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History of San Jose Mission
San Jose (Saint Joseph), The fourteenth Franciscan mission founded in
California, and the first one of the five new missions established by Fr. Lasuen
in 1797-98 to fill the gaps between the older ones. The site chosen was about 15
miles north of Santa Clara, and about 3 miles from the present town of Irvington, Alameda
County. The native name of the site was Oroysom. The formal ceremonies of foundation
were performed by Fr. Lasuen on June 11,1797, and by the end of that year there
were 33 baptisms, and 286 by 1800. In 1810 there were 545, but 1,104 deaths were
reported during the decade.
In 1820 there were 1,754 neophytes. The highest
number, 1,886, was reached in 1831. The mission was prosperous from the
beginning and continued so long after many of the others declined. In 1820 there
were 6,859 large stock and 1,200 small stock; in 1830, 13,300 and 13,030,
respectively. The average crop for the decade ending 1820 was 6,020
bushels, and for that ending 1830, 5,409 bushels.
The first church was a wooden structure
with a grass roof, but in 1809 a new church was dedicated. Even before the
founding of the mission the Indians of the neighborhood, especially to the
eastward, were somewhat feared, and San Jose seems to have had more trouble with
the Indians than any other in California. The rather forceful methods used by
the padres in obtaining neophytes, together with the ease with which they could
escape to gentile or hostile villages, doubtless increased the difficulties.
More than once expeditions to recover runaway neophytes were attacked. In 1826
a party of neophytes got into trouble with the Cosumni, and a punitive
expedition was sent out, which brought in 40 captives.
In 1829 there was an
extensive campaign into the San Joaquin valley against rebellious natives headed
by Estanislas, a former neophyte of the mission. After 1830 San Jose was more
prosperous than any other mission in California. In 1834 the neophytes numbered
about 1,400. The number of natives baptized up to that time was 6,670, of whom
2,488 were children. In 1840, 580 were still at the mission, with possibly 200
more scattered in the district. The mission was secularized in 1836, when the
inventory showed a total valuation, excluding lands and church property, of
$155,000. After 1840 the decline was rapid. In 1843 the mission was restored to
the control of the padres. Two years later it was estimated that about 250
Indians still lived in the vicinity. In 1846 the mission was sold by Gov. Pico
for $12,000, but this sale was not confirmed, and the Catholic Church retained
control. The old mission church has now completely disappeared and a modern
parish church has been built on the site. The only part of the old buildings
remaining is a portion of the monastery. The Indians in the neighborhood of the
mission belonged to the Costanoan linguistic stock, the Saklan, Karkin, and
Mutsun divisions being doubtless represented. A large part of the neophytes,
however, especially during the later years of its existence, came from San
Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, and included representatives of the Moquelumnan,
Copehan, and Mariposan (Yokuts) linguistic stocks.
Additional Mission
Resources
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includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
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Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Indian Missions of the
United StatesFree
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