|Main entry of church with DeAnza Trail bell in foreground|
Initially I prepared a form for the Carmel Mission – see my blog post from August 2010 - and used it as an example. Last month I visited Mission San Jose with my 4th grade grandson and together we observed, photographed and took field notes for that site.
|Central space between the church and monastery wing|
The Mission was known for its production of olive oil and for its Native American musicians – a band and choir taught by Father Narciso Duran. In May 1827 when Jedediah Strong Smith spent time at the mission he noted that the band had “12 or 15 violins, 5 base vials and one flute.” During the 1830’s and 1840’s Mission San Jose functioned as the social center for the ranchos on the east side of San Francisco Bay.
|Junipero Serra in garden courtyard|
The original church building was completed in September of 1797 and expanded in 1798. That building was replaced by a larger adobe church in 1809. Other buildings in the quadrangle housed the padres, a granary, schoolrooms, workshops, dwellings for converts, barracks for soldiers, guestrooms, storage areas and a gristmill on Mission Creek. At its peak there were more than 100 buildings in the complex.
The 1809 edifice stood until it was destroyed in an earthquake on October 21, 1868. In 1869 the adobe church was replaced by a wooden gothic-style church built over the original foundation. That building was moved to the City of Burlingame in 1982 and an authentic replica of the 1809 adobe church was reconstructed and completed in 1985.
|View of mission tower from the cemetery|
Mission San Jose is California State Landmark No. 334, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Studying the missions is something every 4th grade student does in California. If you didn’t attend elementary school in California you should make a point of visiting one or several missions to get a unique view of the state’s history. Even if you did attend school in California it may be time to go back and refresh your knowledge of our state’s beginnings.
|The graves of many California pioneers are in the Mission cemetery|