In early 1771, a party of Spanish missionaries (Father Junipero Serra, Father Pedro Font, and Father Miguel Pieras) found an oak-filled valley near the coast of central California. They were looking for a site to found their third mission, and chose this spot. They took a bronze bell from a mule's pack and tied it to the lower branch of a tree. Father Serra rang the bell and cried out: "Oh, ye gentiles! Come to the holy Church! Come to receive the faith of Jesus Christ!"
Early Years of San Antonio Mission
Father Serra left Father Pieras and Father Buenaventura Sitjar in charge. They both stayed at San Antonio Mission until they died, Father Sitjar being there for 37 years.
In 1773, the Fathers moved further north in the valley to be near a better water supply. By 1774, the date of the first records, San Antonio Mission was doing well. They had 178 Indian neophytes, 68 cattle and 7 horses. They had built several buildings and harvested corn and wheat.
The first wedding in California was held at San Antonio Mission on May 16, 1773. Juan Mariu Ruiz from El Fuerte, Sonora, Mexico married Margarita de Cortona, a Salinan woman.
In 1776, San Antonio hosted the explorer de Anza on his overland trip from Mexico to California .
San Antonio Mission 1800-1820
The years between 1801 and 1805 were its most prosperous. There were about 1,296 Indians working there and they had a weavery, wool spinning, a tannery, a carpenter shop, a stable and a harness shop. In 1804, Fathers Sancho and Cabot arrived.
The Valley of the Oaks is very dry, and Father Sitjar had a dam built across the river in the mountains, with a brick-lined channel bringing water down to the buildings and to the fields. A water-powered mill was also built in 1806. Father Sitjar died in 1808.
The church one sees today was built from 1810 to 1813.
San Antonio Mission in the 1820s-1830s
By 1827, San Antonio Mission had over 7,362 cattle, 11,000 sheep, 500 mares and colts, and 300 tamed horses. Harvests were plentiful and they made wine and baskets.
Secularization and San Antonio Mission
In 1834, Mexico decided to end the mission system and sell the land. The Indians could not care for San Antonio Mission by themselves and their population dwindled to only 140 in 1841. In 1845, the property was valued at 8,269 realas, but by 1846 its value had declined to 35 reales and no one wanted to buy it, so the Mexican governor sent a Mexican priest, Father Ambris, to take care of it. He tried to take care of the buildings, but when he died in 1882, the structures were left to the elements.
San Antonio Mission in the 20th Century
San Antonio Mission sits today near Fort Hunter-Liggett, and thanks to its remoteness and the fact that the surrounding land has only had three owners in its history, its surroundings are almost unchanged since 1771.
