Mission San Francisco Solano

:"Another mission bearing the name San Francisco Solano is the Mission San Francisco Solano in Coahuila, Mexico.Infobox Missions


caption=Mission San Francisco Solano "circa" 1910.
name=Mission San Francisco Solano|hi location=Sonoma, California
originalname="La Misíon de San Francisco Solano de Sonoma" [Leffingwell, p. 161]
translation=The Mission of Saint Francis Solano of Sonoma
namesake=Saint Francis Solanus of Montilla, Spain| nickname="Sonoma Mission"
founded=July 4, 1823 [Yenne, p. 182]
foundedby=Father José Altimíra [Ruscin, p. 196]
foundingorder=Twenty-First
militarydistrict=Fourth [Forbes, p. 202]
nativetribe=Coast Miwok, Patwin, Pomo, Suisunes, Wappo
placename="Huchi" [Ruscin, p. 195]
baptisms=1,008
marriages=263Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's "Missions and Missionaries of California". Mission Solano witnessed the fewest number of baptisms, marriages, and burials of any settlement in the Alta California chain.]
burials=500Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's "Missions and Missionaries of California". Mission Solano witnessed the fewest number of baptisms, marriages, and burials of any settlement in the Alta California chain.]
neophytes=996 [Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's "Missions and Missionaries of California".]
owner=California Department of Parks and Recreation
currentuse=Museum
coor dms=coord|38|29|38|N|122|45|59|W|
NHL=
CHL=#3
website=http://www.napanet.net/~sshpa/mission.htm

Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823 and named for a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an "asistencia" ("sub-mission") to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta California missionHittell, p. 499: "...it [Mission San Francisco Solano] was quite frequently known as the mission of Sonoma. From the beginning it was rather a military than a religious establishment—a sort of outpost or barrier, first against the Russians and afterwards against the Americans; but still a large adobe church was built and Indians were baptized"."] (an attempt to found a twenty-second mission in Santa Rosa in 1827 was aborted). [Hittell, p. 499: "By that time, it was found that the Russians were not such undesireable neighbors as in 1817 it was thought they might become...the Russian scare, for the time being at least was over; and as for the old enthusiasm for new spiritual conquests, there was none left"."] The mission is located in present-day Sonoma, California.

History

During the years the Mission was active, General Mariano Vallejo resided in town. He was tasked with monitoring the activities of the Russians at their nearby settlement of Fort Ross ("krepost' rus'"), and with establishing peaceful relations with the Native Americans of the region. [Nordlander, p. 10] Vallejo helped to build the town of Sonoma and even paid for the rebuilding of the small Mission chapel. There were always soldiers and settlers in the town of Sonoma during the Mexican period. The Franciscan Fathers grew grapes and produced sacramental wine from the first vineyard in the Sonoma Valley, which was first planted in 1825.

By 1839, the Mission was in ruins and unoccupied. Through the years the Mission saw many different uses, among these a blacksmith's shop, a barn, and even a storeroom. In 1846, European settlers took over the town in what has come to be known as the "Bear Flag Revolt." It was during this time that the Mission was sold to a man who used the chapel entrance as a saloon and stored his liquor and hay in the chapel. The Mission eventually became a parish church serving the "Pueblo" and Sonoma Valley until it was sold to a private interest in 1881. In 1903, the Historic Landmark League bought the remains of Mission San Francisco Solano. Restoration was completed in 1913. The restored chapel burned in 1970. Today, the Mission is part of the Sonoma State Historic Park. It is open to visitors and has a small museum located in the "padres"' quarters.

Other historic designations

* National Register of Historic Places #NPS-75000489 — Sonoma Plaza District
* California Historical Landmark — San Francisco Solano Mission Vineyard

Notes

References

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ee also

* Mission San Rafael Arcángel
* El Presidio de Sonoma
* USNS "Mission Solano" (AO-135) — a "Mission Buenaventura" Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

External links

* [http://www.mymission.org/images/sanfran.gifElevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper]