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Before the European settlers arrived, the south bay had many Native Americans, about 10,000 people from 40 tribes. One group, called Thamien, lived were Mission Santa Clara De Asis now stands. Today, the descendants of the land are known as the "Ohlone". The Ohlone people lived in settlements across the Valley of oaks, eating fish, venison, acorns, and berries. They made houses and boats from tule reeds and baskets of grass. Their religion included dances and sweat lodge rituals for hunting, and purification. Spanish colonization in 1769 brought big changes, shifting the Ohlone from hunting to farming, blending tribal identities, and adopting catholicism and spanish citizenship. The Franciscans attracted people to missions through trade and gifts, but once they joined, they couldn't leave. Harsh punishments such as withholding food, corporal punishments, and imprisonment were used to control them. Scarcity of Native food due spanish livestock led more people to the missions. Eventually the missions gained control of local food, so people were forced to learn new skills and adapt in order to survive.

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The big flood that affected Mission Santa Clara de Asis occurred in 1779, and it caused the major damage to the mission, including the destruction and abandonment of the adobe church. The floodwaters, which were unusually high due to heavy rains, swept away many structures. The original church was built around 1774-1777 and was particularly vulnerable to the floodwaters because of it's construction materials and location near the Guadalupe River. As a result the flood, the first church of Mission Santa Clara de Asis was destroyed which resulted in the construction of a new church in a different location within the mission's land. Its known as the second church of Mission Santa Clara de Asis, and it was built with better materials to withstand floods. Unfortunately the destruction of the church was seen as a loss of sacred space and a disruption of spiritual connection to the land for the indigenous communities who lived in this space. It disrupted community life, daily routines, and traditional customs, and causing challenges in practicing ceremonies and social gatherings. The flood caused efforts within the community to rebuild, relocate, and develop strategies and reduce future risks demonstrating Indigenous resilience and survival skills.

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In 1818, the 3rd church of Mission Santa Clara de Asis was shaken and damaged by big earthquakes. The earthquake severely damaged Mission Santa Clara de Asis, causing significant destruction to it's buildings and infrastructure. Many of the mission's adobe structures, including the church were heavily impacted. The earthquake forced led to the collapse of walls, roofs, and other parts of the mission's complex. After the earthquake bit European fathers Magin Catala and Jose Viader must have realized that the 34 year old complex would collapse eventually. So it was abandoned and the 4th church was built. In the indigenous perspective the earthquake may have been interpreted as a sign or message from the natural world or spiritual realm. Indigenous communities often had deep connections to their land and believed in the spiritual significance or natural phenomena. The earthquake was probably viewed as a disruption in the natural order or as a reflection of spiritual forces.

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On October 25, 1926, a fire started in the old Mission church at Mission Santa Clara de Asis due to faulty wiring. The fire quickly spread across the campus, burning many buildings beyond repair, including the Student memorial Chapel. A new chapel was hastily constructed in another building on the campus. During the cleanup of the aftermath of the fire, workers discovered partial human remains from old burial sites near the foundations of the destroyed memorial chapel. They found coffins with personal with personal items such as black hair, slipper sole, and a glove. One coffin had a sliver plate with the initials "D.P", believed to be the grave of Dolores Pacheco who died in 1850. Several skulls and bones were also found during the cleanup. The loss of and discovery of human remains during the aftermath of the fire can be seen as a tragic event, reflecting the ongoing loss of indigenous and cultural heritage considering this is the 4th loss of a church on the land and this viewpoint is due to colonialism and modern development. The disturbance of the burial sites is viewed as disrespectful and a violation of sacred places yet also highlighting the resilience of indigenous people in the face of challenges.

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Mission Santa Clara de Asis is located on the grounds of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, U.S. The mission original location was near the Guadalupe River, but due to flooding it was abandoned and now is located in it's current location in the mid-19th century. Today the mission site includes the historic Mission church, which has been restored and persevered as a historic landmark. The church continues to serves as a place for worship for the university community and visitors. The mission grounds also the house other university buildings and facilities. The status of Mission Santa Clara de Asis is that of a historical and cultural site within the Santa Clara University campus. It is a symbol of the region's early Spanish colonial history and the enduring legacy of the California missions. From an indigenous perspective, Mission Santa Clara de Asis represents both historical significance and the negative impacts of colonization. It is a cultural landmark but also symbolizes forced labor, cultural assimilation, and the loss of traditional ways of life for indigenous communities.

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https://www.scu.edu/media/college-of-arts-and-sciences/community-heritage-lab/Skowronek_&_Wizorek_1997.pdf

https://dh.scu.edu/exhibits/exhibits/show/cemetery/1926-mission-fire

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=195448

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The History of Mission Santa Clara

The Ohlone

Long before the arrival of the first Europeans, the South Bay was home to a large native population-numbering 10,000 people. They had occupied the Bay Area for thousands of years divided into as many as 40 independent tribes. One such community, called Thamien, was located where the SCU campus now stands. Today, descendants call themselves "Ohlone".

The Ohlone lifestyle can be described as "hunter-gatherer". Though they did not cultivate crops or herd domestic animals, they used sophisticated landscape management practices, including prescribed burns, to make a living in the fertile south bay region. They lived in numerous settlements of 200 to 500 persons spread throughout the broad "Valley of Oaks" enjoying a diet of fish, shellfish, water fowl, venison, acorns, rabbit, and wild berries. From the tule reeds found near water's edge they made their houses and boats and they wove baskets from the native sedge grasses. Ohlone religion revolved around elaborate ritual dances with dancers wearing colorful regalia and tribal members communing in the tribal sweat lodge-for ensuring good hunts, healing illness and expelling impurities.

This way of life had sustained the Ohlone for thousands of years, but the onset of Spanish colonization in 1769 introduced dramatic changes. Over the course of several generations, Ohlone society shifted from a traditional focus on hunting and gathering to agriculture; from holding strict tribal identities to having blended "mission" identities; from their native worldview to becoming, at least outwardly, Catholic Christian converts and citizens of the Spanish Empire. How could this happen?

Franciscan conversion practices began largely through attraction rather than conquest: starting with strategic trade and outright gifts. Yet, once individuals joined the mission they were not allowed to leave. Sadly, historical accounts reveal harsh punishments (by modern standards) of withholding food, corporal punishments, and imprisonment for wayward converts. Yet, there was another motivator for joining the mission: namely, the increasing scarcity of native game and foods brought about by the herds of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and goats imported by the Spanish. Over-grazing of the native grasses and growing displacement of the native game gave the mission an increasing monopoly over the local food supply. Eventually, the new trade skills of ranching, farming, tanning, adobe brick and tile making came to be seen as necessary skills for survival.

Considering the number of converts and productivity, the padres proclaimed Mission Santa Clara an early success. Yet, this success proved fleeting. Weakened by the clash of cultures and waves of epidemics: chiefly small pox and measles, the Ohlone population dwindled by 1830 to 2,500 people. Mexican independence from Spain in 1822 only hastened the collapse of the mission system and undermined the planned return of mission land ownership to the Ohlone. The California Gold Rush, brought waves of prospectors and pioneers--along with unscrupulous wheeler-dealers--pushing the remaining Ohlone to the margins of California society.

However, the Ohlone people did not disappear. Numerous family groups have reclaimed their heritage and are seeking Federal recognition in our time.

From Mission to University

The story now turns to Mission Santa Clara de Asis, the 8 th mission in the chain of 21 Franciscan missions established by Padre Junipero Serra. It was first founded January 12, 1777 on the banks of the Guadalupe River (just north of Hwy 101, opposite the Mineta International Airport) and the first to bear the name of a woman, St. Claire of Assisi, an early companion of St. Francis. Flood, fire and earthquake forced five relocations until the Mission finally settled on this current site in 1822.

From the start, Mission Santa Clara was meant to serve as the sister mission to Mission Dolores in San Francisco. Spanish Viceroy Bucareli's grand design intended Mission Dolores (and its Presidio) to anchor the mouth of San Francisco Bay with Mission Santa Clara anchoring the South Bay--receiving goods and services meant for the new Pueblo of San Jose.

Mission Santa Clara seemed to thrive at first: boasting the highest number of converts and recording record productivity made possible by the fertile, well-watered lands and temperate climate. But this was not to last.

The always present clash of cultures, epidemics and growing rivalries with the nearby Pueblo of San Jose were only made worse by Mexico's secession from the Spanish Empire in 1822, when royal funding completely dried up. At the secession, the fledgling Mexican government found few resources for supporting such distant missions. By the end of the 1830's, the new government secularized all 21 missions (i.e. they reverted the mission lands to Ohlone ownership) and expelled the Spanish Franciscans loyal to the King of Spain and inadvertently abandoned the Ohlone to the pioneers and the profiteers.

With insufficient funds to maintain the complex, and a single priest to operate the Mission as a parish church, the property fell into serious decay. In 1850, Bishop Joseph Alemany approached a Jesuit priest, Fr. John Nobili, S.J., to turn the parish and its adjacent lands into a college. This meant transferring the property from Franciscan ownership to Jesuit ownership. So on March 19, 1851, Mission Santa Clara became the first college of higher learning in the new state of California.

Soon after, the new college president, Burchard Villager, S.J., began a rebuilding campaign to upgrade the campus' decrepit buildings. Fr. Burchard also enlarged the Mission Church giving it a new facade. For a while, the building boasted an Italianate façade--with two bell towers-- all made of wood (similar in style to St. Joseph's Cathedral in San Jose). A devastating fire in 1926 totally consumed this remodeled building. It was decided to rebuild its replacement not in the style of the remodeled, Italianate building but in the idealized neo‑colonial style fashionable at the time. Drawing from actual historical photographs, they resurrected more of the original 1825 single bell tower structure. This is the building you see today: similar in length but twice as wide as the 1825 Mission and more sophisticated in detail. Fortunately, the building was also built of steel reinforced concrete--rather than adobe brick--making it much more resistant to earthquakes and fire.

Today Mission Santa Clara continues to serve as Santa Clara University's student chapel while its image has become the icon for the local county, city, and university bearing its name.

To download this narrative and view other helpful materials, click here.

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The History of Mission Santa Clara The Ohlone Long before the arrival of the first Europeans, the South Bay was home to a large native population-numbering 10,000 people. They had occupied the Bay Area for thousands of years divided into as many as 40 independent tribes.

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https://californiamissionguide.com/mission-guide/santa-clara-de-asis/

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On January 12, 1777 Padre Thomas Peña, under the direction of Padre Junípero Serra, officially founded Mission Santa Clara de Asís, the eighth of California's twenty-one missions. Located along El Camino Real, the Royal Road, these missions stretched up the California coast from San Diego to Sonoma, a distance of about seven hundred miles. When the chain was completed each mission lay about one day's journey by horse apart from the next.

Mission Santa Clara de Asís...Santa Clara County, CA. Photocopy of 1861-1885 painting by Oriana Day in de Young Museum, San Francisco. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. Prints & Photographs Division

Each of the twenty-one missions, founded between 1769 and 1823, was similarly constructed in a quadrangular shape and consisted of a patio, chapel, convento (living quarters for the priests), kitchen, and dormitório. The mission also had craft rooms, storehouses, irrigated fields, orchards, and grazing land. In the fields the missionaries frequently worked side-by-side with their converts who were expected to live apart from unconverted members of their tribe and abide by strict rules or face reprimand, in some cases the lash. Over the years, Native Americans displayed a wide range of reactions to the mission way of life: some embraced it wholeheartedly, some rejected it violently, others endured it for the various material and cultural benefits it bestowed.

Father Serra, a native of Mallorca, Spain, inaugurated the first of the missions, San Diego de Alcala, in 1769, having accompanied Gaspar de Portolá from Mexico during the latter's occupation of Alta California. Before his death in 1784, Serra oversaw the development of the first nine missions in the chain, including Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo (1770), San Antonio de Padua (1771), San Gabriel Arcángel (1771), San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (1772), San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) (1776), San Juan Capistrano (1776), and San Buenaventura (1782).

With one exception, the rest of the missions were established while Mexico was part of the Spanish empire. They include the Missions Santa Barbara (1786), La Purisíma Concepcion (1787), Santa Cruz (1791), Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (1791), San José (1797), San Juan Bautista (1797), San Miguel de Arcángel (1797), San Fernando Rey de España (1797), San Luis Rey de Francia (1798), Santa Ynéz (1804), San Rafael Arcángel (1817).

San Juan Capistrano Mission. c1895. Popular Graphic Arts. Prints & Photographs Division

The last in the chain, Mission San Francisco de Solano, was founded in 1823, shortly after Mexico declared its independence from Spain. It was launched by a young Basque priest, Padre José Altimira, without the knowledge of his superiors but with support from the civil governor, who wished to halt Russian settlement in Northern California by staking a Mexican land claim via the mission. Just as the priests had always conceived of the missions as a means to convert the Indians and inculcate Spanish culture, the military and civil authorities used them as territorial outposts and aids to trade and colonization.

Many factors contributed to the decline of the California missions. Mexico halted stipends sent to the missions, and forced Spaniards, including the Franciscan padres, from Mexican territory. Soon after independence Mexico's Congress also passed a law of secularization to speed the transfer of mission lands from the Catholic church to the Indians. In actuality, however, most mission assets were quickly confiscated by corrupt local officials and squatters, and by mid-century the California mission system lay in ruin.

In 1851, during the height of the Gold Rush era, the Mission Santa Clara was given to the Jesuits who incorporated it into the University of Santa ClaraExternal . Rebuilt in 1779 and 1781, and restored after a flood in 1784, an earthquake in 1818, and a fire in 1926, the tower of Santa Clara still contains an original bell brought to that mission from Spain.

Meeting of Frontiers is a bilingual English-Russian presentation concerning the meeting of the Russian-American frontier in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Among its many items is Relacion historica de la vida y apostolicas tareas del venerable padre fray Junipero Serra, y de las misiones que fundó en la California Septentrional, y nuevos establecimientos de Monterey, the 1787 Spanish-language biography of Junipero Serra written by Serra's friend and fellow Franciscan, Francisco Palóu.

U.S. Highway 101 which runs the full length of California...near King City. Dorothea Lange, photographer, Feb. 1936. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives. Prints & Photographs Division

Not only the twenty-one missions but four presidios and two Spanish pueblos (today's cities of Los Angeles and San Jose) lay along El Camino Real. Over time the old road was replaced by modern streets and highways, mainly by US 101 (above), but also by I-5, Route 72, Route 82, and I-280.