Mission San Jose

Missions were founded all along the California coast by the Spanish and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. They were created so that Indians would become a part of the Spanish ways and become subjects of the Spanish king. The priests would come over to the Missions to teach the Indians to be just like the Spanish in every way; clothes, the way they talk, as well as their beliefs. Soldiers were brought over to ensure peace and protect the Missionaries from the Indians.

The "father-president" of the mission was Father Junipero Serra. He dreamed up placing missions all across Alta California and teaching the Catholic ways to the local Indians. He founded the first mission in San Diego in 1769 and founded eight more missions before he died.

Mission San Jose is located in Fremont, California. It was founded by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen on June 11, 1797. It is the 14th of the series of establishment of missions. The mission was named after Saint Joseph.

The mission was in construction when 18 earthquakes hit the city and damaged the unfinished church in 1806. This damage caused the bell tower to be limited only to the roof line and could not be built any higher for fear of more earthquakes. In 1809 the work on the church was completed. In 1868, another earthquake hit the church which caused more damage to the mission. The church and the buildings were mostly damaged, and only left the monastery wing intact, which is now a museum.

After the church was completed, the padres started making adobe homes for the Indians. By 1825, the Indian population was 1,796 and still growing. In 1830, there were 2,000 Indians, making it the largest Indian population in north California at the time. The Indians were trained by the Fathers as weavers, blacksmiths, rope makers, leather tanners, shoemakers and carpenters. The women learned to sew, spin, cook, launder and do needlework.

San Jose had the largest herd of any mission. Their cattle grew from 500 to 350,000. The mission had the 2nd largest amount of land and it was the largest in olive oil production. By 1816 they were trading Indian made goods for supplies, coffee, sugar, and spices. In 1833 San Jose Mission was the most prosperous in the area. They had a church building, monastery, guardhouse, guesthouse, and women's dormitory including all the land that they had.

A