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A GUIDE TO THE HISTORIC TRAILS OF THE PADRES

COPYRIGHT 1939 BY KARL F. BROWN AND FLOYD RAY GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., Inc. NEW YORK

Along the strand of the Pacific between San Diego and Sonoma, the intrepid monks of the Order of Saint Francis strung that cordon of missions that were to become, as time went on, the outposts of civilization along the sunset coast of California.

And what was the routine by which these fervent priests of Old Spain hoped to convert the backward natives of the coast into God-fearing, self-supporting and self-respecting subjects of his Hispanic majesty, the king? The system of training prescribed plenty of work accompanied by instruction in the handcrafts and Christian doctrine. To this end, each day, the morning bell assembled the Indians in the chapel for prayers and mass. Following this, breakfast was eaten, after which each went to his assigned task. At eleven o'clock dinner was eaten; then a siesta. Work, resumed at 2 P.M., continued until an hour before sunset, when the Angelus recalled all to worship. After prayers and rosary, supper was eaten, after which recreation ensued until early bedtime.

This was the happy pattern of life that obtained in these picturesque missions which at once comprised the early churches, the first schools, the first factories and the work-a-day habitations of the priests and their charges. Viewed in this light these old buildings become real human documents and are therefore very precious to all interested in the beginnings of civilization within our broad land.

Through the glamor that time and an exotic origin have cast over these old monuments, they continue to hold for us a fascination matched by that of few American structures. And, in journeying to these historic shrines, you will discover how these hard-headed priests, in sheltering their converts, created in simplicity and strength a type of architecture which considered from the standpoint of practical living, climatic background, materials of construction and ethnic significance, has rarely been equalled in any land. What a matchless artistic heritage they have left us!

On July 16th, 1769, sixteen days after his arrival in San Diego, Father Serra established the first mission in California--the Mission San Diego de Alcal?. The original site was unsatisfactory so a spot was later chosen six miles back from the ocean in Mission Valley where the present buildings now stand. San Diego was one of the wealthiest of the missions. It had extensive orchards and vineyards, irrigated by an aqueduct which brought water from the valley. Parts of the old mission dam which was twelve feet thick, may still be seen. The olive trees around the Mission form the mother orchard of all California mission olives. The whole Mission has been restored in every detail. Its belfry, one of the most magnificent of all the missions, is a three-story wall pierced by five arches in which hang the old bells.

Four miles inland from Oceanside, in a beautiful valley, stands Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. The present buildings were started in 1811 by Father Peyri, who managed the Mission for thirty years. It is now used as a church and a Franciscan college. A feature not found in any other mission is the mortuary chapel, a small octagonal shaped room off the main chapel. San Luis Rey is typically Spanish in its architecture and while not one of the most beautiful, it has a stately magnificence that none of the other missions possesses.

Twenty miles inland from Mission San Luis Rey stands San Antonio de Pala, founded as an asistencia. In its chapel are Indian frescoes covered for many years with a coat of whitewash given the wall by a well-meaning padre. Its campanile, in which hang the original bells, stands in the old cemetery. Pala, nestling at the base of the Palomar Mountains, is a spot of enchanting beauty.

The first attempt to found San Juan Capistrano was in 1775, but due to an Indian uprising Father Lasu?n was forced to return to San Diego. The next year Father Serra came and established the Mission. It took nine years to build and was the largest and most beautiful of all. In 1812 there was an earthquake that destroyed the buildings and killed forty Indians who were worshiping in the chapel. All of the buildings have been rebuilt except the chapel, of which one of the seven large domes still stands in its lonely grandeur, a delight to the artist. Capistrano, elaborately decorated and artistically constructed, is sometimes called "Jewel of the Missions."

San Gabriel Arc?ngel was a welcomed pause in the long journey from Mexico to Monterey; it was the first stop after crossing the desert and mountains. It is distinctively Moorish in its architecture. Its high buttressed walls are stone to the windows and brick above and have an outside stairway to the choir loft and campanile. In the courtyard is one of the largest and oldest grape vines in California.

At one time Mission San Fernando Rey de Espa?a had an Indian population of eleven hundred. Today nothing remains of the Mission but one large building. In it one can see the wine cellar and the large copper brandy still. Across the street is a large star-shaped fountain copied from one in Cordova, Spain, a monument to the artistic work of the Indians.

Half-way between San Diego and Monterey, Father Serra founded the Mission Buenaventura. It was the last founded by him. On a hill above the mission he planted a cross that could be seen from both land and sea. Today, a replica of the cross stands in the same place. Ventura was noted for its beautiful gardens but of these nothing remains except two tall palms. The chapel has been restored and is used daily as a place of worship.

Mission Santa B?rbara has never fallen into a state of decay like its less fortunate sister missions, as it has always been in the hands of its founders, the Franciscans. Although damaged by numerous earthquakes, the last in 1925, it has always been faithfully restored. The light above the altar has never gone out, the old bells have faithfully rung the call to Mass. Its walls, six feet thick and mellowed by time, impart a lasting beauty. The bodies of over four thousand Indians lie in its tree-shadowed cemetery. In front of the Mission the trickling water from an old fountain gives one the restful feeling of the old Spanish siesta. It was at this mission that the great historian, Father Engelhardt, wrote his great book, "Missions and Missionaries of California."

Mission Santa In?z was founded to convert the Indians who lived east of the Coast Range. The Mission not only suffered from earthquakes but also from an Indian uprising. Today it has been restored to its former grandeur. Its campanile with its three bells reminds one of Mission San Gabriel. In its museum is a collection of old vestments and books.

Nothing remained of Mission La Pur?sima Concepti?n but a few crumbling arches, till it was taken over by the state. Today it stands in all its former glory, faithfully restored in every detail. The Mission site was made a State park and the restoration carried out by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Pur?sima stands as a monument to a nation's industry, but lacks the peaceful state of religious tranquility found in the other missions.

It was at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa that tile was first manufactured. The buildings have lost much of their Spanish atmosphere, but the interior is in a fair state of restoration. It is now the active Catholic Church of the city which was named after it. A few miles from San Luis Obispo is the Asistencia of Santa Margarita, unique in that the entire ruins have been covered over by a large hay barn. Horses and cattle quietly munch their hay through the arched window openings.

The very walls of San Miguel Arc?ngel, due to its sympathetic restoration, seem to echo the footsteps of the old padres. Inside the chapel the huge rafters, crudely hewn from logs, are painted in bright colors. The design painted on the walls by the Indians show large fluted pillars with a balcony and railing above. The floor is of burned brick, worn smooth by the tread of bare feet. Its crudely decorated pulpit and confessional are the same as the day they were built. The Mission did not have a bell-tower so the bell was mounted on a wooden scaffold. To enter the ancient edifice is to enter directly into the past.

A few rain-washed adobe walls around which the wind blows constantly is all that is left of Mission Nuestra Se?ora Dolorissima de la Soledad. A picture of dreary desolation and aptly named, Our Lady of Solitude.

Father Serra founded his third Mission, San Antonio de Padua, in a well wooded valley. When the bells rang in celebration an Indian appeared out of the trees, and for the first time a native was present at the founding of a mission. Its quiet surroundings are very much as they were in the past. The buildings were constructed of brick instead of adobe. Parts of a stone-walled irrigation ditch which brought water for many miles still stand near at hand.

Monterey was used as a mission for but one year and then became the Presidio Chapel. Behind the Mission is the tree under which the first Mass in California was offered. Many of the old relics of the early Church are preserved here. It is now the San Carlos Parish Church.

A replica in concrete has been built of Mission Santa Cruz. It is about half the size of the original and stands on the old Mission grounds.

Mission San Juan Bautista stands facing the plaza in the old pueblo of San Juan. It was here that Helen Hunt Jackson began her famous story, "Ramona" and Joaquin Murrietta, the famous Mexican bandit, worshipped. San Juan saw great activity during the gold rush as it was a stage stop on the road to the mines. The long arcade that extends the whole length of the building, contains twenty arches. In the garden is a sundial, placed there by the padres. Its old cemetery is in an olive grove whose trees cast fantastic shadows on the time worn headstones.

On the site of Mission Santa Clara de As?s stands a concrete structure, the chapel of the University of Santa Clara. All that remains of the old buildings are a few tiles in the roof, and a part of the garden wall. In front of the Church stands the old redwood cross, raised in 1777. It is now encased in a sheathing of pine.

Mission San Jos? de Guadalupe was at one time the most prosperous of all the missions. In livestock alone it had 12,000 cattle, 13,000 horses and 13,000 sheep. It was the centre of social life for the surrounding ranches and the stopping place for the Forty-niners who used the Mission Pass between San Francisco and the mines. Only a part of the living quarters remains today. Beside this building is the old cemetery, back of which is the Mission garden.

There was nothing in the original plans of the missions to name one after St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order. The Mexican Visitador said, "If Saint Francis wishes a mission, let him show you a good port, and let it bear his name." When Portol? discovered San Francisco Bay he decided that it was the place the Visitador meant, but it was not until seven years later that the Mission San Francisco de As?s was founded. It was commonly called Dolores after a small river that flowed through the Mission grounds. It is quite different in its architecture from the other missions. It has neither archway nor towers but a massive fa?ade. Today it stands in quiet simplicity, surrounded on all sides by modern buildings of the Catholic Church.

In the city of San Rafael stands a mission bell guidepost, marking the site of Mission San Rafael Arc?ngel.

Fear of the Russians caused the Governor to ask Father Altimira to establish a mission at Sonoma. He did this without the sanction of the Church authorities. Mission San Francisco Solano was the last and the most northerly of the twenty-one missions. It is a plain low building, facing the plaza.

Of the twenty-one missions originally built one is completely gone, another a crumbling wall of adobe, and the remainder in only partial restoration. May they all some day be restored to their original grandeur, and the romance and history of Old California again be found in their splendid old walls.

LOCATION OF MISSIONS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR FOUNDING

Name Date Location

Transcriber's Notes

--Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.

--Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.

--Moved some captions closer to the corresponding pictures.

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