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A broader truth about CA Missions and Native Americans 

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A broader truth about CA Missions and Native Americans 

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Each day, countless residents pass by San Francisco's oldest building, Mission Dolores. Its modest white adobe chapel- dedicated 225 years ago this August- rests in the shadow of its sister basilica on 16th and Dolores streets. Every year, 300,000 visitors tour its historic church and cemetery (one of two remaining graveyards in San Francisco). The city of San Francisco emerged from that site, where Franciscan missionary Francisco Palao, under the direction of Father Junípero Serra, established a mission in 1776.

The story from there depends on whom you ask.

Last September, Pope Francis canonized Junípero Serra, the first saint canonized in the United States. During the mass in Washington D.C., the Pope said of the friar, "He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God's life in the faces of everyone he met; he made them his brothers and sisters. Junípero sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it."
Old Mission Dolores next to the newer basilica. Photo: ECV-OnTheRoad/Flickr

But according to journalist and author Elias Castillo, this couldn't be further from the truth. Castillo calls Serra "a madman" who, blinded by his single-minded goal of saving souls, oversaw the enslavement and deaths of thousands of California Indians. (The California Indians we spoke to for the story preferred that term over "Native American.") In "A Cross of Thorns: The Enslavement of California's Indians by the Spanish Missions," published last year, Castillo draws on seven years of research to present a scathing history of the mission period between 1769 and 1833 and the subsequent Mexican and American rule.

Castillo, a three-time Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist and former reporter for the San Jose Mercury News and Associated Press, discussed his book with indigenous author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz at a January talk entitled " The Destructive Legacy of Junípero Serra and the Mission System," held at Hayes Valley's Green Arcade Books. We spoke with him about what he uncovered, and went in search of what others in San Francisco had to say.

In 2004, an op-ed Castillo wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle caught the attention of the U.S. Congress. The article criticized a Senate bill to help fund the missions' restorations for language depicting them as places of harmony between Spanish and Indians. Castillo wrote:

What the bill utterly omits is that locked within the missions is a terrible truth - that they were little more than concentration camps where California's Indians were beaten, whipped, maimed, burned, tortured and virtually exterminated by the friars.
Statue of Junípero Serra in Golden Gate Park

Then-Nevada Congressman Jim Gibbons read Castillo's words into the Congressional record, and before the bill passed, all language praising the Missions was stripped away. "That's when I decided, OK, this is big enough," Castillo says. "So I wrote a book."

Castillo spent seven years gathering research, paging through volumes of Serra's writings, combing university libraries, and searching the historical archives at Mission Santa Barbara and in his home country of Mexico.

A Brutal Tale

In his book, Castillo details the two-plus centuries of Spanish colonization leading up to the mission period, when conquistadores destroyed native people and cultures in what is now Mexico and the Caribbean. As much of Europe moved toward the 18th century Enlightenment, Castillo describes a Spanish empire in the midst of the Catholic-led Inquisition, hampered by a doctrine of fatalism, a rigid caste system, illiteracy, and trade and manufacturing restrictions.

In 1767, Spain's New World empire was facing a threat from Russian fur traders making their way south from Alaska. King Carlos III devised a plan to establish presidios, pueblos, and missions up and down the Alta (Upper) California coast to guard their land. He ordered the California Indians educated and Christianized, thereby transforming them into Spanish subjects and reinforcing Spain's claim to the land. (Franciscan missionaries would later ignore the education mandate, Castillo writes.) Lacking the financial and military resources necessary for such an undertaking, however, the governors turned to the church for help.
Replica of an Ohlone Indian ruway, or small house, at Mission Dolores

Helming the expedition would be Franciscan padre presidente, Junípero Serra, a keenly intelligent theologian and devout Catholic. Alongside Spanish soldiers and a few pioneers, the Franciscans embarked on an arduous trek up the California coast. Between 1769 and 1823 they established 21 missions throughout California, nine of them before Serra's death.

Serra was single-minded in his goal, says Castillo. "His attitude was that he was there to save souls for God, and it didn't matter what type of life [the Indians] had in the missions. If they died soon, then that's more souls to heaven. That's what was in his mind. To keep the Indians free from sin."

Towards this end, Castillo describes long buildings, called "conventos," where the missionaries locked all Indian girls over age ten to keep them separate from males. The buildings often contained one or two buckets for hundreds of girls. Conditions were ripe for disease, and epidemics spread constantly.

Some of the first Indians to visit the missions were impressionable teenagers, Castillo says, curious about the Spaniard's steel weapons and the friars' promises of an easier life. "Then they found out at bayonet point they were not allowed to leave." Mothers followed their children, and men followed their wives. The disruption to the labor system caused by the loss of manpower eventually gave many Indians no choice but to go and join the missions.

Once there, according to the book, Indians were housed in overcrowded, filthy conditions and forced to labor without pay on the missions' considerable ranches and farms. Castillo writes that Indians who previously enjoyed a varied diet of fish, small mammals, acorns, and plants experienced severe malnourishment under the friars, who knew little about agriculture and animal husbandry. As evidence, he pointed to bones found at mission Indian burial sites, comparing them with their pre-Hispanic counterparts. "The [pre-Hispanic Indian bones] were fine and robust, but those who died in the missions were considerably stunted and far smaller," Castillo says.

The mass deaths posed logistical problems for the friars, he wrote, who were losing the workforce needed to maintain the mission's vast farms and ranches. They went out searching in greater distances for new Indians to replace those who were dying.

Some Indians, angered by the harsh treatment and longing for their villages, tried to escape. The book documents several such efforts, including a successful 1795 escape by 200 Indians from Mission Dolores, fleeing Friar Antonio Danti, who repeatedly beat them. The book goes on to detail several organized Indian rebellions.

Punishments for trying to escape were harsh, Castillo writes. Some Indians were bound in shackles. Many were whipped. A trading ship captain described one incident at Mission San Francisco, cited by the book, where the friars used a hot iron to burn crosses into the foreheads of a group of escapees.
Junípero Serra in the National Statuary Hall, Washington D.C. Statues of Serra and Ronald Reagan represent California. Photo: iwishmynamewasmarsha/Flickr

In a 1775 letter published in the book, Serra wrote to his military commander about a group of captured runaways, "I am sending them to you so that a period of exile, and two or three whippings which Your Lordship may order applied to them on different days, may serve, for them and for the rest, for a warning, may be of spiritual benefit to all; and this last is the prime motive of our work. If Your Lordship does not have shackles, with your permission they may be sent from here."

"The Franciscans are always saying Serra never whipped the Indians," Castillo says. "Well here's an actual letter he wrote that was published by the Franciscans in a book called The Writings of Junípero Serra."

Rather than mourn Indian deaths, Castillo says Serra celebrated them, as they meant more souls in heaven. He pointed to one of Serra's letters to his superior, published in the book. Serra writes, "In the midst of all our little troubles, the spiritual side of the missions is developing most happily. In [Mission] San Antonio, there are simultaneously two harvests, at one time, one for wheat, and of a plague among the children, who are dying."

"He relishes the fact that children are dying," Castillo says. "You have to ask the question, was this guy nuts? He was certainly a fanatic, and I think he was twisted. I think his mind was very twisted."

After Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1821, the Franciscans left, and the Indians were freed from the missions a little over a decade later. However, according to the book, their mistreatment and killing continued, and by many accounts, worsened under Mexican and American rule.

Largely uneducated, inexperienced living in secular society, and with their villages dissolved, some Indians resorted to stealing cattle for food, and were hunted by Mexican ranchers, who considered them vermin. In 1851, California Governor Peter H. Burnett signed an executive order to exterminate all Indians in the state. Estimates published in the book place the pre-Spanish coastal California Indian population between 133,000 and 300,000. By 1890, it had fallen to under 17,000.

Fourth Grade History Class

Each year, Mission Dolores gives tours to 30,000 schoolchildren, most of them fourth graders studying the mission system. Indigenous writers, and Castillo, have criticized the state curriculum, claiming it glosses over the Indians' brutal treatment. Deborah Miranda, an Ohlone author, has likened the fourth grade mission diorama assignment to asking "fourth graders to study the Holocaust by carefully designing detailed concentration camps."

While the textbook used by students in the San Francisco Unified School District, Reflections: California - A Changing State (2007), acknowledges the use of forced Indian labor, the language does not approach Castillo's description of the missions as "little more than concentration camps." About Indians joining the missions, the textbook says:

"Indians provided the workers that the missions needed. Some Indians came to the missions on their own. Others were forced to the missions by soldiers. Indians were taught new skills including farming. They were not allowed to practice their traditional beliefs. Those who did could be punished, although many did so anyway."
Galvan's ancestors, the only marked Ohlone graves in the mission's cemetery
And about Serra:

"Today, Serra is known as the Father of the California Missions. Serra started the first California mission at San Diego in 1769. He started a total of 9 missions, which helped the new California colony grow. For many California Indians, the missions also led to the end of their traditional ways of life."

The state curriculum, most recently updated in November, acknowledges the lack of California Indian voices:

"The historical record of this era remains incomplete due to the limited documentation of Native testimony, but it is clear that while missionaries brought agriculture, the Spanish language and culture, and Christianity to the native population, American Indians suffered in many California missions. "

Evidence suggests the state has begun to hear concerns. The curriculum goes on to say, "Building missions from sugar cubes or popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many." Heidi Anderson, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Unified School District, said that teachers in the city "have not been directed to, nor has there been a suggestion that they have students build dioramas of the missions."

The message may be slow to take hold, however. A Google search for California mission dioramas turns up results as recent as this month.

Perspectives From Inside Mission Dolores

Andrew Galvan, Mission Dolores's curator, regularly leads tours of the old mission and the stately basilica next door. Galvan is an academic, a Franciscan, a Serra supporter- he sat on the Junípero Serra Cause for Canonization board- and an Ohlone Indian. He credits his "blood degree" for landing him his job. In 1794, Galvan's great great great great grandfather was forced from his East Bay village and baptized at Mission Dolores. On a recent Saturday afternoon we joined about twenty tourists, locals, and a couple of fourth graders on a tour to hear Galvan's version of history.

"I was hired to tell the truth," Galvan told the group. To illustrate this, he recalled a comment he made to a Chronicle reporter in 2004, shortly after becoming curator. Patting the mission walls, he remarked, "Pretty good for slave labor." When Father Bill, his superior at the time, called the next morning with news of complaints from church donors, Galvan thought he was fired. He recalled Father Bill's response. "We don't need donors who tell us not to tell the truth."

It's a mantra Galvan repeats. And factually, his tour does not contradict Castillo's findings, though he stops short of wholesale condemnations. "I know my ancestors didn't come here freely," he said. "It's obvious the Spanish needed workers." He later acknowledged, "The padres didn't come to baptize the Indians. They came to change them."

While echoing many of Castillo's assertions, Galvan also interjected defenses of the Franciscans. Describing how most infants died by 18 months after being fed milk by the friars, he said, "Most California Indians are lactose intolerant. In defense of the friars, do you think they knew this 250 years ago?" He went on to contrast these unintentional deaths with premeditated plans by other European colonizers to kill Indians via smallpox-infected blankets. "They wanted a workforce," he said. "You're not going to kill your labor."

"The mission system was 65 years," Galvan later told us. "Then we have Mexico, then we have us. The greatest disaster for California Indians is the United States of America," he said.
Old Mission Dolores chapel. The ceiling is the original Ohlone design.
Vincent Medina Jr. is assistant curator at the mission, and Galvan's younger cousin. In his view, he and Galvan are in unique positions to "directly interpret our own history" from inside the mission. Aside from a few state-run missions- namely Mission La Purisma, Mission Sonoma, and parts of Mission Santa Cruz- he said most church-run missions he's visited do a poor job of representing Indian history.

"Most of the missions don't have any contemporary voices from the Indian community, so they just focus on the past" he said. "If Indian culture is talked about at all, it's usually in the past tense, or a very, very minimizing way, or both."

Medina called giving a voice to his ancestors, "who must have come very close to having their voices taken away in these places," an issue of social justice. "When fourth graders [on the tours] see a living. breathing Ohlone person, that reinforces that our community is still vibrant, even today in 2016. So I always feel if people walk away knowing the Ohlone community still exists today, then for me it's a success. Because we get to shatter misconceptions that we're an extinct people."

Getting more Indians in the door aligns with Galvan's goals. Towards this end, Mission Dolores offers native language classes, and they've considered other cultural education classes like basket weaving and beading. Mission tours, which cost $5 for adults, are offered free for people with native ancestry. "How do we get more native people to be involved at the missions that their ancestors were at?" Galvan asked. "That's the crucial thing."

He acknowledged it will involve taking action to address peoples' anger.

"[The Church] can't go up and down the state and just say 'We're sorry.' And then nothing changes. They have to say 'We're sorry, and this is how we're going to change.' "

In September, the California Catholic Conference of bishops announced an 18 month project to revise the cultural content at missions and third and fourth grade curriculums in Catholic schools. Galvan is assisting the effort. "This is precious to me because from 1965 to 1970 my father worked to correct textbooks" under a now defunct publisher called the American Indian Historical Press, he said.

Acknowledging the mission's brutal history while continuing to support Serra's canonization is a needle Galvan threads nimbly. He quotes Cardinal Richelieu, the 17th century French bishop. "'Give me six lines written by the most honorable of men, and I will find an excuse in them to hang him.' So yes, you can look at the writing of Junípero Serra, and if you were Cardinal Richelieu you would find reasons."

He continued, "We don't dispute [the evidence in Castillo's book.] But we qualify it. There's no smoking gun. There's no evidence of Junípero Serra ever beating an Indian. This business of 'at bayonet point;' that's the soldiers, not the Franciscans."

Rejecting Church History

Not all California Indians agree. After finishing his research, Castillo met with Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun tribal band, whose ancestors occupied the south San Francisco and north Monterey Bay areas before the Spanish arrived. Lopez has written four letters opposing Serra's canonization, and after hearing about Castillo's findings, agreed to pen the Foreword to A Cross of Thorns. He's often been cited opposite Galvan in articles about Serra's potential canonization.

"As soon as [Castillo and I] started talking, I realized that a lot of what he was saying was very important, of great interest to us, and something that has been long overdue," Lopez told us.

For him, the legacy of the mission period is one he and his fellow California Indians continue to reel from today. "It's the issue of historical trauma," he said. Among the problems still facing the Indian population, he named low self-esteem and high rates of poverty, incarceration, substance abuse, and suicide.

"You have five, six, seven generations where the Native Americans grew up in slavery," he explained. "They grew up in brutality, losing their culture, their identity, their self respect and self esteem, losing their knowledge of sacred ceremonies that allowed them to keep balance in their lives, losing the ability to pass on traditional songs and stories. That just tore the Indians down for all those generations, and so our people today are still recovering."

As part of their process, in 2013 they established the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, an effort to reclaim their traditional Native American stewardship. "We know unequivocally that our ancestors had an obligation to take care of Mother Earth, and that's what we had been doing for thousands of years," Lopez said. "When the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans came, we were unable to fulfill our obligation to our creator. But the creator never rescinded that obligation."

Lopez said he's contacted Governor Brown and the state legislature about revising school curriculum, but has "gotten no interest." He rejects recent efforts by Catholic and state schools to update their teachings. "They may think those are good enough, but they're revising the history without the input of California tribes, so their history is always going to be suspect."

The Amah Mutsuns are taking the matter into their own hands. Along with other tribal members, researchers, and specialists, Lopez is helping form the California Indian Historical Society. As a long-term project, they plan to develop a curriculum to offer to schools. "A big part of what we're going to do is tell the truth about the history in California," he said.

Despite verbal mea culpas, Lopez thinks the Catholic urch still has a long way to go toward making amends. Responding to the pope's apology to indigenous people in Bolivia last year, Lopez said, "How are they going to atone and have reparations for the sins and the suffering they caused? That's what needs to happen. They don't need to bring tourists in from around the world and say what a loving, beautiful place this is."

"All 21 missions are places of suffering, of death, and of domination," he said. "Domination is the main thing that happened at the missions, and it's a shame that the state tries to build pride, honor, and respect. They should be places like Auschwitz where they have memorials to the atrocities that happened."

"Our ancestors were human beings, and that's never talked about," Lopez said. On at least that point, he, Medina, and Galvan seem to agree. "I think the most important thing anyone can do is recognize our ancestors for their humanity."

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The Lesser-Told Story Of The California Missions | Hoodline

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Each day, countless residents pass by San Francisco's oldest building, Mission Dolores. Its modest white adobe chapel- dedicated 225 years ago this August- rests in the shadow of its sister basilica on 16th and Dolores streets. Every year, 300,000 visitors tour its historic church and cemetery (one of two remaining graveyards in San Francisco).

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Follow my tour of the California Missions as it takes place. As each Mission is visited I'll be adding a complete description, a pictorial tour, maps to help find the Mission, and other useful information as appropriate. Information about trip plans is here. Only those Missions with the camera icon behind them are filled in [a half camera indicates some additional information is posted-usually history; sometimes pictures taken in prior visits]. Finally, the circular arrow indicates a 360-degree panorama inside the Church and sometimes other spots has been added to that section of the site. Missions are listed North to South in sequence. The few Sub-missions (Asistencias) that still have portions intact are listed below the Mission they served. U.S. Highway 101 generally links all the Missions and is typically known as El Camino Real.

General information about the Mission system and related discussions is available here.

Anxious for more information? Visit our bookstore.

If you use this site for reference, please see the citation page for bibliographic information and formats. Thank you.

MissionTour exists to document the California Missions as they exist today. A modest history is given to help understand how the buildings developed over time. Please keep in mind that the Missions were part of a general Spanish expansion into California over 200 years ago. Where this expansion touched native Indians, lives were changed forever. Some of these changes were voluntary; some forced. Some were good; others bad or very bad. MissionTour leaves the moral judgment of these actions to you. It is not the purpose of this site to glorify or condemn; only to present the Missions as they exist today. If interested, there is a discussion of this topic in the San Francisco Mission museum. You can read the text here.

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Follow my tour of the California Missions as it takes place. As each Mission is visited I'll be adding a complete description, a pictorial tour, maps to help find the Mission, and other useful information as appropriate. Information about trip plans is here.

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California has 21 historic Spanish missions from San Diego to Sonoma in the northern San Francisco Bay Area. Most were built during the late 1700's, with the two northernmost being completed in the early 1800's. These stunning sacred structures are the state's oldest buildings.

All of these California missions are now state historic monuments that are available for the public to visit. Many are active Catholic churches that still have mass regularly, but all the missions are open to self-guided tours, most of them seven days a week. Docent led guided tours are available at several of the missions and they are a great way to hear stories, facts, and other historical tidbits that are otherwise missed.

The missions were built along an old horse and wagon road called El Camino Real or The Royal Highway. This historic path is similar to the current Highway 101 route. Each mission was built in an area that could be farmed and they were spaced out to be about a one-day trip between them. As you can see by the map above they are lined up along the coastal region.
Inside view of Mission San Diego de Alcala
Each mission has a unique design and an interesting history. They are beautiful buildings inside and out and often have equally impressive gardens. Many are operated as a non-profit and will ask for a small fee or a donation for touring the property (some are free).

Below is a list of the missions from Southern California up to Sonoma County.

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California Missions Map - CaliforniaBeaches.com

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California has 21 historic Spanish missions from San Diego to Sonoma in the northern San Francisco Bay Area. Most were built during the late 1700's, with the two northernmost being completed in the early 1800's. These stunning sacred structures are the state's oldest buildings.

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Original photography and historical graphics relating to the original 21 California missions. Plus limited edition fine art prints and greeting cards by Howard Anderson.

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From their humble, thatch-roofed beginnings to the stately adobes we see today, the missions represent a dynamic chapter of California's past. By the time the last mission was built in 1823, the Golden State had grown from an untamed wilderness to a thriving agricultural frontier on the verge of American statehood.

The 21 missions that comprise California's Historic Mission Trail are all located on or near Highway 101, which roughly traces El Camino Real (The Royal Road) named in honor of the Spanish monarchy which financed the expeditions into California in the quest for empire. From San Diego to Los Angeles, the historic highway is now known as Interstate 5. From Santa Clara to San Francisco, the road is called State Highway 82. North of San Francisco, Highway 101 again picks up the trail to the mission at San Rafael. From there, State Highway 37 leads to the last mission at Sonoma.

The first leg of El Camino Real was forged by General Gaspar de Portola on his journey from San Diego to find Monterey Bay. Tracing his path, missionaries, colonists and soldiers all traveled its dusty stretches; it was the only road between the few civilized outposts. The road was later identified with the missions because the padres maintained the roadway and offered hospitable lodging to all. It served as the north-south stagecoach route after California became a state in 1850, and in the 1920s bronze mission bells were placed along the highway to let motorists know they were traveling the historic El Camino Real.

Largely reconstructed after the ravages of time, weather, earthquakes and neglect, most of the missions still operate as active Catholic parishes, with regularly scheduled services. Booklets for self-guided tours are usually available; hours of operation and fees may vary.

Traveling from south to north from San Diego to Sonoma the missions are as follows:

San Diego de Alcala, 1st mission
The mission trail in California began here on July 16, 1769, when Fathers Serra, Palou and Parron dug a hole eight feet into the beachhead near the mouth of the San Diego River and planted a large cross. A bell was suspended from the limb of a nearby tree and the site was dedicated to St. Didacus. Today, the mission's own priests bless the trio of bells which ring each Sunday before mass. Bougainvillea cascades over adobe walls surrounding the gardens and California's first historic cemetery. The gardens contain centuries-old hibiscus, succulents, olive trees, citrus and avocado.
10818 San Diego Mission Rd., San Diego, 92108-2429, (619) 281-8449

San Luis Rey de Francia, 18th mission
Known as the King of the Missions, San Luis Rey de Francia lies in a sheltered valley just east of Oceanside on State Highway 76. Named for Louis IX, the crusading King of France, the cross-shaped church was dedicated on the Feast of St. Anthony in 1798 by Father Lasuen. Architecturally the most graceful of California's missions, it has been restored according to the original plans and designs. Today the mission gardens include a fruit orchard where California's first pepper tree still grows. The church, which seats 1,000, is adjacent to a six-acre enclosed central square that includes a sunken garden, elaborate stone terrace and octagonal mortuary chapel.
4050 Mission Ave., San Luis Rey, 92068, (760) 757-3651

San Juan Capistrano, 7th mission
Named for Crusader Saint John of Capistrano and designed in the shape of a cross, the great stone church once held seven domes and a bell tower so tall it could be seen from ten miles away. Severely damaged by an 1812 earthquake, the ruins are currently being preserved by archaeologists and engineers. Ivy covers the broken walls, willows sway over the fountain in the quadrangle and orange Birds of Paradise grace the mission gardens. A gilded altarpiece illuminates the Serra Chapel of 1777, the oldest building still in use in California and the only surviving church where Father Serra said mass. Each year on St. Joseph's Day, March 19, the mission celebrates the return of the cliff swallows from Argentina with a traditional Mexican fiesta.
Ortega Hwy. at Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 92693, (949) 234-1300

San Gabriel Arcangel, 4th mission
Founded in 1771 by Junipero Serra, this fortress-like structure with five-foot thick walls and narrow windows is a design not found in any other mission. Located nine miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at one time it covered several hundred thousand acres; one fourth of the wealth of California missions in stock and grain was credited to San Gabriel. The original vaulted roof was of a Moorish design patterned after the cathedral at Cordova, Spain, with slender capped buttresses and a six-belled campanario. One bell, which weighs a ton, can be heard eight miles away. The hammered copper baptismal font was a gift of King Carlos III of Spain and the six priceless altar statues were brought around the Horn from Spain in 1791. The winery, kitchen gardens and graveyard are still intact and the museum exhibits old books, Indian paintings and parchments.
428 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, 91776, (626) 457-3035

San Fernando Rey de Espana, 17th mission
Father Lasuen named this mission in honor of King Ferdinand III of Spain in 1797. Located 25 miles north of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, the convento is the largest freestanding adobe in California, and was originally used as a hospice for travelers. Today, the church, school, convento and workshops have all been restored to their original purposes and are open for viewing. Above the church altar is a statue of Saint Ferdinand brought from Spain 300 years ago. In the old mission plaza sits the original flower-shaped fountain.
15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd., Mission Hills, 91345, (818) 361-0186

San Buenaventura, 9th mission
The ninth mission in the chain was founded on Easter Sunday in 1782 by Father Serra and dedicated to St. Bonaventure. It was the last mission the humble priest would christen. Restored in 1957, the facade exhibits an unusual triangular design which opens into the gardens. A museum exhibits artifacts that include two old wooden bells, the only ones of their type known in California. Situated three blocks from the ocean, the mission fronts on the main street of Ventura.
225 E. Main St., Ventura, 93001, (805) 648-4496

Santa Barbara, 10th mission
Founded in 1786, the "Queen of the Missions" was the first to be christened by Father Lasuen, and has continuously served as a parish church for the local population since its founding. The church was destroyed in 1925 by earthquake; however, restorations have returned it to its original grandeur of wrought iron, terra cotta and carved wood. Patterned after an ancient Latin chapel in pre-Christian Rome, its twin bell towers and Doric facade present an imposing impression of strength. Located on a hilltop overlooking the city, the mission provides a spectacular view of the ocean. The museum contains a vast store of historical material and displays many original items.
2201 Laguna St., Santa Barbara, 93105, (805) 682-4713

Santa Ines, 19th mission
Named for a 13 year-old Roman martyr, St. Agnes, who refused to sacrafice to the pagan gods in 304 AD, Santa Ines was dedicated in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis. Amazingly, it survived the numerous earthquakes. The museum contains a notable collection of vestments, church records and missals, and the church displays some of the original decorations on a wall behind the altar. A historic grape arbor shelters a walkway that transports the visitor back in time, emerging in the lovely gardens that appear today much as they did nearly 200 years ago.
1760 Mission Dr., Solvang, 93464, (805) 688-4815

La Purisima Conception, 11th mission
Founded in 1787 by Father Lasuen the mission is located 50 miles west of Santa Barbara. Considered to be the best example of mission architecture, it has 37 rooms that have been completely restored and furnished. Volunteers perform living history demonstrations of mission life such as candle making and weaving. In the garden area, water flows through a series of pools and a fountain before passing through the lavandareas where the mission women washed clothes. Plants were brought from the 20 other mission gardens to form one of the finest collections of early California flora in existence. Horses, cattle, burros and the four-horned Churro sheep graze in the quiet pastures.
2295 Purisima Rd., Lompoc, 93436, (805) 733-3713

San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 5th mission
The humble chapel built of logs was dedicated to St. Louis, Bishop of Tolosa in 1772, and was the first mission to use tiles extensively on the roof due to repeated attacks by Indians who used flaming arrows to ignite the original thatched roof. Situated in the fertile, well-watered Valley of the Bears, the mission produced an abundance of crops, and two water-powered grist mills processed foods normally ground by hand. The mission underwent an extensive restoration program in the 1930's and today welcomes visitors to its nearly-original condition. The museum features a rare collection of early California photographs, authentic Serra relics and specimens of Chumash Indian craftsmanship.
782 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, 93401, (805) 543-6850

San Miguel Arcangel, 16th mission
Founded in 1797 by Father Lasuen to complete the mission chain from San Luis Obispo to Mission Dolores in San Francisco, San Miguel was located in the Salinas Valley as a mid point between the San Luis Obispo and San Antonio Missions. Under the direction of Esteban Munros, the Indians painted the walls and ceilings with ornate designs; the original murals are today the best preserved in California. San Miguel had no bell tower, its 2,000 lb. bell rang out from a wooden platform in front of the mission and now sits in its own campanario behind the church. The mission has an annual fiesta on the third Sunday in September to celebrate the Feast Day of its patron, Saint Michael, chief of the Archangels and Prince of the Heavenly Armies.
801 Mission St., San Miguel, 93451, (805) 467-3256

San Antonio de Padua, 3rd mission
Located 40 miles north of Paso Robles this picturesque mission is nestled in the grasslands and oak trees of the San Antonio Valley. Named for a saint known as the 'miracle worker', it was dedicated in 1771 by Father Serra. The church is known for its campanario and archway bells, and is today largely restored to its original condition. The fertile soil, water and climate produced excellent wheat and pasture for herds of cattle and horses. The valley comes alive with wildflowers each spring when poppies, lupines and the Golden Blazing Star begin to bloom.
Mission Creek Rd., Jolon, 93928, (831) 385-4478

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, 13th mission
The padres named this mission for Our Lady of Solitude in 1791, which fits the isolated location of Soledad. Settled next to the Salinas River in the pastures and rolling hills 45 miles south of Monterrey, this lonely outpost was cold, damp and frequently whipped by winds. The soil was rich and the water plentiful however, and by 1805 Soledad was producing more than 100,000 bushels of wheat per year, owned nearly 17,000 head of livestock, and had become well-known for its hospitality. The chapel and one wing of the quadrangle have been completely restored and the church still has the original title floor. A small museum is housed is the quadrangle.
36641 Ft. Romie Rd., Soledad, 93960, (831) 678-2586

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, 2nd mission
Founded by Father Serra in 1770 on Pentecost Sunday, this m ission was considered to be his favorite, and both he and Father Lasuen are buried here. It served as the ecclesiastical capital of California and also as Father Serra's headquarters for administrative duties as presidente of the missions. Set against the sea and mountains 115 miles south of San Francisco, this beautiful mission presents the complete quadrangle courtyard typical of mission architecture. The architecture is Moorish in design and the facade holds a star-shaped window directly above the main entrance. The gardens include culinary and medicinal herbs, citrus and olive trees, roses, Mexican sage and bougainvillea.
3080 Rio Rd., Carmel, 93923, (831) 624-3600

San Juan Bautista, 15th mission
Founded by Father Lasuen in 1797 this mission was unwittingly located directly above the San Andreas fault. Much of the original structure remains and has been restored to once again be the largest California mission church and the only one with three aisles. It was named for John the Baptist. Musical arts were taught here and the mission owned many instruments, which the Indians readily took to. Father Tapis developed a colored musical notation system and taught the Indians to read music as well as play it. Some of the parchments with colored notations still survive and the reredos behind the altar is so well-preserved that the paint is still brilliant.
Second and Mariposa Sts. in San Juan Bautista, 95045, (831) 623-4528

Santa Cruz, 12th mission
Although the soil was excellent and the location ideal, this mission never reached its potential. The dedication of Mission la Exaltacion de la Santa Cruz was made in 1791 by Father Lasuen at a site that was unfortunately located next to Branciforte pueblo, a community of ex-convicts and thieves. Shaken by earthquakes and frustrated by the influence and behavior of the colonists, the padres abandoned the mission. The chapel was eventually rebuilt to service the town that had grown up around the mission plaza, and today a half-scale replica of the 1794 Santa Cruz Mission Church sits about seventy-five yards from the original site.
126 High St., Santa Cruz, 95060, (831) 426-5686

Santa Clara de Asis, 8th mission
Located on the Guadeloupe River, the log chapel was founded in 1777 by Father Serra in honor of St. Clare only three months before his death. In 1851 the work began which ultimately produced Santa Clara University as we know it today. Located about 40 miles south of San Francisco, the main garden is devoted to tree roses, a mission tradition, and the string of willows planted along the miles between the mission and the pueblo of San Jose is today a well-traveled San Jose street known as The Alameda. Some initial mission walls exist and the bell tower holds the original bells sent from Spain. The University is rich in relics of the mission with a library of notable archival material.
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, 95953, (408) 554-4023

San Jose, 14th mission
The most recent mission to have its church restored, the work truly captures the look and feel of its 1830's prosperity. Founded in 1797 by Father Lasuen, the fertile site was chosen because of its view of Mission Dolores and Yerba Buena Island. At one time the mission lands reached north almost to Oakland and east to include the Sacramento Delta. The mission was named after Joseph, spouse of Mary and while nothing remains of the original church, the $5 million remodel has closely reproduced the 1809 structure. A parish church now stands on the site with relics including a hammered baptismal font, altar bells and vestiments
43300 Mission Blvd., Fremont, 94539, (510) 657-1797

San Francisco de Asis, Mission Dolores, 6th mission
On a site selected by Juan Bautista de Anza, the first mission church was a 50-foot long log and mud structure that was eventually moved to higher ground, adjacent to Lake Dolores which gives it its second name, Mission Dolores. Dedicated to Saint Francis by Father Serra in 1776, today the mission sits in the heart of San Francisco and is the oldest building in the city. Much of the original church interior is intact and the guilded reredos and colorful wall paintings are good examples of early California art.
3321 16th St., San Francisco, 94114, (415) 621-8203

San Rafael Arcangel, 20th mission
This mission is located 20 miles north of San Francisco at the foot of Mount Tamalpais. It was established as a sanitarium and hospital for San Francisco neophytes suffering from depression and disease. The one padre in California who had medical training, Luis Gil y Taboado was so successful that other missions soon began sending their sick Indians. Within five years it was raised to full mission status and dedicated to the patron of health in 1817. The small church with star windows was modeled after Carmel, however the structure was torn down in 1870 to be used for firewood. Today a chapel at the site duplicates most of the original mission church.
1104 Fifth Ave., San Rafael, 94901, (415) 454-8141

San Francisco Solano, 21st mission
Founded in 1823 on July 4 by Father Jose Altimira, this historic mission is the site of the Bear Flag Revolt and the effort to establish the Republic of California in 1846. The church seen today is a parish church built in 1840; the original was mostly washed away by a tremendous thunderstorm. A small portion of the original quadrangle exists, and the world-famous Sebastiani Vineyards include much of the original mission vineyard. The annual Vintage Festival is the oldest in the state, and each year the blessing of the grapes is performed by a Franciscan priest in front of the mission. A small museum is housed in the former padres wing with a display of California mission paintings.
20 E. Spain St., Sonoma, 95476, (707) 938-1519

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California State Parks, State of California

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From their humble, thatch-roofed beginnings to the stately adobes we see today, the missions represent a dynamic chapter of California's past. By the time the last mission was built in 1823, the Golden State had grown from an untamed wilderness to a thriving agricultural frontier on the verge of American statehood.

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Photos and Information of the CA Missions

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Photos and Information of the CA Missions

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In 1776 the Declaration of Independence declared the East Coast free from British control. 3,000 miles away on the West Coast Spaniards sought to claim the lands by building 21 missions from 1769 to 1823. California's 21 Missions are a fraction of over 100 missions that were built in North America.
When you take a drive along I-101 in California today, the popular coastal highway follows El Camino Real (The King's Road) created as a travel route by Spaniards who built 21 missions. Each mission was designed to be about a day's journey from the next (approx. 30 miles) and today, you can still visit replicas of these original missions as you drive on that highway that largely parallels the Pacific Ocean along its route north and south. Most of the missions are open to the public -- some charge a fee, while others are free to see.

Because the construction of the missions utilized locally available materials such as adobe brick, there are only a few mission remnants (walls, cornices, towers, etc.) from the original structures that have survived devastating earthquakes and neglect. The replicas of the original missions, however, provide experiences that allow children and adults to relive the California mission era that began in 1769 and ended not long after the last mission was built in 1823.

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1 | Basilica San Diego de Alcala | 10818 Mission Rd., San Diego, CA | 1769, restored, looks like new, church services

In Lompoc you can visit La Purisima Mission and see livestock grazing in the fields. Santa Barbara's mission includes an amazing aqueduct system still in place from the mission era, and at Soledad Mission roosters roam free on the grounds, much as they would have done 200 years ago.

The California missions are only a fraction of those built by Spaniards in their quest to claim vast holdings in North America. You can travel south of the border into Mexico to see and learn about many missions there, or travel between California and Florida, discovering similar structures were built in Arizona, Texas, Mississippi and other states.

The goal of the Spanish government was to recruit local natives, then convert, educate, and civilize the indigenous populations, turning them into Spanish colonial citizens. Total assimilation of indigenous populations (called neophytes or new believers) into European culture and the Catholic religion was a doctrine established in 1531 in Spain. Believing that it was possible to create self-sustaining mission villages, the government sent "missionaries" from the Catholic church to help construct and operate each mission. The effort did introduce modern foods, trees, cultivation methods to produce wine, and livestock to areas where fish and wild game were meals of choice, but measles and other diseases also arrived, decimating entire native populations except for a few survivors.

Under the leadership of a Franciscan, Fr. Junipero Serra, the California mission system had been launched. He is buried at the Carmel Mission. When the Mexican Congress passed the Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California on August 17, 1833, it called for the colonization of both Alta (our current California in the U.S.) and Baja California (Mexico) from proceeds of the sale of the mission property to private interests. Most missions fell into disrepair, but those with a passion for history and heritage have worked hard to save these landmarks. Only one or two no longer exist.

How the mission locations were selected:
Mission sites were intended to stay close to the coast and Pacific Ocean. The furthest inland is Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Soledad Mission) 30 miles inland. A scarcity of imported materials and lack of skilled laborers, compelled the mission Fathers to employ simple building materials and methods in the construction of mission structures. Each mission required a water supply for drinking and growing crops, and the coastal weather provided a Mediterranean climate easier for survival.

Introduced from Spain:
Olive trees and olive oil production.
Citrus groves and orchards that launched the fruit industry.
Wine grape stock plantings and production of wine

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California Missions List of 21 Missions, Photos, Location

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In 1776 the Declaration of Independence declared the East Coast free from British control. 3,000 miles away on the West Coast Spaniards sought to claim the lands by building 21 missions from 1769 to 1823. California's 21 Missions are a fraction of over 100 missions that were built in North America.

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Watch a progression of the Missions appear on a CA map

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Watch a progression of the Missions appear on a CA map

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Once the animation is complete, you can click the icons on the map to identify the missions.

Refresh the page in your browser to repeat the map animation.

Contrary to what many people think, the California missions were not built "in order" from South to North. Missions were built at strategic locations first, and then the gaps were filled as opportunities arose.

The animated mission map, below, will let you watch as the missions are built!

You can also visit the Mission List to see more details on each of the missions, or the Mission Timeline to learn more about historical events affecting the missions.

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California Mission Map - California Mission Guide

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Once the animation is complete, you can click the icons on the map to identify the missions. Refresh the page in your browser to repeat the map animation. Contrary to what many people think, the California missions were not built "in order" from South to North.

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What was life like for Native American kids in the Missions?

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What was life like for Native American kids in the Missions?

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What was life like for the Indian children living at the mission? | California Missions Resource Center

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In her book Grass Games & Moon Races Jeannie Gendar describes many of the games played by the children and points out that "children everywhere can have fund with the simplest 'toys; given the chance". So it isn't surprising that children made balls of natural material (such as tule fiber or rounded pieces of wood) and played stick games with them.

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What games did the people or kids play in the missions? | California Missions Resource Center

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Many of the most popular games used sticks. Mission La Purisima reenacts a game called WAURI at the Mission Life Days that are held there. They use seven sticks (sometimes the neophytes used up to 12 sticks) which they throw in the air. The kids who are playing have to memorize the position of the sticks.

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Research Starters: Spanish Missions of California

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This content resource is a research starter for finding information on the Spanish missions of California. Recommended topics, Web sites, and links to many articles are included. A teacher resource center and other activities are links as well.

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Scroll to the bottom to find websites for each mission

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Scroll to the bottom to find websites for each mission

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California Missions
(Click on a Mission for Details)
There were nine of missions, founded by Serra, before his death in 1784. These missions were: San Diego, July 16, 1769; San Carlos de Monterey (Carmel), June 3, 1770; San Antonio de Padua, July 14, 1771; San Gabriel, Sept. 8, 1771; San Luis Obispo, Sept. 1, 1772; San Francisco (Dolores), Oct. 9, 1776; San Juan Capistrano, Nov. 1, 1776; Santa Clara, Jan. 18, 1777; San Buena Ventura, March 31, 1782.
Following Serra's death, an additional twelve new missions were founded in the following order: Santa Barbara, Dec. 4, 1786; La Purisima, Dec. 8, 1787; Santa Cruz, Sept. 25, 1791; Soledad, Oct. 9, 1791; San Jose, June 11, 1797; San Juan Bautista, June 24, 1797; San Miguel, July 25, 1797; San Fernando Rey, Sept. 8, 1797; San Luis Rey de Francia, June 18, 1798; Santa Ines, Sept. 7, 1804; San Rafael Arcangel, 1817; and, San Francisco de Solano, 1823.

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California Missions(Click on a Mission for Details) There were nine of missions, founded by Serra, before his death in 1784. These missions were: San Diego, July 16, 1769; San Carlos de Monterey (Carmel), June 3, 1770; San Antonio de Padua, July 14, 1771; San Gabriel, Sept. 8, 1771; San Luis Obispo, Sept.