It was an unlikely spot for a mission, in a hot, windswept, treeless valley, the Soledad Mission location was chosen because it provided a break on the 100-mile journey between San Antonio de Padua to the south and Carmel to the north.
Early Years of the Soledad Mission
Soledad Mission floundered during its first years. The weather was bad - hot, dry and windy in summer and freezing cold on winter nights, and no one wanted to stay very long. Not only was it hard for the Fathers, but very few Indians lived in the area.
To make matters worse, the first two priests at Soledad Mission, Father Marino Rubi and Father Bartolome Gili, were young men who caused constant trouble during their priestly training. They did nothing to help Soledad Mission grow, and from the time they were assigned to there, they complained (mostly about a shortage of altar wine) and asked to be transferred. Father Rubi left in 1793 and Father Gili left a year later.
Father Florencio Ibanez arrived at Soledad Mission in 1803, and was the first to give it consistent leadership. He stayed at Soledad Mission for fifteen years, installing an irrigation system, and raising crops and cattle. Despite an epidemic in 1802 that killed many Indians, by 1805 there were 727 people, 688 of them neophytes, at Soledad Mission. By 1810, the population dwindled to 598.
In 1814, California's first Spanish Governor, visited Soledad Mission to see his old friend Father Ibanez. While he was there, the Governor Arrillaga died, and he was buried in the old church. Father Ibanez died four years later, and was buried next to his friend.
Soledad Mission in the 1820s-1830s
Father Vicente Sarria, who was once Father-Presidente of the California Missions, came to take care of Soledad Mission after Father Ibanez died. An 1827 inventory included 5,400 sheep, 4,000 cattle and 800 horses.
Floods in 1824, 1828 and 1832 destroyed the church and chapel, and they were not rebuilt. Father Sarria stayed on as Soledad Mission became poorer and poorer, sharing his meager food with the Indians until he died of starvation. He was buried at Mission San Antonio.
Father Sarria was the last priest to serve Soledad Mission. During its history, the Fathers performed 2,000 baptisms and 700 marriages.
Secularization at Soledad Mission
When Soledad Mission was secularized in 1834, it had a 5,000-vine vineyard, three ranchos, 3,246 cattle, 2,400 sheep and 32 horses. Its assets were $556, but it owned $677 in debts. The Soledad Mission roof was sold to pay its debt to the Mexican government. By 1839, only 78 neophytes, 45 cattle, 586 sheep and 25 horses remained.
In 1845, Governor Pio Pico sold the site to Feliciano Soberanes for $800. Without a roof, the building's walls had crumbled from the weather by the time the United States government returned the property to the Catholic Church.
Soledad Mission in the 20th Century
Reconstruction of Soledad Mission began in 1954. So far, only the chapel has been rebuilt.
