Photos

One of the numerous Missions in California, Mission San Miguel Arcangel, founded on July 25, 1797 by the Fraqnciscan order. Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen oversaw the development of the site. Reportedly, the site was chnosen bcause there were numerous Salinian native people in the region. The mission reported a native population of 908 in 1803. It was the 16th such mission to be constructed in the state of California. The mission was destroyed by fire in 1806 but was rebuilt in about a year's time. It was seized by the Mexican government in July, 1836, when Ignacio Coronel took charge. In 1846, governor Pio Pico sold the mission to Pentronillo Rios and William Reed for $600. Reed used it as a family residence and store, but the family was murdered in 1848, so the misison remained vacant for a time. It was eventually returned to the Catholic church by President James Buchanan in 1859. In 1928 it was returned to the Franciscan order. It now has one of the best-preserved interiors because it was tended by priests for such a long period. The San Simeon earthquake of Dec. 2003 did quite a lot of damage, however, so the structure will be retrofitted at an estimated cost of $15 million; until it is repaired, the building is off-limits to the public. The current mission church is 144 feet long by 27 feet wide and is 40 feet high. The cemetery adjacent to the chapel has 2,249 Native Americans interred in it, according to burial records. This one is located in San Miguel, in San Luis Obispo County.