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 collapsed or were destroyed 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.