Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park

Getting There
The historic park is in downtown Santa Cruz; take Mission Street to Mission Plaza. The adobe is located one block off the plaza on School Street.

Seasons/Climate/Recommended Clothing
Summers in Santa Cruz can be warm with occasional fog, while the winters are cool with some rain. The weather can be changeable so layered clothing is recommended.

Operating Hours & Contact
Thursday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. Closed Sunday. Please call the park to confirm hours.

Telephone: 831-425-5849

Park History
Native People
This land of abundance was home to the Ohlone Indians. Originally living in small groups, neighbors often shared a similar language. The Ohlone lived in domed structures thatched with tule reeds. Groups moved seasonally to prime locations within their territories to fish, hunt or collect plants. They ate processed acorns, seeds, berries and roots, supplemented with meat from large and small game animals, waterfowl and sea life. The Ohlone also managed the grasslands, using fire to encourage fresh plant growth to attract animals like deer and rabbits. Skilled artisans, they created twined baskets, many decorated with abalone pendants, quail plumes and woodpecker feathers. They often traded mussels, abalone shells and salt in exchange for obsidian and other items with the Yokuts, who lived across the coastal mountains in the San Joaquin Valley. Today’s descendants of the Ohlone are preserving their heritage through education.

Spanish Settlers
Spanish missionaries learned of the coastal land surrounding Monterey Bay from early explorers. Gaspar de Portolá, in his quest to find the famed Monterey Bay, passed along the northern shore of Monterey Bay in October 1769.

Misión la Exaltacion de la Santa Cruz became the twelfth of 21 missions established in Alta California. Founded on August 28, 1791, by Father Fermín Lasuén, the mission was first built near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. The mission flooded the first winter, and Father Lasuén had to relocate to higher ground. The new location had a commanding view of the surrounding area, good climate, fertile soil and, due to nearby Mission San José, native people familiar with Christianity. Construction began on the mission complex in 1793. The church and mission quadrangle, complete with gristmill, two story granary and workshops, were completed in 1795.

The mission’s decline began in 1796 when Alta California Governor Diego Borica established the pueblo, Branciforte, across the river. Although Spanish law forbade the establishment of a pueblo within a league of a mission, Borica expected Santa Cruz Mission to support the pueblo. Unfortunately, the first pueblo colonists were a mixed group, including criminals sent from San Blas in Baja California and former Spanish soldiers. They not only encroached on mission lands and livestock pastures, but also abused the mission people, causing 200 Indians to flee the area within two years of the pueblo’s establishment. As the local native population declined, the padres looked to the nearby Yokuts in the San Joaquin Valley as an alternate source of converts, later resorting to recruitment by force.

Another blow to the weakened Santa Cruz Mission occurred in 1818 when Argentine pirate Hippolyte Bouchard - known for plundering California’s missions and communities - was reported off the Monterey coast. Governor Borica ordered Father Ramon Olbés to flee with the remaining Indians to Mission Santa Clara. When recruited to carry out the governor’s orders to save Santa Cruz Mission’s possessions, Branciforte residents stole or destroyed its valuables instead. Although Bouchard never attacked, the actions of the Branciforte residents severely damaged Santa Cruz Mission, leaving it struggling to stay in operation.

Santa Cruz Mission was among the first of the California missions to be secularized in 1834. There was little of value offered to the Indians. Time and the elements quickly brought about the mission’s collapse. An 1840 earthquake destroyed the mission bell tower, and a second quake on January 9, 1857, toppled the front wall of the church and crumbled many of the remaining buildings. Although Mission Santa Cruz no longer existed, its influence on the surrounding community remained. In 1845 Branciforte and the settlements on former mission lands assumed the permanent name of Santa Cruz. A wooden church was built near the collapsed mission buildings and dedicated on July 4, 1858, to serve the Santa Cruz community. In 1891 the Holy Cross Church, a brick structure, replaced the original mission church.

Today a complex of buildings stands on the site of the original Santa Cruz Mission, including a half-scale replica of the original church that contains some surviving mission relics. The only remaining original mission building is the adobe that the Indian families built and lived in while they worked at the mission. Its seven rooms (out of an original 17) house a museum that shows the changes that occurred in the native people’s lives when they came to the mission.

Accessible Features
A picnic area has an accessible table and van parking space. An adjacent restroom is accessible.

The Mission has slightly narrow historic doors and raised thresholds, but is generally accessible. Most exhibits and interpretive panels are accessibly designed. An adjacent store is also accessible. Restroom. Accessible parking and restroom are near the picnic table.