Mission San Francisco Solano

I remember very clearly my 4th grade class visiting this mission almost 70 years ago. Funny how the brain remembers some things. We had studied missions and since we were only 2 hours away decided to visit some of the missions themselves. This being the last of the 21 missions built made it especially significant. They have a very interesting museum with many significant items from the early days. Now they have included a series of paintings of all 21 of the mission's. Very interesting how they built them all. The Indians were very good workers having created those buildings. Sad that many of the original missions have been destroyed by mother nature, but fortunately they have been restored to look much like the originals. The artwork throughout this building is quite interesting. A definite must stop for any history buff.

Fascinating! Spanish missions in Sonoma County..Wine country, old army settlement, and the classic Missions..you can read the history here about Native Americans and colonists..European settlers and the Bear Flag Revolt..the Missions lined up in California! The tour bus driver told me about it because I did not walk around and notice...then I walked in and observed the old chapel and there were watercolors on the wall...It costs $3 to go to the Mission. My life is a Chinese mission because then I was near Cathedral Hill where the lady lived and so forth!

Small mission right near Sonoma square. I like historical places and history so I stopped by. You can see everything in less than half an hour and it's only $3. It's like every other mission. If you haven't seen many California missions or someone is visiting from out of state, it's a good place to visit.

The Last of the 21 California Missions!

Between 1769 and 1833 in what is today's state of California, Catholic priests of the Franciscan order established 21 missions. The goal was to evangelize the Native Americans and expand the Spanish Empire into the north and west of North America.

Starting in 1769, a chain of 21 missions from San Diego to Sonoma were built. They were built approximately 30 miles apart which is about a day's journey on a mule or horse. The entire trail (called El Camino Real) is approximately 650 miles total and is almost entirely along today's Highway 101.

Founded on July 4, 1823, Mission San Francisco de Solano was the twenty-first and last mission. It was built in what is today the city of Sonoma and was the only one founded after Mexico's independence from Spain and without prior approval of the church.

The mission was built across the street from the military barracks built in 1836 by General Vallejo. The original was mostly washed away by a thunderstorm but a small portion of the original quadrangle still exists. The complex is now located off E Spain Street in north-eastern corner of Sonoma Plaza near many gourmet eateries and upscale shops.

The church at Mission Solano was built in 1841 to replaced the collapsed original structure. In 1906 an earthquake destroyed the complex but it was restored  in 1913 through the dedicated efforts of groups like the Historic Landmarks League. The restored structures includes the church, the padre's quarters that is now a museum, and a large quadrangle. On the west side of the mission there is a commemorative wall with the names of the Native-American neophytes. Dedicated in 1999, it honors the more than 800 people, including over 200 children, who died while living and working at the Mission between 1824 and 1839. Their Christian names are inscribed on this granite memorial.

It's a great place to go. It's like a fun history lesson right in downtown Sonoma right by the Square so go for a picnic right after!
Such a quaint town!

I've always been a history buff: World, US, Wars, Technology, Medicine, Sciences, etc...love that they have a place that remembers the natives that had died here and honor their contributions. I don't ever remember seeing an area at a California Mission that named the men, women, children and unidentified remains of the people who built these missions. This location is the last of the 21 Missions built in California (by Mexicans). Surprisingly I didn't know that the Missions extended past California and as ar South as Cabo San Lucas. Missions were established in many other southwestern states as well. Had an intriguing and eye opening conversation with the park rangers that shared a lot of backstory/history that the signs lack. Grabbed a Mission passport, got it stamped and in hopes to round off the rest in the future.

We visited for my son's fourth grade CA Mission project and we were honored by the most amazing tour guide (April F) and we loved visiting this mission and learning about the history of the site. It's inspired us to visit more missions. And she kept the attention of all our kids and ensured they were engaged and felt part of the tour. We can't thank April enough for making this trip even more special. She even gave us feedback on other places to visit.

This mission, the northernmost of all the missions, is remarkable most of all for the precious artwork bequeathed by the son of the artist, Chris Jorgensen. The artist and his wife, Angela Ghirardelli, also an artist, travelled the state for a couple years studying the landscape and perusing old documents so he could draw the missions as they originally appeared. All of them have been rebuilt over the years, most of them several times. It was a real pleasure to see these renditions. The collection has appeared in famous places including Washington DC.

The mission contains other artifacts from the era and placards on he walls explain the history. At the entrance are the names of all the souls who lived and died there. All the names are Spanish, so clearly the natives were given Spanish names when they were baptized.

Entrance is $3:00 per adult and gains you access also to General Vallejo's
house and headquarters.

Last Saturday my boyfriend and I were exploring the historic town and came across this Catholic Church which we came to find was a Historic Landmark! Although it may not look like much, their used to be over 21 rooms in this historic building! Probably the saddest history we learned about were that Indians were forced to work and became ill and many died from the diseases we brought over. My favorite part of the museum was seeing all the beautiful cactuses which were located in the courtyard, as well as the Grinding Stones used to make Olive Oil!

I would recommend visiting to learn some history yourself, as well as tour their beautiful courtyard, I found it romantic strolling along with my boyfriend! I will return with a tour guide to learn more about the history behind this church, for instance did you know this was the first church under Mexican Rule and the last to be built in Alta California?!

Good thing it cost $3. I had higher hopes for this mission. The two women working there were very welcoming and I would give this place more stars because of that, but I thought it was going to be larger and better than it was. I thought there would be more to see, and take more than 25 minutes to read & see everything. I liked the court yard with the fall colored leaves and the fresh air. Honestly there was not much to see, only pictures and some information on the walls inside 2 rooms and a small chapel. I wish there was more to look at like some of the other missions. The small town of Sonoma was cute and I thought the movie theater was decorated very well for Halloween. I visited the historic park nearby and that was a little more impressive than the mission, noticing how low the doorways were.