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Navigation for San Rafael Arcángel: |
Mission San Rafael ArcángelIn BriefFounded: 14 December 1817 by Padre Vicente de Sarría Detail1816-17: Discussions and correspondence took place between Governor Solá and Padre Ramón Abella at Mission San Francisco de Asís. These discussions centered on the high death and sickness rate at the San Francisco mission; a rate that had been high for some 40 years, since the founding of the mission in San Francisco. Padre Abella put the causes into three categories:
The weather at the San Francisco mission was also considered a strong factor and Governor Solá suggested an experiment: moving some of the Indian population to a sunnier site across the Golden Gate (the water passage; not the bridge!) that had been scounted out by Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga. The experiment was tried with a group of ailing Indians and after a short time they showed a marked improvement. Padre Gil y Taboada, being educated in medical science of the day, volunteered to minister at this new location. 13 December 1817: A group of padres, Padre Vicente de Sarría, Padre Gil y Taboada, Padres Ramon Abella and Narciso Duran, and support people left the San Francisco Presidio. They arrived across the bay and planted a cross as the sun set over the hills. 14 December 1817: Mass was said and the asistencia of Saint Rafael, the Archangel, was formally dedicated. [Side note: Rafael means "healing of God".] At this point San Rafael became the first sanitarium in California. Despite the fact that this was only supposed to be a health asistencia, on the first day some 26 people were baptized at San Rafael. 1818: Simple adobe buildings were erected at the site. The main building was 80 feet (29 varas) long and 42 feet (15 varas) wide. It was basically one building divided into storehouses, a hospital for the sick, and a monastery for the padres. An open corridor ran down one side of the building. A church was also constructed at one end of the building and at 90-degrees to it. The church had no tower and the bells for it were hung outside the front door on a wooden frame. No quadrangle was ever built on this site. 1819: Padre Gil's success at San Rafael brought the number of Indians there to 382 in the first year and the healing value of the site drew the sick from all areas around the site. After two years at San Rafael Padre Gil was replaced by Padre Juan Amorós from Carmel. Padre Amorós served until his death in 1832. [Side note: Padre Gil moved around and ended up as pastor at San Luis Obispo 20 Dec 1831 to 21 Nov 1833. His grave is in the church there.] The structure was extended to almost double its original length this year (roughly 55 feet [20 varas] were added). While the Mission at Sonoma is perhaps better known as being established to help hold the Russians expansion at bay, Mission San Rafael also had a hand in the politics. Padre Gil even traveled with an expedition up to Bodega Bay with the thought of establishing missions at Petaluma and Suisun; neither of which got close to being established. Juan Garcia wrote about Easter of 1819...
1820: The tule roofs on the older structures were replaced with tile roofs and some additional buildings added. 19 October 1822: Under Padre Amorós San Rafael flourished even more. So, on this date the asistencia was promoted to full Mission status. Production at the Mission continued to increase and it became famous for its pears. 1823: A new Church was under construction and white washed. It was completed the next year. White washing was used to protect the adobe from the elements and make the structure stand up better to the elements. February 1829: A group of Indians attacked the Mission. Padre Amorós was saved by a group of Mission Indians who hid him and then formed a human shield to protect him. Ultimately, he hid in the marshes until the fighting was over. The Mission was damaged in this encounter. The mayordomo's residence was built. 1832: Padre Amorós dies this year. He is replaced by Padre José María Mercado. Unfortunately, Padre Mercado was short-tempered and sometimes acted rashly. Reports are that upon seeing a group of Indians he did not recognize approaching he armed a group of Mission Indians. These attacked the incoming group, killing 21 and wounding more. Padre Mercado was suspended for six months for this action and exiled to the mission at Soledad.
While headquartered in Sonoma, General Vallejo's property was the Petaluma Adobe; now a California State park. See here for additional information: http://www.parks.sonoma.net/adobe.html. In 1878 General Vallejo approved a 1931 Vischer Drawing of the Mission. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. This is a 1940 photo of that drawing. Expand it and you can clearly see the general's approval in the upper left corner.
1835: Society of California Pioneers Painting by Renaud depiction of the Mission. This painting dates from before 1835 but how far before is unknown. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. The picture here is a 1940 photo of the painting.
18??: The Frances Rand Smith Collection of the California Historical Society contains this depiction of the Mission some time before it completely collapsed. In 1840 the south wall threatened to collapse. The picture was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. The picture here is a 1940 photo of the depiction.
August 1854: Below is a plat layout from the U.S. Land Commission, clerk records of Northern California. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. The picture here is an April 1938 photo of the layout. I have colorized it to show the agricultural areas in green and the main Mission buildings in red.
1855: A wooden church was built on the site of the original Mission but was later torn down. 1859: Vischer Drawing created after 1859 from the Society of California Pioneers. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. The picture here is a 1940 photo of the print.
1861: On the left is an old print from the Wm. H. Knowles Collection made prior to 1861. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress. The picture here is a 1940 photo of the print. Note: This print shows the Mission as the artist thought it looked. By 1861 the buildings had deteriorated well beyond what is shown in the print. On the right is a 1940 photo of an 1861 Oriana Day painting from the DeYoung Museum and also found in the Historic American Bulidings Survey. This view is supposed to be from the South.
1862: The Mission buildings, being abandoned and in extreme disrepair, were demolished and replaced with a new parish church; the first of several frame churches on the site. This 1940 photo of an 1862 newspaper picture of San Rafael shows the first of the frame churches circled on the left side of the image. It was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress and the original resided at the Frances Rand Smith Collection of the California Historical Society.
1870: An 1870's depiction of the Marin County Courthouse has a drawing of the first frame church in the background on the left. This 1940 photo of that depiction was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress and the original resided at the Frances Rand Smith Collection of the California Historical Society.
1890: By 1890 a second, gothic frame Church had been built on the Mission site. Some reports place the building date at 1870. Below is a 1940 photo of a depiction of this second church dating from 1890. This 1940 photo of that depiction was found in the collection of the Historic American Buildings Survey stored at the Library of Congress and the original resided at the Frances Rand Smith Collection of the California Historical Society.
1919: The gothic church burned to the ground and the current parish church was constructed. 1936: The Mission was designated as California Historical Landmark No. 220.
1949: A replica of the old church building was constructed with a grant from the Hearst Foundation. Since there were no plans to work from many guesses were made in the reconstruction. True to the original, the front was simple with the Mission bell hung on a wooden frame by the door. The cornerstone from the current version of the Mission shows these dates.
Interesting historical tidbits...
References
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