Mission San José
Encyclopedia
Mission San José was founded on June 11, 1797 on a site located in the "Mission San Jose District" of Fremont, California
(formerly an independent town, a spot that the natives called Oroysom or Orisom) in the "Valley of San José." The settlement was the site of the first Ceasarian section childbirth in Alta California. The Mission entered a long period of gradual decline after secularization
in 1834, though numerous restoration efforts in the intervening periods have reconstructed many of the original structures. The original padre's quarters are now a small museum; Saint Joseph's Church at the Mission San José is today a local parish church of the Diocese of Oakland
.The church has a regular schedule and also has a visitors' center, museum (open daily) and slide show telling the history of the mission.
In the early part of the 1900s a sign was erected on the roof of the museum which read "Mission San Jose de Guadalupe" (in reference to el pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civic settlement in Alta California
, founded in 1777 ). Regrettably, this misnomer is often used by authors and even government agencies to this day when referring to the installation.
, had been inhabited for countless generations by Indians who spoke the San Francisco Bay Ohlone
language. The Ohlone lived a hunting and wild-plant harvesting lifestyle. Their food included seeds, roots, berries, the flour from acorns, small game, deer, fish, and shellfish. In 1797 most of the Indians from the immediate vicinity of the mission site had actually already been baptized at Mission Santa Clara, 13 miles to the south, during the 1780s and early 1790s. It was these people who returned home to form the founding population of the new community (Milliken 2008).
The first Mission San Jose chapel was dedicated on June 11, 1797. However, no Indians came forth for baptism over the weeks that followed. The Saclan, a Bay Miwok
-speaking group of present interior Contra Costa county to the north, had fled Mission San Francisco (Dolores) two years earlier and were threatening to go to war against any nearby groups that joined the mission. Spanish soldiers and townsmen from San Jose attacked the Saclan and arrested their leaders on July 20, 1797, ending that threat to the success of the mission. The first baptism took place on September 2, 1797, when 24-year old Gilpae from the Palos Colorados (redwoods), probably the San Leandro area, was baptized. The new Franciscan priests, Fathers Isidoro Barcenilla and Agustín Merino, succeeded in attracting more converts from villages to the north and east of the mission, so that by the end of the first year it had population of 33 newly-converted Catholic Indians, known to the missionaries as neophytes (McCarthy 1958).
By the end of 1800 the neophyte population had risen to 277, including both Ohlone and Bay Miwok speakers. By the end of 1805 all Indians of the East Bay south of Carquinez Strait
were at the missions. After a devastating measles epidemic that reduced the mission population by one quarter in 1806, people from more distant areas and new language groups began to join the Mission San Jose community. The first such language group was the Yokuts or Yokutsan, whose speakers began to move to Mission San José from the San Joaquin Valley
in 1810. Members of two more language groups, the Coast Miwok
from present Sonoma County and Patwin
from present Napa and Solano counties, moved down to Mission San Jose in the 1812-1818 period, but in smaller numbers than the Yokuts. By 1825 Delta Yokuts was the dominant language in the multi-lingual community of 1,796 people. Over the next few years speakers of yet another language group, Plains Miwok, moved to the mission from the north side of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. By the time Mission San Jose was closed as an agricultural commune
in the mid-1830s, Plains Miwok was the predominate native language among its neophyte Indian people (Milliken 2008).
Father Narciso Durán
became the pastor of the mission in 1806, and remained until he was replaced by Father José González Rubio
in February 1833 as part of a post-independence policy requiring the replacement of Spanish-born clerics with those born in Mexico. Durán trained the neophytes in music, organizing both a choir
and a 30 piece orchestra
that became famous throughout California. While at San José, Father Durán twice served as Father-Presidente of the Franciscan missions.
The Mission's first permanent adobe
church was dedicated with great ceremony on April 22, 1809. Valuable gifts of vestments, sacred vessels, religious statues, and paintings attested to the generosity of friends of the Mission in the Bay Area and abroad. The majority of vestments in the modern collection date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The silken fabrics and embroideries were products of various textile centers of the Spanish Empire
, whose suppliers extended from Europe
to Asia
. Mission San José was the center of industry and agriculture
. The site was chosen for the abundance
of natural resources of the area including water, fertile ground, stones, and adobe soil suitable for building. Thousands of cattle roamed the Mission ranges, and acre
s of wheat
and other crops were planted and harvested under the direction of the padres. In 1868, it produced 4,070 bushels (110 metric tons) of wheat and much produce, including grapes, olives, and figs
.
In 1832, the Mission's 12,000 cattle
, 13,000 horse
s, and 12,000 sheep roamed Mission lands from present-day Oakland
to San Jose
. San José was one of the most prosperous of all of the California missions. An 1833 inventory prepared by Father José González Rubio lists a church, monastery
, guardhouse, guest house, and a women's dormitory
, in addition to the thousands of acres of crops and grazing land. This prosperity was not to last long, however. On August 17 of that year, the Mexican Congress passed An Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California.
. The native people fled but found themselves unable to readjust to their former way of life; many subsequently died of disease and starvation. The Mission buildings, granaries, orchards, and gardens were allowed to decay, and the great herds scattered. Mexican
Governor Pío Pico
sold the Mission property to private interests in 1845 for $12,000. During the 1848 California Gold Rush
, H. C. Smith converted the Mission to a general store, saloon and hotel. The town of Mission San José became a thriving provision center at the gateway to the southern mines. The names of many pioneer families prominent in early California history: Livermore
, Peralta
, and Alviso
(to name a few) were closely linked to the Mission.
es were removed on orders of the parish priest. On March 18, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln
restored the California missions to the Catholic Church.
On October 21, 1868 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake
on the Hayward fault which runs through the grounds of the Mission shattered the walls of the Mission church and broke open the roof. Other Mission buildings, including the Tienda, the Priest's Quarters, and the Mission itself were also damaged by the earthquake.
The site was cleared and a wood-framed, Gothic
-style church was erected directly over the original red-tiled Mission floor. In 1890, a Victorian-style
rectory was built over the site of a portion of the adobe wing which housed the padres and served as the administration building during the Mission Era.
The original mission complex consisted of over 100 adobe buildings. Restoration efforts by the Native Sons of the Golden West
in 1915 and 1950 saved the surviving portion of the Mission wing and converted it into a museum, set in the gracious surroundings of flowers and palm trees. In 1956, the town of Mission San José incorporated with four others to become the City of Fremont
. Plans to reconstruct the church of Mission San José were launched in 1973. The Victorian-style
rectory was relocated to nearby Anza Street and the Gothic
-style wooden church was moved to San Mateo
where it has been restored as a house of worship by an Anglican church group. After extensive archaeological excavations and planning, construction began in 1982 on a replica of the 1809 adobe church. Work was completed and the facility rededicated on June 11, 1985. The walls vary in thickness from 4 to 5 feet (1.5 m). Old timbers and rawhide thongs demonstrate the practicality of the padres who, having no iron nails for building, substituted the leather laces. Consequently, the lumber used in the reconstruction has been given a hand-hewn appearance.
With its "simple and forthright" exterior, the Mission church stands as a tribute to those whose efforts made this dream come true. The richly decorated interior follows the descriptions in the historic inventories of the 1830s. The crystal chandeliers are copies of period pieces similar to ones listed in the old church inventories. Two of the original statues have been placed on the two side altars. Ecce Homo, a figure of Christ
clothed in a scarlet robe and crowned with thorns, stands on a balcony above one of the side altars. The other statue of Saint Bonaventure was carved from wood and then painted. The original baptismal font of hammered copper on a turned wood base has been returned to the church, as has the bell wheel used by the Ohlones during the sacred parts of the Mass.
The reredos behind the main altar features a painting of Christ, a statue of Saint Joseph
, and two carved figures: a dove
represents the Holy Spirit
, and at the top sits God
the Father with detailed golden rays surrounding him. The altar
and choir railings were copied from an original piece found in the museum during the reconstruction. The Mission cemetery (camp santo) is situated to the side of the church where a great number of Mission pioneers buried. During the dig, the marble grave marker of Robert Livermore
was located in the original tile floor of the church. It was carefully repaired and replaced in the reconstructed church. Many prominent Spaniards are buried in the floor of the Mission church but only Livermore's grave is marked. Thousands of Ohlones are resting in the Ohlone cemetery located about a quarter of a mile from the mission down Washington Boulevard. Three of the original Mission bells were transferred from the destroyed adobe church to the wooden church of 1869, where they hung until the 1970s. The fourth bell had been given to a church in Oakland
and recast, but was returned to the Mission during the reconstruction of the bell tower. Now all four bells are hung, ready to ring on special occasions.
In 1985, restoration of the church was completed by the Committee for the Restoration of the Mission San Jose and the Catholic Diocese of Oakland
. It is considered to be a near-perfect replica of the original church, though it incorporates a concealed structural steel frame
which provides earthquake resistance. Further reconstruction of the missing part of the padres' living quarters and a restoration of the surviving adobe wing are part of the overall plans for the Mission. Today, the Mission is administered by St. Joseph's parish, which includes the Mission building and the surrounding areas, an ordinary church building used to fulfill the daily needs of the parish, and a school serving students in grades 1-8.
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
(formerly an independent town, a spot that the natives called Oroysom or Orisom) in the "Valley of San José." The settlement was the site of the first Ceasarian section childbirth in Alta California. The Mission entered a long period of gradual decline after secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
in 1834, though numerous restoration efforts in the intervening periods have reconstructed many of the original structures. The original padre's quarters are now a small museum; Saint Joseph's Church at the Mission San José is today a local parish church of the Diocese of Oakland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area...
.The church has a regular schedule and also has a visitors' center, museum (open daily) and slide show telling the history of the mission.
In the early part of the 1900s a sign was erected on the roof of the museum which read "Mission San Jose de Guadalupe" (in reference to el pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civic settlement in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, founded in 1777 ). Regrettably, this misnomer is often used by authors and even government agencies to this day when referring to the installation.
Mission Period (1797 – 1833)
Work on the site of Mission San Jose commenced in May of 1797 by Indian people from Mission Santa Clara, 13 miles to the south, under direction of Franciscan missionaries and secular Hispanic overseers. The location, on slopes overlooking the Fremont plain on the east side of San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, had been inhabited for countless generations by Indians who spoke the San Francisco Bay Ohlone
Ohlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
language. The Ohlone lived a hunting and wild-plant harvesting lifestyle. Their food included seeds, roots, berries, the flour from acorns, small game, deer, fish, and shellfish. In 1797 most of the Indians from the immediate vicinity of the mission site had actually already been baptized at Mission Santa Clara, 13 miles to the south, during the 1780s and early 1790s. It was these people who returned home to form the founding population of the new community (Milliken 2008).
The first Mission San Jose chapel was dedicated on June 11, 1797. However, no Indians came forth for baptism over the weeks that followed. The Saclan, a Bay Miwok
Bay Miwok
The Bay Miwok were a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating population decline, and lost their language as they...
-speaking group of present interior Contra Costa county to the north, had fled Mission San Francisco (Dolores) two years earlier and were threatening to go to war against any nearby groups that joined the mission. Spanish soldiers and townsmen from San Jose attacked the Saclan and arrested their leaders on July 20, 1797, ending that threat to the success of the mission. The first baptism took place on September 2, 1797, when 24-year old Gilpae from the Palos Colorados (redwoods), probably the San Leandro area, was baptized. The new Franciscan priests, Fathers Isidoro Barcenilla and Agustín Merino, succeeded in attracting more converts from villages to the north and east of the mission, so that by the end of the first year it had population of 33 newly-converted Catholic Indians, known to the missionaries as neophytes (McCarthy 1958).
By the end of 1800 the neophyte population had risen to 277, including both Ohlone and Bay Miwok speakers. By the end of 1805 all Indians of the East Bay south of Carquinez Strait
Carquinez Strait
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
were at the missions. After a devastating measles epidemic that reduced the mission population by one quarter in 1806, people from more distant areas and new language groups began to join the Mission San Jose community. The first such language group was the Yokuts or Yokutsan, whose speakers began to move to Mission San José from the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
in 1810. Members of two more language groups, the Coast Miwok
Coast Miwok
The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek...
from present Sonoma County and Patwin
Patwin
The Patwin are a Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin were a southern branch of the Wintun group and native inhabitants of California from 1,000 up to 4,000 years....
from present Napa and Solano counties, moved down to Mission San Jose in the 1812-1818 period, but in smaller numbers than the Yokuts. By 1825 Delta Yokuts was the dominant language in the multi-lingual community of 1,796 people. Over the next few years speakers of yet another language group, Plains Miwok, moved to the mission from the north side of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. By the time Mission San Jose was closed as an agricultural commune
Agricultural commune
-Karl Marx:In his 1881 letter to Vera Zasulich, Karl Marx wrote that historically the "agricultural commune" is the most recent type of archaic forms of societies...
in the mid-1830s, Plains Miwok was the predominate native language among its neophyte Indian people (Milliken 2008).
Father Narciso Durán
Narciso Durán
Narciso Durán, OFM was a Franciscan friar and missionary. He arrived in California in 1806 after studying briefly at the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico...
became the pastor of the mission in 1806, and remained until he was replaced by Father José González Rubio
José González Rubio
José Norberto Francisco González Rubio, O.F.M., was a Roman Catholic friar prominent in the early history of California. His life encompassed the transition from Spanish colonial, to Mexican, and finally, American society....
in February 1833 as part of a post-independence policy requiring the replacement of Spanish-born clerics with those born in Mexico. Durán trained the neophytes in music, organizing both a choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and a 30 piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
that became famous throughout California. While at San José, Father Durán twice served as Father-Presidente of the Franciscan missions.
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
church was dedicated with great ceremony on April 22, 1809. Valuable gifts of vestments, sacred vessels, religious statues, and paintings attested to the generosity of friends of the Mission in the Bay Area and abroad. The majority of vestments in the modern collection date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The silken fabrics and embroideries were products of various textile centers of the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, whose suppliers extended from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Mission San José was the center of industry and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The site was chosen for the abundance
Abundance
Abundance may refer to:In science and technology:* Abundance , the opposite of scarcities* Abundance , growing food with plentiful resources that will not run out -- sunshine, CO2, and waste or brine water....
of natural resources of the area including water, fertile ground, stones, and adobe soil suitable for building. Thousands of cattle roamed the Mission ranges, and acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and other crops were planted and harvested under the direction of the padres. In 1868, it produced 4,070 bushels (110 metric tons) of wheat and much produce, including grapes, olives, and figs
FIGS
FIGS is an acronym for French, Italian, German, Spanish. These are usually the first four languages chosen to localize products into when a company enters the European market....
.
In 1832, the Mission's 12,000 cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, 13,000 horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, and 12,000 sheep roamed Mission lands from present-day Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. San José was one of the most prosperous of all of the California missions. An 1833 inventory prepared by Father José González Rubio lists a church, monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, guardhouse, guest house, and a women's dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, in addition to the thousands of acres of crops and grazing land. This prosperity was not to last long, however. On August 17 of that year, the Mexican Congress passed An Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California.
Rancho Period (1834 – 1849)
During the transition to full secularization,Father José González Rubio remained at the Mission as chief administrator for the church, while José de Jesús Vallejo (brother of General Mariano G. Vallejo) was appointed civil administrator. The Mission lands were gradually parceled out to private landowners. In 1842, Father González Rubio was transferred to the Mission Santa BarbaraMission Santa Barbara
In 1840, Alta California and Baja California were removed from the Diocese of Sonora to form the Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, OFM, established his cathedra at Mission Santa Barbara, making the chapel the pro-cathedral of the diocese until 1849...
. The native people fled but found themselves unable to readjust to their former way of life; many subsequently died of disease and starvation. The Mission buildings, granaries, orchards, and gardens were allowed to decay, and the great herds scattered. Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Governor Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
sold the Mission property to private interests in 1845 for $12,000. During the 1848 California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, H. C. Smith converted the Mission to a general store, saloon and hotel. The town of Mission San José became a thriving provision center at the gateway to the southern mines. The names of many pioneer families prominent in early California history: Livermore
Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore was a rancher and landowner in the early days of California, whose holdings eventually formed the basis of the city that bears his name: Livermore, California....
, Peralta
Luís María Peralta
Luis María Peralta was a soldier in the Spanish Army, who received one of the largest of the Spanish land grants, Rancho San Antonio, a plot that encompassed most of the East Bay region of California.-Biography:...
, and Alviso
Ignacio Alviso
Juan Ignacio Alviso was an early Spanish settler of what is today the U.S. state of California and grantee of Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros...
(to name a few) were closely linked to the Mission.
California statehood (1850 – 1900)
In 1853, the church became the local parish church. Some of the original exterior adobe buttressButtress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es were removed on orders of the parish priest. On March 18, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
restored the California missions to the Catholic Church.
On October 21, 1868 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake
1868 Hayward earthquake
The 1868 Hayward earthquake was the last large earthquake to occur on the Hayward Fault Zone in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States. It caused significant damage throughout the region, and was known as the "Great San Francisco Earthquake" prior to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake...
on the Hayward fault which runs through the grounds of the Mission shattered the walls of the Mission church and broke open the roof. Other Mission buildings, including the Tienda, the Priest's Quarters, and the Mission itself were also damaged by the earthquake.
The site was cleared and a wood-framed, Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
-style church was erected directly over the original red-tiled Mission floor. In 1890, a Victorian-style
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
rectory was built over the site of a portion of the adobe wing which housed the padres and served as the administration building during the Mission Era.
The 20th Century and beyond (1901 – present)
Native Sons of the Golden West
-History:The Native Sons of the Golden West was founded July 11, 1875 by General A. M. Winn, a Virginian, as a lasting monument to the men and women of the Gold Rush Days...
in 1915 and 1950 saved the surviving portion of the Mission wing and converted it into a museum, set in the gracious surroundings of flowers and palm trees. In 1956, the town of Mission San José incorporated with four others to become the City of Fremont
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
. Plans to reconstruct the church of Mission San José were launched in 1973. The Victorian-style
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
rectory was relocated to nearby Anza Street and the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
-style wooden church was moved to San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
where it has been restored as a house of worship by an Anglican church group. After extensive archaeological excavations and planning, construction began in 1982 on a replica of the 1809 adobe church. Work was completed and the facility rededicated on June 11, 1985. The walls vary in thickness from 4 to 5 feet (1.5 m). Old timbers and rawhide thongs demonstrate the practicality of the padres who, having no iron nails for building, substituted the leather laces. Consequently, the lumber used in the reconstruction has been given a hand-hewn appearance.
With its "simple and forthright" exterior, the Mission church stands as a tribute to those whose efforts made this dream come true. The richly decorated interior follows the descriptions in the historic inventories of the 1830s. The crystal chandeliers are copies of period pieces similar to ones listed in the old church inventories. Two of the original statues have been placed on the two side altars. Ecce Homo, a figure of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
clothed in a scarlet robe and crowned with thorns, stands on a balcony above one of the side altars. The other statue of Saint Bonaventure was carved from wood and then painted. The original baptismal font of hammered copper on a turned wood base has been returned to the church, as has the bell wheel used by the Ohlones during the sacred parts of the Mass.
The reredos behind the main altar features a painting of Christ, a statue of Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, and two carved figures: a dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
represents the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, and at the top sits God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
the Father with detailed golden rays surrounding him. The altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
and choir railings were copied from an original piece found in the museum during the reconstruction. The Mission cemetery (camp santo) is situated to the side of the church where a great number of Mission pioneers buried. During the dig, the marble grave marker of Robert Livermore
Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore was a rancher and landowner in the early days of California, whose holdings eventually formed the basis of the city that bears his name: Livermore, California....
was located in the original tile floor of the church. It was carefully repaired and replaced in the reconstructed church. Many prominent Spaniards are buried in the floor of the Mission church but only Livermore's grave is marked. Thousands of Ohlones are resting in the Ohlone cemetery located about a quarter of a mile from the mission down Washington Boulevard. Three of the original Mission bells were transferred from the destroyed adobe church to the wooden church of 1869, where they hung until the 1970s. The fourth bell had been given to a church in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and recast, but was returned to the Mission during the reconstruction of the bell tower. Now all four bells are hung, ready to ring on special occasions.
In 1985, restoration of the church was completed by the Committee for the Restoration of the Mission San Jose and the Catholic Diocese of Oakland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area...
. It is considered to be a near-perfect replica of the original church, though it incorporates a concealed structural steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
which provides earthquake resistance. Further reconstruction of the missing part of the padres' living quarters and a restoration of the surviving adobe wing are part of the overall plans for the Mission. Today, the Mission is administered by St. Joseph's parish, which includes the Mission building and the surrounding areas, an ordinary church building used to fulfill the daily needs of the parish, and a school serving students in grades 1-8.
See also
- Mission Boulevard
- Mission PeakMission PeakMission Peak is a peak east of Fremont, California. It is part of a ridge that includes Mount Allison and Monument Peak. Mission Peak is located in the Mission Peak Regional Preserve and is a part of the East Bay Regional Park District. There is regular snowfall every winter, but it is typically...
- USNS Mission San Jose (AO-125)USNS Mission San Jose (AO-125)SS Mission San Jose was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission San Jose . Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission San Jose ...
— a Mission Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
External links
- Saint Joseph Catholic Church of Old Mission San José
- Historic Mission San José - museum and tour site
- The Dominican Sisters of Mission San José
- Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
- Listing and photographs at the Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
- Virtual Reality Panorama "Inside the Recreated Church at Mission San José"
- Official website of the Muwekma Ohlone Indian Tribe
- Large collection of pictures of today's Mission San Jose
- Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
