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Thank you for inquiring about our beautiful Mission. The
following is a brief explanation of its history that we hope you find helpful in
your study.
Alta (upper) California was first discovered in 1542 by the Spanish explorer
Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo. Although known to the Spanish from that date, Alta
California was the last frontier of Spanish colonization. It was over 200 years
before they showed an interest in establishing colonies in Alta California. In
the year 1769, the Spanish sent an expedition from New Spain (today’s Mexico) to
take possession of Alta California. The plan was to establish missions and
presidios (forts) at San Diego and Monterey to colonize the territory for Spain.
The expedition was under the leadership of Father Junipero Sera and Don Gaspar
De Portolá. On July 16, 1769, they established the first mission and presidio at
San Diego.
On June 3, 1770, after a year of journey and hardship, the soldiers of De
Portolá and the missionaries led by Fr. Serra, gathered by the Monterey Bay to
witness a formal ceremony of the erection of the Holy cross that would mark the
establishment of the second mission which was to be called Mission San Carlos
Borromeo. The Mission was located near the Monterey Presidio beside the Bay of
Monterey.
Some of the soldiers at the Presidio were treating the Indians badly. This kept
many away from Fr. Serra. The Indians felt Fr. Serra was a part of the Presidio.
So, on August 24, 1771, Fr. Serra moved the Mission from Monterey to its present
site in Carmel. This also put the Mission closer to a fresh water source and
better land for growing crops. The early years here at Carmel were hard. The
first Church and dwellings were made of wood and mud. The padres depended mostly
on ships from Mexico for their supplies. Unfortunately, these ships did not make
it to the Monterey Bay very often. So the Indians shared what little food and
supplies they had. Over time, the Padres were able to grow their own crops, and
this provided a great deal of the food for the people. Also, the wood and mud
buildings were replaced with adobe structures. Carmel became the headquarters
for Father Serra and all the Missions. It was from here that he oversaw the
building of seven other Missions in California. Here he labored with his Indian
friends until his death on August 28, 1784. Today, if you visit the Mission, you
can see the cell in which he slept and where he died.
After Fr. Serra’s death, Fr. Fermin Lasuén continued the work. It was Fr. Lasuén
who built the stone church that stands today. It was built on the site of the
original adobe church with stone quarried from the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains.
It was the first California Mission Church to be built from stone. The only
other Mission Churches of stone were at San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara.
The eighteen other Missions were built of adobe. The remaining buildings at the
Mission today have been rebuilt on the same foundations of the buildings built
by Fr. Lasuén. So the layout of the Mission today is much like it was in the
early 1800’s. The Carmel Mission flourished under Fr. Lasuén.
 In 1821,
Mexico gained independence from Spain. Now, California became part of Mexico.
The Mission continued to grow. Then in the year 1834, the Mexican government
closed the Mission and took over the Mission lands. Although they said that the
mission land would go to the Indians, most of the Indians did not receive any
land. Instead, the land was sold to the new settlers coming to California.
The Indians were forced to leave the Mission. Many of them returned to their old
native ways or worked for the new settlers as ranch hands or servants. The
Padres also were forced to leave the Mission. Some of them went back to Mexico
or became priests in the Churches of the new towns of California.
Sad times lay ahead. After the Indians and Padres left, the buildings fell prey
to vandalism and decay. The quadrangle, which was built of adobe, became nothing
more that piles of mud. The church of stone remained a sorrowful reminder of the
past. Its roof fallen in, its adornments removed, it stood a ruin.
In 1846, California won its independence from Mexico to become an independent
country called the Republic of California. In 1848, it officially became a
Territory of the United States, and in 1850 it became the thirty-first state of
the Union. The Mission continued to remain in ruins. Then on October 19, 1859,
the United States government returned the Mission to the Catholic Church.
 Restoration of the Mission
began in 1884 and continues to this day. In 1933 the greatest period of
restoration began. It was then that Mr. Harry Downie was put in charge of the
restoration project. Due to the lack of funds, the work started slowly.
Excavation of the ruins and the study of old documents, sketches and photos were
necessary to make plans. Work was started on the padres’ quarters which today
houses artifacts of the early mission days. Mr. Downie was able to gather these
from many scattered places. It is one of the finest collections in California.
In the year 1936, the roof of the church, first repaired in 1884, required
immediate attention. Through various means, funds were raised, and the stone
church, in major part, was restored to the beauty of the early Mission days.
In the year 1941, attention was given to restoring a building on the east side
of the quadrangle. This building originally served as the soldiers’ quarters.
Today it serves as the Mission office and rectory.
Restoration of the building on the south side of the quadrangle, of which
nothing was left but the foundation and a few crumbled walls, was started in
1943. This building, which originally housed the Indian children, is today
classrooms for Junipero Serra Elementary School.
In 1946, a ruin of the original padre’s kitchen and the blacksmith shop on the
east side was restored and today is used as a chapel. This building made
complete three sides of the quadrangle.
To complete the restoration of the quadrangle the west side buildings which
originally housed workshops and the residence for the single Indian women was
restored in the 1950’s. Today it is also classrooms for Junipero Serra
Elementary School.
Thanks to the work of Harry Downie and those who followed him, today the Mission
looks like this.
We hope this information will help you with your study and that one day you will
be able to visit this historic place that is so important to the beginnings of
California.
The Priests, Staff and Volunteers of Carmel Mission
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