Father President Junipero Serra.
• The mission was named after the Archangel Gabriel.

While researching the San Gabriel mission I came to learn the father’s orginal plan In 1771, the arrival of 10 more Franciscan missionaries at Father Serra's headquarters in Monterey changed his plans. Immediately he moved to close this gap between his own San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo near Monterey and the mission at San Diego. This mission was much further to the south. In the summer of the same year, two new missions were to be established, one, San Antonio de Padua, in that time a day's journey to the south of Carmel, and the other north of San Diego. This second mission, fourth in the chain, was to be called San Gabriel Archangel.
Also while researching the San Gabriel mission I also was able to learn about the economy of the time. Mission San Gabriel was a busy and active mission. The economy at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was similar to the other missions in that they planted crops of wheat and corn. They also planted vineyards, and raised cattle and sheep. The agriculture was needed not only to maintain the mission community and the nearby Indians, but was used for trade and served the visitors in the mission.
Again while researching the San Gabriel mission I learned about the relations with the natives. There are nearly 6,000 Indians buried at Mission San Gabriel Archangel. The Indians near the mission were from the Gabrielino Tribe. At first there was trouble with the Indians as the soldiers treated them very poorly. But in time, the padres gained the Indians confidence as soon there were many Indians living at the mission. Many of the Indians were hired as workers and servants in the pueblo (a word for the community center of their day) of Los Angeles.

San Buenaventura: (Find on Yelp)

While researching the San Buenaventura mission I learned the basics about the mission. San Buenaventura is the ninth established mission in the 21 California mission chain. The date Buena Ventura was founded just so happens to ironically be Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782. This mission’s founder was the original mission president Father Junipero Serra. The mission and the city were both named for St. Bonaventure, Franciscan Mystic and Doctor of the Catholic Church. While researching the San Buenaventura mission I also learned about how this mission as previously noted was supposed to be the third mission in the chain and how that position related to San Diego the next mission I am going to be researching. According to plans the explorers made at Loreto before the first expedition started for Alta California, they felt that a third mission would need to be established half way between San Diego and Monterey. It was the intention to put this station at San Buenaventura. Once in California, however, certain circumstances including whether and earthquakes intervened and it was 1782 before the opportunity for actually founding this mission occurred. In March of that year, a conference of some importance took place at Mission San Gabriel. Those present at this conference were Father Serra, three of his Franciscans, Governor Felipe de Neve, and the ex-sergeant, Jose Ortega, now a lieutenant after Father Serra's unsuccessful campaign to have him appointed to be the governor of California. There is a chain of command in how a mission is established. There was a meeting between Fr. Serra and de Neve that was very much of importance to the missionaries. The reason for this was the governor had been in the territory almost five years now, and he is who the president must speak to establish any further missions. For the first time since his arrival he had agreed to discuss the establishment of a new mission. Fr. Serra received word that six new Franciscan padres were being sent from the College in Mexico City but there were other difficulties to be work out before construction. 

San Diego: (Find on Yelp)

While researching the San Diego mission I learned about the missions main facts. San Diego was the first ever established California mission in the 21 mission Catholic Church Chain. This first ever mission, San Diego, was founded on July 16th 1769. The founder of this mission was the first of the California mission Presidents, Father Junipero Serra. The mission was named in honor of Saint Didacus of Alcala. Through out my research of this mission I also have learned about the magnitude of respect the San Diego mission deserves from the religious world. San Diego de Alcala, as it is professionally known, is the first of the great California Missions. It marks the birthplace of Christianity in the far West. It was literally California's first church. This remarkable and significant historical shrine gives those who get the opportunity to visit it an understanding and appreciation for the beginning of Christianity in this corner of the world. This area was also revolutionary to the church because it was so remote from the Mother Country of Spain and yet so similar, in the way it was used to spread God’s message to the natives of California and all those who passed through. I learned about the first few cities and missions founded by the Spanish and the historical relation this mission has with San Miguel. For thousands of years, the American Indians lived in this area that is now known as California. Since all of the maps before the 18th century depicted California as an island, the Spanish explorers saw no reason to make settlements. However in 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, an explorer commissioned by the monarch of Spain, arrived in San Diego bay and named it San Miguel after the saint whose feast day was closest to the landing according to the Spanish tradition. In 1602 Sebastian Viscaino, leading another Spanish expedition, entered the harbor and renamed it San Diego after Saint Didacus of Alcala, Spain whose feast day was closest to the landing. San Diego was also the name of the flagship for this expedition, because of its order in the missions founded.

San Antonio:

The San Antonio mission was founded July 14 1771 as the third of the 21 California missions. The founder of this missions name was Father Junipero Serra. The mission was named in honor of St. Anthony, who was laid to rest in Padua, Italy, when he died. The San Antonio mission’s full name is really San Antonio de Padua. While researching the San Antonio mission I learned that San Antonio was not originally going to be the third mission in the series of 21. Instead the San Buenaventura mission was actually supposed to be the third mission. The reason San Buenaventura was not was because the conditions were deemed not right for its founding, and Fr. Junipero Serra did not want to wait until they were. He decided to build the new mission in the San Antonio Valley, in Monterey County. This area had been chosen during the Portola expedition in 1769. They gave their campsite the name "La Hoya de la Sierra de Santa Lucia." “This valley, at the foot of the Santa Lucia Mountains was known by Serra as the ‘Valley of the Oaks’” (better known now as Los Robles). Also while researching I learned about the expedition that found the area on which the mission is today. 

“Early in July, 1771, a little party of Spanish missionaries, headed by three Franciscan padres, walked into a beautiful, oak-mantled valley near the coastal region of central California.” There they set up camp and prepared for the devotion they always did. A huge bronze bell was moved from the mule-pack and secured to a lower branch of one of the nearby trees. The Franciscan fathers were unusually careful in their preparations, because they camped that night knowing that this would be more than just a mere overnight camp site, but that they would establish a house of God here. This was to be the site of a new mission named in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua who meant a lot to these missionary fathers. For a while no one spoke, then, suddenly, the oldest padre leaped to his feet and ran forward to the bell. With all his energy, he rang the heavy clapper back and forth. The woodland silence shattered into a thousand clashing echoes, but the old man rang on even louder. In a strong, clear voice that matched the fervor of the bell, he called out to the empty wilderness about him. He said "Oh, ye gentiles! Come, come to the holy Church! Come to receive the faith of Jesus Christ."His two companions seemed embarrassed of the old man's uncontrolled emotion but they said nothing. The aged Franciscan was their leader, Father Junipero Serra. He was the President of the Franciscan missionaries, who first established the Christian faith in California. Finally, the youngest, Father Miguel Pieras, grew alarmed for the well-being of his superior and said, "Why, Father, do you tire yourself? There is not a single gentile in the whole vicinity. It is useless to ring the bell." To this of course Fr. Serra turned to him and rebutted, "Father, let me give vent to my heart which desires that this bell might be heard around the world."

And the old Father was right because the California missions truly are a gift to this world now. Just like every other mission before and after masons for this mission came from already previously established sister missions in this case there were only two previously established missions. The padres at San Antonio pushed building operations from the start. During the year 1776, the church was roofed with mortar and tiles and a street lined with adobe dwellings for the Indians was completed. Storerooms, barracks, warehouses and shops were erected, and irrigation ditches were dug to carry water to the fields from the San Antonio River. The mission had various improvements done in 1778. The close proximity of the San Antonio river was a big part of the upgrades added to the mission. In 1778, improvements expanded to include construction of an adobe building on the San Antonio River. Construction and repair kept up its pace with production and population increases at the mission. The additions to the mission included the following a grist mill, tannery, numerous storehouses and factories, garden walls, corrals, wells, and an extensive network of stone lined irrigation ditches added over the coming years. A building 133 feet long for the church and sacristy was started in 1779 and finished the next year. Some old records revealed that there was quick progress in building during the next few years. The new church was completed in 1813 and was connected to the already set up water powered mill for grinding grain. The native community in the area grew much more quickly as the improvements were made. Wells were dug and a reservoir and aqueduct was built. There were heavy rains that came in the San Antonio in 1825 and this caused the collapse of a number of the constructed structures, but these were replaced by larger and stronger buildings not long after the rains stopped. After Mexico won its independence from Spain, it also won the missions but found that it could no longer afford to keep the missions running as Spain had done. In 1834, Mexico decided to end the mission system and sell all of the lands. Of course the natives in the area just like the ones near all the other missions were close to the mission fathers. Being close with the mission the natives were offered the mission. However these natives did not want the lands or could not come up with the purchase price. The lands were divided into smaller Ranchos and sold to Mexican citizens who were helpful during the war for independence.The present reconstruction to make the mission what it is today did not get under way until 1948. The only reason it was able to start then was the mission received a grant of $50,000 from the half-million dollar fund established by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation for mission restoration. As a result of all the time past, Mission San Antonio today is largely a reconstruction rather than a preserved ruin. Something that I found interesting is that the little hills of earth that once had formed the adobe brick of the original walls were carefully reformed in the same simple fashion practiced by the padres and their neophytes 150 years before. 

San Luis Obispo:

The San Luis Obispo mission was the fifth of the 21 California missions. The mission was discovered in 1769. This mission was given its name, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, during the expedition in which it was found.  This mission was actually not to find more land for missions but actually to find the Monterey bay. The mission was founded on September 1, 1772. The founder of the San Luis Obispo mission was Father Junipero Serra, a prominent face in the founding of many missions after this one. The mission was dedicated to Saint Luis, Bishop of Toulouse. Along with the San Luis Obispo mission The Valley of the Bears was so named by Don Gaspar de Portola and his men on their first expedition from San Diego north in search of Monterey Bay in 1769. This mission just like its predecessors and later to come sister missions were all made by the same set of masons. In August of 1772, Father Serra received word at his mission in Monterey that the San Carlos and the San Antonio had arrived in San Diego with supplies. The two ship captains shared a bad idea of their previous journeys to the north, and had mutually decided that San Diego would be as far north as they would venture. They forwarded this opinion to Fr. Serra with the suggestion that supplies be taken overland from the southern port. Friar Serra immediately set off for San Diego, determined to persuade at least one captain to sail to Monterey. The Friar unlike the masons and sailors truly wanted to move forward with the mission chain. While researching the San Luis Obispo mission I learned about the dangerous of the expedition that it took to find the land on which the San Luis Obispo mission was laid. Slowly the group march northward on their journey, Portola (The man that discovered the valley of bears) and his soldiers fittingly encountered many bears between the mouth of the Santa Maria River and the present site of San Luis Obispo, and killed some of them for food. In their graphic diaries of the journey, Fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez told of an astonishingly large number of bears. When starvation threatened the early settlements, they wrote, a hunting party sent out by Portola returned with more than 9,000 pounds of bear meat. It was at the same moment of this hunt, a few months later that Mission San Luis Obispo was founded. Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded on September 1, 1772 by Father Junipero Serra, President of the California Missions Chain. It was the 5th mission in the 21 mission chain in Alta California. It was named for Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse. It is the only mission with an L-shaped church. The mission site was selected as it is midway between San Diego and Monterey. Father Serra left one priest to begin the buildings, Father Jose Cavalier.When Father Serra left the mission, there was little in the way of food. There were however, many bear. The local Chumash Indians were grateful for the Spaniards guns that killed the bear as they were giving the Indians a terrible time. The Indians brought food to the soldiers who were helping out with the bear problem. In 1872, during the 100th anniversary of the mission the real improvements began. It wasn't until Father John Harnett came to the mission in 1933 that real restoration began. Harry Downie was in charge of the restoration. Harry was the same man who created the L-shaped church to accommodate more people at services. As you know there was a period after Mexico won its independence that the missions were sold to private owners, this period was known as secularization. The mission fell into apart during the period of secularization and the priests that were left would rent out rooms to help support the mission. The Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa became the first courthouse and jail in the San Luis Obispo County.

Santa Barbara:

The Santa Barbara mission’s official founding date was December 4, 1786. The mission’s founder was Father Fermin Lasuen, the same founder as many of the previous missions. In April of 1782  the mission was dedicated to Saint Barbara. This Spanish mission unlike many of the others was not found by someone that was involved with the mission itself. Santa Barbara, like San Diego and Monterey, was listed on the Spanish maps of California long before the arrival of the Franciscans. It was named by Sebastian Vizcaíno around 60 years after its discovery by Cabrillo in 1542. From the time of the first march of the Portola expedition, it had been known as a likely good spot for mission settlement to be established.  When the mission’s governor finally met the expedition at Santa Barbara, the new presidio was quickly established. Missions President Father Serra was an eager participant in preparing the military chapel. After this had been completed and the governor did not make a move toward the creation of the projected mission, Fr. Junipero approached de Neve and asked him when he intended to order the work on the mission. The governor replied that Santa Barbara could wait until the Franciscans were willing to follow the new plan, which had been ignored at San Buenaventura. In their hearts each probably knew that the other would never give in and since the governor had obviously won at Santa Barbara, there was nothing for the defeated father to do but to return to his own mission at Carmel. It was five years before the Father President received word that a mission would at last be placed at Santa Barbara. By that time, de Neve was gone and his place had been taken by the former governor, Pedro Fages. Some years before, Fr. Serra had made the long trip to Mexico in order to secure Fages' removal and it must have been a discouraging experience for the aging padre to learn that his former enemy had returned. The old father did not survive long; he passed away on August 28, 1784, leaving the burden of mission problems to be taken over by the able and willing Father Lasuen.Padre Junipero Serra, who founded the first nine missions, had died 1784. Serra had planned to build this mission, raising the cross at the presidio of Santa Barbara in 1782. It was Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, his successor, who raised the cross here and placed Padre Antonio Paterna, a companion of Serra, in charge. Paterna put up the first buildings and made the first converts.  First of all Santa Barbara is known as the "Queen of the Missions". The story of the "Queen of the Missions" goes like this, on a spring day in 1782 the Padre President of the California Missions, Father Junipero Serra, and the Spanish Governor de Neve founded (as Serra supposed) the presidio and mission of Santa Barbara. I also learned that nowadays the mission archives preserve the record book of the mission which the earnest padre carefully started on that day. But it is said that the arbitrary governor would not allow the actual establishment of the mission, and a frustrated Father Serra retired to Carmel, where he died two years later on August 28, 1784. Father Fermin Lasuen, one of the missionaries who had arrived with Serra at San Diego, became the new Padre President and the actual founder of Mission Santa Barbara, December 4, 1786. Santa Barbara was the first mission founded by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, Father Serra's successor as President of the California missions. Although Father Serra dedicated the site of the Fort Santa Barbara presidio in April of 1782, he did not have permission at that time to found a mission in Santa Barbara. The Governor at that time, Filipe de Neve, was jealous of the power he believed the Franciscans gained with each new mission. Through his superior, the Viceroy in Mexico, he was able to delay the necessary funding for new missions.Lastly I learned about the importance of the time period of Serra's unfortunate death. Unfortunately, Father Serra died only one month after the new Governor gave him permission to found his longed for mission in Santa Barbara. It was Father Lasuen who traveled to Santa Barbara and selected the mission site. It was one and a half miles northeast from the Presidio Fort. The mission was founded in a hilly area called "rocky mound". The Santa Barbara mission was founded in the perfect place for a beautiful view of the valley and channel beside it.

San Miguel:

While researching the San Miguel Mission I learned about the beautiful architecture put into the San Miguel mission, and the area in which it was built. The San Miguel mission is situated along the El Camino Real between Missions San Antonio and Mission San Luis Obispo. The inside of the mission has actually never been repainted. The coolest part of the fact that the inside of the mission has never been repainted is that the original interior painting of the mission San Miguel was done by the Native Americans in that area. Inside we can find various religious murals directed by artist, rancher and Spanish diplomat Esteban Carlos Munras and painted by the San Miguel Natives. This mission is considered the best preserved of all the California missions in the mission chain. One reason this mission may have been so well preserved is because in 1946 only eleven years after the Catholic Church had secularized the mission was sold for $600 as private property, and obviously the owner did not disturb any part of its original design.Today the mission is surrounded by modern brick and stone structures which may match the mission but are as I've stated modern and as such not part of the original San Miguel area. In fact the Native Americans were literally next door neighbors to the mission. The San Miguel Natives lived off of the land. For this reason the natives were attached to this building as an inherited part of their culture. This being so, the natives helped this mission survive throughout the years. As of today the only part of the mission structure itself that still survives is the base foundation. While researching the San Miguel mission I also learned about the day to day work done on the mission. The San Miguel mission was always vibrantly busy with farm work to do. The economy of this mission much like its counterparts is sustained by wheat and corn (the staple crops), vineyards, and farm animals such as cows and sheep. The main work done by the San Miguel mission natives was the manufacturing of roof tiles. This process thanks to the natives is considered a main reason why this mission was one of the most prosperous of them all. Also this mission was detrimental to the other missions because the Miguel missions traded their tiles with other missions and these missions because of the different weather and earthquake patterns needed these roofing materials to rebuild their structures. Mission San Miguel has the only church with paintings and decorations inside that have never been retouched by subsequent artists. The view presented to the visitor, except for the more modern bench pews. The church is exactly the same as that seen by the Indian converts. In its museum, a good amount of effort was put in to present the tools used in mission industries like, a spinning wheel and loom, a beehive oven, fish traps, branding irons, forging tools, and a tile kiln. The tile kiln is even still in operation.One of the most interesting of the exhibits is a "mission window". The reason this missing window is so interesting is because it is type used before the padres obtained glass. It is a wooden frame, over which cowhide is stretched very thinly, then shaved and greased to increase its translucence. These frames were pegged into the window openings during periods of cold or inclement weather. The long and leisurely road that formed El Camino Real, used to be a passage that travelers took across California and they’d stop in at the mission because of how close it was on their journey. Today people still use this passage to move across California because now it’s a huge highway but now many of its travelers speed past Mission San Miguel without pause. However every so often travelers are attracted to the beauty of the adobe mission and its gardens, so they stop and discover for themselves achievements of these California natives and pioneers. So this just goes to show past or present those missionaries who decided to place this mission right next to the El Camino Real were some very smart cookies because travelers from all over pass it every day.

San Inez:

While researching the San Inez mission I learned about the discovery of the land on which the mission was found. A Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was given credit for the discovery of the Santa Barbara Channel during an exploratory voyage in October 1542. He is said to have claimed the land in the name of the Spanish king. Sixty years after Cabrillo claimed the land Sebastian Viscaino named the channel in honor of Saint Barbara as he sailed in on The Eve of the Feast of St. Barbara, December 3, 1602. Also a century after this Franciscan Missionaries joined the Spanish military in settling “Alta” or upper California with the goal of a political and spiritual conquest of the new land. While in Mi guel there was only one real form of financing the economy Inez  there are multiple forms and way of the economy making money. The natives of the area are known as the Chumash. These natives made up the bulk of the money put into the economy. They had a diversified and interdependent economy based on their many talents and craftsmanship. I learned about the people that found this area. In the early 1500’s the Portuguese navigated the area near Inez. One of the Portuguese navigators was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the discoverer who found the Santa Barbara Channel. Through this channel the Spanish raveled to this area and charted the land that they would later build their mission upon. Also I learned about the specifications of the building. In 1804 the mission was just a row of buildings. These buildings were 232 feet in length and 19 feet in both height and width. This construction style reminds me of the longhouses that Native Americans sometimes lived in. The mission President Fermin Francisco de Lasuen claimed the land Inez was on for Viceroy Branciforte. Inez was the 16th mission founded. One of the main purposes of the new mission was a station during travel between Mission San Luis Obispo and San Antonio. The mission system was so devised that each mission was a day's travel from its neighbor. In my research of the Inez mission I learned about the original claiming of the land on which The San Inez Mission was founded. The Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo as I said before was the man credited for finding the Santa Barbara Channel. This discovery was supposedly during an exploratory voyage in October 1542, in which he claimed the land in the name of the Spanish king. Sixty years later a man named Sebastian Viscaino renamed the channel in honor of Saint Barbara, the ship on which he sailed in on. He started his sailing voyage December 3, 1602. It was going to be years before the Franciscans were able to launch their new Mission. The reason for this was the governor died, so approval was then needed from his successor, Jose de Arrillaga, in Baja California. Being unfamiliar to the area Governor Arrillaga wrote to Father Lasuen in April 1803. He wrote about the number of guards that would be needed for the new Mission, but then Father Lasuen died. The Capuchin Franciscan fathers were the priests who did the restorations. They began full restoration of the Mission in 1947. When men working to restore the mission removed the roof from part of the building, they discovered several rooms that had been used as living quarters in the previous century by the Mission fathers. This revealed a balcony with rooms behind it, above the arches. Many repairs were made on the roof of the church and sections of the south end of the building were actually completely remodeled, unlike the rest which is mainly still intact.

La Purisima:

While researching the La Purisima mission I learned about the area that the mission was in and the date of its founding. The La Purisima mission was founded in 1787. The mission land has decreased since its active days. The Spanish who owned the mission in 1787 owned 470 square miles of land that they used for the mission and agricultural activities involved with it. Bordering the La Purisima Mission were the Santa Maria River to its North and the Gaviota coastline to its South. The Chumash people made up the bulk of the mission neophytes, or priests in training. Hours worked by the neophytes were not to exceed five hours per day. To keep them at the mission unfortunately even pregnant, nursing, and aged women, as well as children were required to perform small amounts of work. This light work was called piece work. The neophytes were taught how to deal with the soldiers and other people outside of the mission. The neophytes did not like to work for the soldiers because the soldiers over-burdened them, or deprived them of the necessities enjoyed by those at the mission.The La Purisima mission was founded by Father and Mission president Fermin de Lasuen. He founded this mission as the 11^th of the 21 California missions that were to be established. The mission was dedicated to “the Immaculate Conception of Most Holy Mary.” The mission’s rather long official name is Misión La Purisima Concepcion De Maria Santísima. The La Purisima mission was solely established to convert the Chumash Natives to Catholicism and make them subjects under the King of Spain. This mission was one of five specific missions in the area dedicated solely to the conversion of this specific native people. The idea behind this of course was labor, the Chumash Natives were a large people and to have control of them as a work force would be a huge benefit to the king. The site chosen for La Purisima Mission was known to the Spanish as the plain of Rio Santa Rosa and by the Chumash as Algsacpi. Unlike what I had expected to read in my research I discovered that for the most part the Chumash while they weren't exactly respected they were treated quite well. The Chumash neophytes, or ministers in training, actually lived on the mission grounds. While the natives were the bulk of the work force they never worked over five hours per day of course not including work considered piece work. These tasks usually only included cooking and cleaning. The padres had many ups and downs with their first few years of construction. By far the Chumash natives had to be their most favors up, while they did have to attract them to the idea of helping the padres with work the fact that they did is what made this mission venture even possible. The construction projects included the church, living quarters, workshops, storage, water systems, and clearing land for all of the above as well as an area for planting. The planting that they had to clear land for varied from crops, to orchards and even vineyards. In 1802, church structure was completed. This project heightened the Padres' fear about their lack of construction knowledge and their need for skilled craftsmen at the mission. The doorway of this structure still stands at the original mission site. This mission is now owned by the City of Lompoc. For the construction masons from other missions were brought in. There were little coin or forms of money in use in California at the time. The main items used for trading were soap, cigars, horses, cattle, hides and tallow. Obviously, there were supplies that the mission could not produce on their own. Each year, ships from San Blas, Mexico, brought china sugar, fine cloth, and other commodities and these items were exchanged for mission products. The fathers yearly received four hundred dollars worth of mission equipment. Of course as expected it started with the natives. The natives felt that the mission was a blow to their tribe’s pride. As such they left the mission life. Without the natives, the backbone and blood of the mission, the work could not be done. Without the mission prospering it fell apart and was sold.
 

Carmel - Bautista and Soledad

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo: (Find on Yelp)

Father Junipero Serra, president of the mission chain at the time, was a man true to his vow of poverty. When Father Junipero Serra died on August 28, 1784, his only possessions were a board cot, a blanket, one table, one chair, a chest, a candlestick, and a gourd, and nothing else. He is buried in the Mission sanctuary along with Fathers Juan Crespi and Fermin Lasuen. In 1985, Pope John Paul II declared Junipero Serra venerable and in 1988 he was beatified in recognition of his heroic virtues. He is one of the most important figures in the history of California and the United States of America. The mission had to take responsibility for sustaining itself through the long winters and dry summers. During the summer of 1773 came without bringing the supply ship. Neither Carmel nor Monterey was anything like self-supporting. The presidio had some cattle and the stock belonging to the projected northern missions. No doubt there had been some planting but certainly no more than was necessary for its own personnel. In December '72 Father Crespí had sown about five bushels of wheat and a bit of barley in the field called San Jose. Early in '73 he planted a few pecks of beans and corn in the field called San Carlos. The land in both cases was but poorly spaded as they were not able to plow. July 5, there fell a frost which ruined the beans and half the corn. The rest yielded about fifteen bushels. The soldiers in the area didn't help too much in persuading the neophytes, most of which being Native Americans, to keep the faith. Father Junipero Serra realized that Monterey was not a very good location for his mission. There were too few Indians and it was too close to the presidio and the soldiers (some of whom were "leather-jacket" soldiers, who were often recruited from jails). Serra did not want his Indian neophytes exposed to their influence. Also, there was no good agricultural land around Monterey, and the mission would have to grow much of its own food. When the ship San Antonio left on July 9, 1770, just five weeks after the founding of Monterey, it carried a message asking permission to move the mission to Carmel. As at the presidio, the first buildings at the new mission site there were logs stuck into the ground, with additional logs forming a framework for a thatched roof. The first buildings included one room for a chapel, a four-room dwelling, a granary, and a dwelling for the servants and its kitchen. These were surrounded by a stockade about 130 by 200 feet in size, which included a guardhouse for the soldiers. After the new mission had been settled, life was divided between short intervals of sufficiency followed by long waits for additional supplies from Mexico. The early years were hard, with few provisions. The padres depended mostly on the Indians for supplies. Later local crops became sufficient, and the temporary buildings were replaced with adobe structures.

San Juan Bautista:

The mission was founded in summer of 1797. The founders name was Fr. Fermin de Lasuen, and he was the President of the California Missions. This mission was the fifteenth mission to be founded. At the time of Mission san Juan Bautista’s founding the California Missions president was Father Fermin Lasuen. This area lands right on the San Andreas Fault line. An interesting this about the part of the fault they were on was that is was not very dangerous at all and the magnitude of its shakes and quakes never caused to extensive of damage. While the damage and magnitude of these quakes was never extensive to frequency was. An account of one past visitor of the old mission was “In October 1798 the shaking was so bad that the missionaries slept outside for the whole month. The earth shook as many as 6 times on one day, leaving many huge cracks in both the buildings and the ground.” While researching the San Juan Batista mission I learned the supposed story of its founding. According to the Athanasius privately owned California missions records site, it all “began with a group of leather-jacketed soldiers and a few Native Americans watching a tonsured Franciscan priest raise his eyes and hands toward the sky.” With religious inspiration Father Fermin Lasuen founded the mission site. The site was founded in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The founding happened Saturday June 24^th 1797 and was the 15^th of the 21 missions in the California mission chain. The mission fortunately for the people of that time was furnished by a skilled American carpenter. Half-way through his job the carpenter, Thomas Doak decided to marry the daughter of one Jose Castro. Doing such according to Spanish law at the time gave him the choice to be American or Spanish and seeing as her family was his only family he became Spanish. I see this as slightly ironic because while today people in Mexico try to find employment in America, usually being work in the same category as carpentry and usually seeking citizenship, this American in his own time period came to a Spanish territory to do carpentry work and ended up a Mexican citizen. The San Juan Buatista Mission actually has its own legend. This legend was the legend of the Mission del Rio de los Santos Reyes. As the story goes this mission wasn’t a mission at all but rather was just the result of the mission fever that these Spanish missionaries had. “In 1831, a Boston stonemason, Caleb Merrill, arrived at Mission San Diego. His services were appreciated at once by the Franciscans, and it was not long before he was working at Carmel. A short time later, a missionary expedition arrived at San Juan Bautista leaving behind them a pile of adobe masonry which was still evident in the 1860's.” So that’s the story the all famous Mission del Rio de los Santos Reyes was nothing more than a pile of rubble that the stonemason’s decided not to lug across the kings river. Lastly and most interesting to me is the musical instrument that the mission acquired which was a big deal seeing as the missionaries were big on being dirt poor in order to grow closer to God. “An English barrel organ was acquired in 1826 and this crank-operated music maker produced wonder and enjoyment for the neophytes.” This was a new idea for the mission because of the type of music organs would be used to play. “The organ is an odd thing to have in a church, though. Its tunes are reported to include "Go to the Devil, Spanish Waltz, College Hornpipe, and Lady Campbell's Reel.", tunes better known by rowdy sailors than pious fathers.” Also the mission was used in a horror movie no less. “The mission is seen in Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo. Fans of the movie may notice that the bell tower, featured in two dramatic scenes in the movie, does not exist.”


Soledad:

While studying the Soledad mission I learned a little about the background some of its most prestigious friars had. The two friars of whom I speak are Fr. Marino Rubi and Fr. Bartolome Gili. They had known each other forever it seemed before they were working side by side at the mission. Their story began back in college when they were both attending the College of San Fernando. In their records it’s said that “they were a constant source of alarm and discomfort to their fellows and the charges against them range from robbing the storeroom of the community chocolate to rolling balls through the college dormitory after midnight.” (According to athanasius.com) The mission Soledad actually didn’t have a name when it came to where it was now it was just an idea of one of the missionary monks that the mission could be used well in this area. The name of the mission was actually taken from the native people. When the Spanish missionaries came to the area the mission is now they were led by a native American man who answered every question the missionaries gave them with one solitary word that seemed similar the Spanish word for solitude. Soledad was that Spanish word for solitude and even though this wasn’t the word the native used being that the mission was a Spanish mission its name soon evolved into a Spanish word. The land under the mission was beautiful rolling hills and valleys. While these valleys may have been inviting in the spring the winter invited only floods. For this reason I saw I learned about the native relationship to the mission; the natives and the mission monks had to struggle to survive together many winters. I wouldn't know off hand what it’s like to truly depend on someone for survival during floods but I could imagine it’s a mighty emotional process. The mission monks, the natives, and frankly everybody else in the area depended on the river for life. That river was not only used for drinking and fishing but for irrigation throughout the land. The name solitude really describes this mission area well because the mission other than that one river was a desolate hill covered valley. Besides the minter flooding and summer turning the area into a desolate desert another natural disaster that frequented the area was earthquakes. I also learned that the mission wasn’t only owned by the Catholic Church. I learned that when Spain lost its power over Mexico and Mexico gained its independence the Spanish sold the mission to a private owner. The reason for the sale was without Spain occupying Mexico any longer keeping control of the missions would be too much of an economic hassle. In 1841 the Catholic Church decided that they should just sell off the property from all 21 missions this way they would just cut their losses and save themselves a lot of money. The mission was sold for a heaping 800 dollars which at the time was a lot of money. Fortunately for both history and the Catholic Church Abraham Lincoln in 1863 signed an act declaring that property from all 21 original Spanish missions should be returned to the Catholic Church. While the length of this mission’s survival in comparison to the other missions is not in any way better the damages it recovered from were extensive. The Soledad mission functioned and with stood drought flooding and even earthquakes for a good 60 years. The mission had a give and take relationship with the resident natives in the area. The natives either were related to or were themselves neophytes in the Catholic Church the fact that the church was used as a hospital for the gravely ill diseased natives the local Nootka natives was why the natives felt responsible for the survival of the mission so during the natural disasters that often struck this mission the monks weren’t alone in fighting the elements.

The Twin Cities and Santa Cruz

Santa Clara:

The Santa Clara mission was named the same way the city was. The city of Santa Clara was named after Saint Claire. Saint Claire was from a place known as Assisi. This is why the mission is known as the Santa Clara Asis. The founder of this mission was Fray Tomas de la Peña (Junipero Serra). This eighth mission was founded on January 12, 1777. There is an entire college named after this mission. As well as this there is also a cemetery names after the Santa Clara mission. In this cemetery are buried some of the dead Native Americans that came to this mission too late to be saved. It seems that this college is really connected to it. The first sight that greets visitors to Santa Clara University. on the outside at least, looks exactly lie the restored church of Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Santa Clara University, the oldest college in California, is also the only college in the state to be the successor of a Spanish mission. The history of both institutions is intimately bound up with the history of the state. While researching this mission I learned about the original exploration Gaspar de Portola took in the land that became the Santa Cruz mission. European explorers first saw the Santa Clara Valley in 1769. When Gaspar de Portola’s took his land expedition to Monterey Bay it continued up the coast to San Francisco, then rounded the southern tip of San Francisco Bay. Other early expeditions passed through the valley during the 1770s. The diarists of these expeditions, such as Juan Crespí, Francisco Palou, Pedro Font, and Juan Bautista de Anza, described the Santa Clara Valley as a broad grassy plain covered with oaks and well-watered with marshy creeks and rivers, whose courses could be traced from a distance by the trees growing along their banks.During the original expeditions exploration was overseen by Spanish Viceroy Antonio Bucareli. This mission site had something special about it that I did not know about. This site was the home base of the viceroy’s expeditions. One of these expeditions, in 1774, was specially ordered by the Spanish Viceroy Antonio Bucareli to select sites for future missions. Just as I had said before in the Santa Clara cemetery there are buried some of the dead Native Americans that came to this mission too late to be saved. As one of the mission commodities there was a hospital but because medicine in the colonial period was still a medieval science many were lost and laid to rest in this cemetery. This cemetery still takes recipients and is a part of the cities heritage. Anna S. a local resident and critic of the Santa Clara Mission cemetery from yelp told her story about how the mission cemetery is a part of her life, “This is a cute and well-maintained cemetery. For some reason I used to play here in the sprinklers as a kid. my parents are not exactly the religious type. It’s a pretty peaceful place to hop the fence and just chill out in, at night. not that I’d do that at my age, I am a law-abiding citizen.” One a less present note another interesting part of the missions work was the conversion of the native groups in the area and the connection they had to the mission. “The Indians the missionaries wished to convert, known as Costanoans (from the Spanish Costenos, or people of the coast) or Ohlones (an Indian word of uncertain meaning), had lived in the hills and valleys around the Bay for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish. Unlike the Indians of Mexico, the Ohlones built no great cities, nor did they develop agriculture. They lived in tiny settlements, called by the Spanish rancherías, and survived by hunting and gathering. Although their staple food was the acorn, ground by the women in stone mortars and made into porridge or cakes, they varied their diet with fish and shellfish from the Bay and rivers, with seeds and roots from the meadows, and with venison, rabbit, and quail. The Ohlones lived a peaceful life in harmony with their environment, a life that changed irrevocably with the coming of the Franciscan missionaries.” When researching the Mission Santa Clara I realized how this mission is connected with Mission San Jose. Of course the Santa Clara mission came first. The padres did their best to keep the mission and the pueblo separated. They did this with strong knowledge of the detrimental influence of civilians on the neophytes. Ultimately, mission and pueblo grew into the twin cities of Santa Clara and San Jose. 

San Jose:

Mission San Jose was founded June 11, 1797.The founder of the Mission San Jose was Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. He was the President of the California Missions Chain. As this he had in mind plans for multiple more mission sites in the California area, so this site was almost a headquarters for his mission plants.The site on which the mission president was saying with was no accident. He chose this site because of the access it gave him to the routes to his other missions. The site was part of a natural highway by way of the Livermore Valley to the San Juaquin Valley. Currently the mission of course is in San Jose. The Mission Church and museum are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. San Jose mission is the only mission east of the San Francisco Bay Many sources incorrectly name Mission San Jose as Mission San Jose de Guadalupe. “The site chosen for the only mission on the east side of San Francisco Bay had been inhabited for countless generations -by the Ohlone Indians. Their village at this site was known as Orisom. The Ohlones lived close to the land in harmony with nature, taking what they needed for their sustenance but never wasting irreplaceable resources. What we could call ecology was a way of life for them. Their food included seeds, roots, berries, acorn meal, small game and seafood. Three years after the founding of Mission San Jose, several hundred Ohlones had come to live at the Mission. They were introduced to a new way of life by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries. Thousand of cattle roamed the mission ranges. Acres of wheat and other crops were planted and harvested under the direction of the padres.” The men did a variety of jobs, having learned from the missionaries how to plow, sow, irrigate, cultivate, reap, thresh, and glean. In addition, they were taught to build adobe houses, tan leather hides, shear sheep, and weave rugs and clothing from wool, make ropes, soap, paint, and other useful articles. The work day was six hours, interrupted by dinner and a two-hour siesta, and ending with supper and social activities. About 90 days of the year were religious or civil holidays, free from manual labor. More recently,  After extensive archaeological excavations and planning, construction began in 1982 on a replica of the 1809 adobe church. It was completed and rededicated on June 11, 1985. With its simple and forthright exterior, the mission church stands as a tribute to those whose efforts made this dream come true. The richly decorated interior follows the descriptions in the historic inventories of the 1830's when the church had been extensively decorated. The walls vary in thickness from 4 to 5 feet. The lumber used in the reconstruction has been given a hand-hewn appearance. Two of the original statues have been placed on the two side altars. "Ecce Homo", a figure of Christ clothed in a scarlet robe and crowned with thorns, stands on a balcony above one of the side altars.

Santa Cruz:

The area along Monterey Bay's northern shore got its name years ago before a mission was built there. In 1769, Captain Gaspar de Portola rode through the area and gave it the name Santa Cruz (which is Spanish for Holy Cross). Father Francisco Palou crossed the San Lorenzo River in 1774. Father Francisco Palou was impressed by the amazing look and feel of the country around him. He all the beauty found in the plants and forest of tall trees, and concluded the place would support a large and successful community. The full Spanish name of the mission is "Misión la exaltación de la Santa Cruz." The mission was named after a feast day in the Church calendar which occurs on September 14: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast was to celebrate the Christian symbol of the cross on which Jesus was crucified." In the beginning, the new Mission Santa Cruz was successful, and experienced only a few problems. Although the first rainy season in 1791 caused the San Lorenzo River to flood, the padres (priest or "fathers") ended this problem by moving the mission buildings higher up the hill. On February 17, 1793, work began on a new church that had a stone foundation and five-feet-thick adobe made brick walls. It was 112 feet long and 29 feet wide, and took a year to build. This was to be the main church at the mission for about 65 years. Father Fermin Lasuen (the current father-president of the mission system a the time) arrived at the Santa Cruz location 22 years after Captain Gaspar de Portola rode through the area. On August 28, 1791, he raised a large cross on the site he had chosen for the next mission, which officially was named Mission de la Exaltation de la Santa Cruz. A more formal ceremony was planned for about a month later, but when the day came, (September 25, 1791), Father Lasuen was too busy to be able to attend. Therefore, Father I. Salazar and Father B. Lopez, the first Franciscan priest at the mission, conducted the formal ceremony. Either August 28 or September 25th may be considered the founding date of the Mission Santa Cruz, which is the twelfth mission established in Alta California. Branciforte, the county where mission was, was conceived as an 18th Century welfare state, in simpler word this place was an old fashion poor city With the Spanish idea of mixing the races which had proved so effective in colonizing other provinces in Latin America, every Native American chief had a house marked as a residence of an Indian "chief." It was believed that such an arrangement would hasten the development of the natives into ideal Spanish citizens. While the plan had worked admirably in some parts of Mexico, there were no real Indian chiefs in California. What leaders there were presented a dismal contrast to the Spanish kings of the Indian civilizations to the south? Indians did come to Branciforte, but not as fellow citizens. Neophytes were the ministers in training and were usually Native Americans from the area. Usually they were runaway neophytes from across the river who were soon ensnared by the pleasures of the tempting bottle, alcohol,  and pressed into service by the indolent whites. While researching about this specific mission I learned some of the terrible ways in which people killed off native, like poison blankets. The natives not only ran away to avoid the terrifying diseases but also to escape the strict rules and harsh punishment that often occurred at the mission. Some priests would order the soldiers stationed at the missions to carry out beatings for many "offenses," including working too slowly, going near Branciforte, or bringing dirty blankets to church. Punishment also included wearing leg irons, or being thrown into prison. Soon the priest ordered that once the natives were baptized, they could not return to their villages in the hills. However, many natives tried to leave, perhaps not fully understanding this change. Captured runaways received the worst punishment. Even so, in 1798 alone, nearly one-fourth of the native population ran away.


Special Thanks to: http://www.athanasius.com for research purposes.