Alta California was first discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo but for about 200 years, the Spanish did not show any interest in colonizing it. On July 16, 1769, the first mission and presidio were founded by Father Junipero Serra and Don Gaspar de Portola in San Diego. A year later, Fr. Serra established the second mission near the Monterey presidio, near the Bay of Monterey. This mission was called the San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo.
However, Fr. Serra had to move the mission to it's present site in Carmel. Sometimes, the Indians at Monterey would get angry at the way they were being treated, and they would try and strike in hazardous ways to the mission. The mission was now closer to a fresh water source and had a better land for growing crops.
After the early and hard years of Mission Carmel, the mission really prospered. It became the headquarters for Fr. Serra and all the other missions. From here, he supervised the construction of the seven other missions in California. And it was here where he died in 1784 and was buried.
After the death of Fr. Serra, Fr. Fermin Lasuen
continued Father Serra's work. He built a stone church on the site of the original adobe church that Fr. Serra had built. It was the first mission to have a stone church. He also built the remaining buildings at the mission. In fact, the layout of the mission today is much like it was at the time. The Carmel Mission flourished under Fr. Lasuen.
In 1821, Mexico became independent from Spain and California became part of Mexico. For some time, the mission continued to grow but in 1834 it became closed down by the Mexican government and its land was sold to the new settlers coming to California. The Indians as well as the padres were forced to leave the mission. After that the buildings fell into ruins.
In 1846, California got independence from Mexico and joined the United States in 1850. After that, the U.S. government returned the mission to the Catholic Church in 1859. Restoration of the mission began in 1884 and later in 1893, Mr. Harry Downie was put in charge of the restoration project. Despite the lack of funds, Downie slowly started collecting all the old documents, sketches, and photos that were necessary to make plans to restore the mission. The first thing to be restored were the padres quarters which today houses artifacts of the early mission days. The next thing to be restored was the old and out of shape church. In 1941, restoration of the building on the East side of the quadrangle was started. The next building to be restored was the building on the South side of the quadrangle which was reduced to a few crumbled walls and originally had housed the Indian children. In 1946, restoration was started on the padres kitchen and the blacksmith's shop and is now used as the chapel. Finally, the West side buildings, which housed workshops and the residence for the single Indian women, was restored in the 1950s. This completed the restoration of the quadrangle.
However, Fr. Serra had to move the mission to it's present site in Carmel. Sometimes, the Indians at Monterey would get angry at the way they were being treated, and they would try and strike in hazardous ways to the mission. The mission was now closer to a fresh water source and had a better land for growing crops.
After the early and hard years of Mission Carmel, the mission really prospered. It became the headquarters for Fr. Serra and all the other missions. From here, he supervised the construction of the seven other missions in California. And it was here where he died in 1784 and was buried.
After the death of Fr. Serra, Fr. Fermin Lasuen
continued Father Serra's work. He built a stone church on the site of the original adobe church that Fr. Serra had built. It was the first mission to have a stone church. He also built the remaining buildings at the mission. In fact, the layout of the mission today is much like it was at the time. The Carmel Mission flourished under Fr. Lasuen.
In 1821, Mexico became independent from Spain and California became part of Mexico. For some time, the mission continued to grow but in 1834 it became closed down by the Mexican government and its land was sold to the new settlers coming to California. The Indians as well as the padres were forced to leave the mission. After that the buildings fell into ruins.
In 1846, California got independence from Mexico and joined the United States in 1850. After that, the U.S. government returned the mission to the Catholic Church in 1859. Restoration of the mission began in 1884 and later in 1893, Mr. Harry Downie was put in charge of the restoration project. Despite the lack of funds, Downie slowly started collecting all the old documents, sketches, and photos that were necessary to make plans to restore the mission. The first thing to be restored were the padres quarters which today houses artifacts of the early mission days. The next thing to be restored was the old and out of shape church. In 1941, restoration of the building on the East side of the quadrangle was started. The next building to be restored was the building on the South side of the quadrangle which was reduced to a few crumbled walls and originally had housed the Indian children. In 1946, restoration was started on the padres kitchen and the blacksmith's shop and is now used as the chapel. Finally, the West side buildings, which housed workshops and the residence for the single Indian women, was restored in the 1950s. This completed the restoration of the quadrangle.
Above: Mission's quadrangle/courtyard (now restored)