Monterey County California Regional Search Engine and Guide
 

Explore California's 21 Missions


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.



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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