Father Junipero Serra
Founding of the California Spanish missions furnished
an epic in history. These architectural monuments are historical reminders
of the great Franciscan adventure. Patient years of labor, heroic decades
of sacrifice by Fray Junipero Serra, his Franciscan Padres, and the
California Indians who supplied the labor lie behind the founding era
of the 21 missions and their branches. Most of the missions still stand,
sources of wonder and beauty originally a day's ride on horseback apart,
along 600 miles of California's beautiful coastline.
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The California Spanish Missions supplied many of the needed goods in early
California commerce. The indians provided all of the needed labor to keep
the missions functioning as centers of religion and commerce. During the
Mexican annexation the missions were stripped of their exclusive rights
to own large tracks of land. Many of the missions were quickly abandoned
or suffered great loss financially, most missions were destroy by earthquakes
or floods over the years. The 21 California Spanish missions are a large
part of California's rich history.
View all
of the original 21 missions built by the Spanish padres as they looked
in the late 1800s on this site.
See the Pat Hathway
site for historic photographs for sale:
California
Views Historical Photo Collection
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