Mission Santa Cruz (''La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz'', which translates as the Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), was the twelfth of twenty-one

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests o ...

(today's U.S. state), established by the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order in present-day

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. The mission was dedicated in 1791 by Father

Fermín de Lasuén Fermín de Francisco Lasuén de Arasqueta (Vitoria (Spain), 7 June 1736 – Mission de San Carlos (California), 26 June 1803) was a Basque Franciscan missionary to Alta California president of the Franciscan missions there, and founder of nine ...

, second president of the

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

missions. The mission was named for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, adopting the name given to a nearby creek by the missionary priest

Juan Crespi ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, who accompanied the explorer

Gaspar de Portolá Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish military officer, best known for leading the Portolá expedition into California and for serving as the first List of governors of California before 1850, Governor ...

when he camped on the banks of the

San Lorenzo River The San Lorenzo River is a long river whose headwaters originate in Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flow south by southeast through the San Lorenzo Valley before passing through Santa Cruz and emptying into Monterey Ba ...

on October 17, 1769.Yenne, p. 112 As with the other California missions, Mission Santa Cruz served as a site for ecclesiastical conversion of natives, first the people, the original inhabitants of the region (called ''Costeño'' by the Spaniards, and later known as the "

Ohlone The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...

"). Later,

Yokuts people The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

were brought from the east. The settlement was the site of the first

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

in Alta California.Ruscin, p. 196 The current Holy Cross Church was built on the site of the original mission church in 1889, and it remains an active

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the

Diocese of Monterey ''This article describes the present Diocese of Monterey in California. The entity previously known as the Diocese of Monterey from 1849 until 1859, and subsequently known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles from 1859 until 1922, is the presen ...

. A section of stone foundation wall from one of the mission buildings and a few old headstones from the mission cemetery can be found directly behind the present Holy Cross Church. A reduced-scale "replica" chapel was built near the mission site in the 1930s and functions as a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of Holy Cross Church. Today's Plaza Park occupies the same location as the original plaza, at the center of the former mission complex. The complex at one time included as many as 32

buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

. The only surviving mission building, a dormitory for native acolytes, has been restored to its original appearance and functions as a museum of the

Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park Mission Santa Cruz (''La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz'', which translates as the Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), was the twelfth of twenty-one Spanish missions in California (today's U.S. state), established by the Fr ...

History

The Santa Cruz mission was originally consecrated by Father Fermín Lasuén on August 28 , 1791, on the San Lorenzo river's flood plain. It was one of the smaller missions, in the fourth military district under protection of the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. The mission was flooded as the San Lorenzo swelled with the rains that winter. Over the next three years, the padres rebuilt the mission on the hill overlooking the river. In 1797, the secular ''pueblo'' (town) of

Branciforte Branciforte, originally named Villa de Branciforte, was the last of only three secular ''pueblos'' founded by the Spain, Spanish colonial government of Alta California. The pueblo was established in 1797 on the eastern bluff of the San Lorenzo Riv ...

was founded across the

to the east of Mission Santa Cruz. The mission padres did not welcome the location of the pueblo so close to the mission, and accused the Branciforte settlers of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

and tempting the native acolytes to desert the mission. On October 12, 1812, Father Andrés Quintana was strangled to death by mission neophytes, angry over his use of a metal-tipped whip in the punishment of laborers, Native Americans, and Native children. In 1818, the Mission received advance warning of an attack by the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...

(simply a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, from the Spanish point of view)

Hipólito Bouchard Hippolyte or Hipólito Bouchard (15 January 1780 – 4 January 1837) was a French-born Argentine sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. During his first campaign as an Argentine corsair he attacked the Spanish colonies ...

and was evacuated. The citizens of Branciforte, several of whom were retired soldiers, were asked to protect the Mission's valuables; instead, they were later accused (by the priests) of

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. The people from the mission then decided to flee the mission, and they later arrived in a new mission. One of the only surviving first-person descriptions by a native Californian of life in a mission was given in an interview by Lorenzo Asisara in 1877. Asisara was born at Mission Santa Cruz in 1819. His father was one of the neophytes involved in the Quintana killing, and Asisara repeated the story his father had told him about those events.

Decline and preservation

Holy Cross Church at Santa Cruz circa 1900 Keystone-Mast

The front wall of the adobe mission, built in 1794, was destroyed by the

1857 Fort Tejon earthquake The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake occurred at about 8:20 a.m. (Pacific time) on January 9 in central and Southern California. One of the largest recorded earthquakes in the United States, with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9, it ruptured ...

. A wooden facade was added and the structure converted to other uses. A new wooden church was built next door in 1858. In 1889, the current

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

-style Holy Cross Church was built over (in the same orientation) part of the original sanctuary and cemetery. The cemetery wall was defined in 1993 and developed as a memorial and native plant garden. At the same time, the mission cemetery was excavated and the remains moved to a mass grave at Old Holy Cross Cemetery, a few miles to the east. In recent years, a group of local volunteers have been working to restore the old cemetery, and to identify the mission gravesite and those whose remains were moved there. A memorial was dedicated in 2016. The only original Mission building left is a long multi-room building which at one time housed local ''

Yokuts The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

'' and ''

'' Native American families. The original building is located at 144 School Street and can be toured during operating hours. There is also a protected remnant of the mission church foundation wall behind the current Holy Cross Church. The parish address is 126 High Street. The road leading to the mission from the west is called Mission Street, which is also part of

California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Monta ...

. In 1931, Gladys Sullivan Doyle proposed to construct a reduced-size replica of the original chapel. She contributed all of the construction costs, on the condition that she be allowed to be buried inside. Her grave can be viewed in a small side room. Since there were no surviving photographs or drawings of the original structure, design of the replica chapel was adapted from an 1876 (19 years after the collapse of the building's front half) painting by the French painter Léon Trousset. The original painting hangs in the nave of the chapel. The concrete construction was done by parishioner Tranquilino Costella, an Italian immigrant, whose contractor stamp is still seen in the sidewalk in front of the mission. The small replica chapel is mainly used for private services, daily Masses (M-F), and Morning Prayer on Saturday. An adjoining room functions as a gift shop. A stone fountain from the original mission complex stands in the garden behind the gift shop.

Santa Cruz Mission Historic Park and District

The only surviving original adobe mission building, a dormitory for Native American residents, has been restored as part of the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park as the Neary-Rodriguez Adobe. The Santa Cruz Mission is designated

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

number 342. The Neary-Rodriguez Adobe was added to the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Cruz County, California __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Cruz County, California. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Santa Cruz Coun ...

as site number 75000484 on February 24, 1975, and the Mission Hill Area as a United States Historic District as site number 76000530 on May 17, 1976.

Unidentified adobe foundations

The stone foundations of an unidentified adobe on the east edge of Mission Hill in Santa Cruz was first discovered in 1978. Prior to any excavations an extensive archival research program was carried out. After no mention was found in the written record, the foundations were given the name the "Lost Adobe". Archaeological excavations (from 1981–84) indicated the presence of 18+ rooms structural foundations extending west toward the original church and cemetery. Artifacts found were a diverse collection of Spanish Mission Era/ Mexican Republic materials including glass beads,

Majolica In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery. Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, was ''maiolica'', a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...

ceramic fragments and phoenix buttons. These findings suggest that the structure was used to house the neophyte community of ''

'' and ''

'' families living at the Mission in the 1820s and 1830s. The Lost Adobe collapsed during the 19th century and no remnants remain. The area is on private property and visitors are not allowed.

Mission Hill train tunnel

Mission Santa Cruz has a hidden single track gated railroad tunnel running under it. Railroad train service used to connect Oakland to Santa Cruz with a train going down the middle of Pacific Avenue on the way to the wharf. In 1876

South Pacific Coast Railroad The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) was a narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California and Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco. The railroad was created as the Santa Clara Valley Railroad, founde ...

built a railroad tunnel under Mission Santa Cruz to reroute train traffic out of the busy downtown corridor. The entrance can be found at the end of Amat street with the tunnel going under the church's parking lot and Emmett Street and emerging at Chestnut street. This is still an active rail line for

Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway The Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway is operated as a seasonal tourist attraction in Northern California, also referred to as the "Beach Train". Its partner line, the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad, is a heritage railro ...

connecting Santa Cruz with Felton.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Official Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park website

Official parish website
built on the site of the original mission church
Early photographs, sketches, land surveys of Mission Santa Cruz
via Calisphere, California Digital Library * * U.S. Library of Congress: 20 images
"Mission Santa Cruz, Emmet & School Streets, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, CA"
{{Authority control Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California California State Historic Parks Museums in Santa Cruz County, California History museums in California Parks in Santa Cruz County, California Religious museums in California 1791 in Alta California 1791 establishments in Alta California Religious organizations established in 1791 California Historical Landmarks Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz County, California History of Santa Cruz County, California Queen Anne architecture in California Victorian architecture in California National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California