Mission San Antonio de Padua
Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, end of Mission Creek Road, PO Box 803, Jolon, CA 93928 Mission San Antonio was founded July 14, 1771, the fourth of the twenty-one California missions. Fr. Junipero Serra led a small party to the site of the original mission, erected a bell, and rang it loudly to attract the attention of the local Salinans. The temporary wooden structures of the original mission were supplanted by adobe buildings when the complex was relocated to the present site in 1793 due to drought. San Antonio was the first California mission to adopt the use of fired roof and floor tiles. A central quadrangle contained granaries, storage facilities, and manufacturing areas. By 1805, the mission had reached its population peak of 1,300 Salinan neophytes. Due to summer drought, irrigation works were important from the earliest years. San Antonio was the first mission to develop such a system, based on ancient Roman prototypes, and it became the most elaborate in Alta California. All these capitol improvements supported a growing population, greater crop production, and larger herds of livestock. San Antonio was known for its grain production and outstanding orchestra and choir, organized by Fr. Jaun Sancho, known as the "Mozart of California". With a homogenous native population and located distantly from the major ports and military establishments, the mission developed peacefully over a span of sixty years. Mission San Antonio gradually fell into decay following secularization in 1834. The mission was staffed with Hispanic Franciscans and a small congregation of faithful neophytes until 1883, when it was completely abandoned. Visited occasionally by Victorian picnickers, the church of 1813 was eventually restored by the Historic Landmarks League in 1906. The restoration had to be repeated in the same year due to the effects of the San Francisco earthquake. Restored to the custody of the Franciscans in August 1925, the mission served as a friar's school during a major restoration of the quadrangle in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the Hearst Foundation and Franciscans cooperated on the project. Archaeological research was conducted each summer from 1976 to 2004 on various outbuildings of the mission. In 2004, the Franciscans withdrew and a secular priest was assigned to the mission. Landmark Status National Register of Historic Places California State Landmark #232 Directions to the Mission From US-101 : Exit at Fort Hunter Liggett/Jolon Road. Proceed 26 miles to Fort Hunter Liggett Reserve (the gate is not staffed). Turn left and proceed 5 miles to the mission. Map Hours of Operation Usually 10a - 4p daily. Please call 831-385-4478 x17 for current hours. Facilities Gift Shop Museum of Native American and Mission-era Archaeology Retreat Center Fiesta Grounds with bbq pits, picnic tables, and entertainment pavilion with a dance floor
Tel: 831-385-4478
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