A view of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in April 2005. The open stairway at the far right leads to the choir loft, and to the left is the six-bellcampanario ("bell wall") that was built after the original bell structure, located at the far end of the church, toppled during the1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake.
The mission was designed byAntonio Cruzado, who gave the building its capped buttresses and the tall narrow windows, which are unique among the missions of the California chain. It was completed in 1805.[12] A large stone cross stands in the center of theCampo Santo (cemetery), first consecrated in 1778 and then again on January 29, 1939. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000neophytes.
According to Spanish legend, the founding expedition was confronted by a large group of native Tongva peoples whose intention was to drive the strangers away. One of the priests laid a painting of "Our Lady of Sorrows" on the ground for all to see, whereupon the natives, designated by thesettlers as theGabrieleños, immediately made peace with the missionaries, because they were so moved by the painting's beauty.[1] Today the 300-year-old work hangs in front of and slightly to the left of the old high altar andreredos in the Mission'ssanctuary. Resistance to the mission by the Tongva was recorded[13] and how much the neophytes embraced Catholicism remains a subject of debate among scholars.[14]
In August 1771, thePortolà expedition, which consisted of "ten Spanish soldiers and two Franciscan priests, encountered armedTongva Indians on the banks of theSanta Ana River."[15] One month later, Mission San Gabriel was founded on September 8, 1771, by Fray Ángel Fernández de la Somera and Fray Pedro Benito Cambón. The planned site for the Mission was along the banks of theRío de los Temblores (the River of the Earthquakes—the Santa Ana River). The priests chose an alternate site on a fertile plain located directly alongside theRío Hondo in theWhittier Narrows.[16] The site of theMisión Vieja (or "Old Mission") is located near the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue.
The mission was built and run using what has been described asslave labor[17] from nearbyTongva villages, such asYaanga[18] and was built on the site of the village ofToviscanga.[19][20] When the nearbyPueblo de los Ángeles was built in 1781, the mission competed with the emerging pueblo for control ofIndigenous labor.[18]
The expedition ofJuan Bautista de Anza visited the mission in January and February 1776, having previous been there in 1774.[21] In 1776, a flash flood destroyed much of the crops and ruined the original Mission complex, which was subsequently relocated five miles closer to the mountains in present-day San Gabriel (the Tongva settlement ofToviscanga or 'Iisanchanga).[22] The Tongva village ofShevaanga was also located "close to the second location of Mission San Gabriel" after the original site was abandoned due to the flooding.[23]
On December 8, 1812 (the "Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin"), a series of massiveearthquakes shook Southern California. The1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake caused the three-bellcampanario, located adjacent to the chapel's east façade, to collapse. A larger, six-bell structure was subsequently constructed at the far end of theCapilla. While no pictorial record exists to document what the original structure looked like, architectural historianRexford Newcomb deduced the design and published a depiction in his 1916 workThe Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta (upper) California.
Over 25,000baptisms were conducted at San Gabriel between 1771 and 1834, making it the most prolific in the chain of missions. Tongva people from nearby settlements like Akuranga village were affected by the practices of Franciscan missionaries, who attempted to "eradicate what they perceived as ills within Tongva society" through "religious indoctrination, labor, restructuring of gender structures, and violence," which took place at and around the Mission.[15] A missionary during this period reported that three out of four children died at Mission San Gabriel before reaching the age of 2.[24] Nearly 6,000 Tongva lie buried in the grounds of the San Gabriel Mission.[25]
There were reports throughout this period ofIndigenous peoples fleeing the conditions at the Mission. For example, in 1808, the missionaries sent Spanish soldier José Palomares after someneophytes who had fled the mission. Escapees traveled as far as theSerrano village ofWá’peat to escape the Mission. Palomares observed the escapees at the village and attempted to negotiate with the chief of the village for their return. However, the chief refused.[26][27]
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel c. 1900. The trail in the foreground is part of the originalEl Camino Real.
Although San Gabriel once furnished food and supplies to settlements and other missions throughout California, a majority of the Mission structures fell into ruins after it wassecularized in November 1834. The once-extensive vineyards were falling to decay, with fences broken down and animals roaming freely through it.[28] During part of the 1850s, squatters set upon the mission, converting part of it into a saloon which had both felons and ajustice of the peace as customers;[29] it was opened by former San Diego MayorJoshua Bean.[30]
The Mission's chapel functioned as aparish church for the City of San Gabriel from 1862 until 1908, when theClaretian Missionaries came to San Gabriel and began the job of rebuilding and restoring the Mission. In 1874, tracks were laid forSouthern Pacific Railroad near the mission. In 2012, artifacts from the mission era were found when the tracks were lowered into a trench known as theAlameda Corridor-East.[31] On October 1, 1987, theWhittier Narrows earthquake damaged the property. A significant portion of the original complex has since been restored.
Fire completely destroyed the roof of the original church sanctuary on July 11, 2020.[32] Prior to the fire, the mission was undergoing renovation, saving some paintings and artifacts.[33] An investigation into the origin of the fire was opened.[34] On May 5, 2021, John David Corey, age 57, was charged with felony counts of arson and burglary for setting the fire.[35] An invitation-only Mass was celebrated in September 2022 with hope of permanently opening the mission by early December.[36] The mission officially reopened in July 2023.[37]
Land claims of the Catholic Church at Mission San Gabriel in 1854; the surveyor's map describes the church, cemetery, ruins, adobe house, dwellings, orchard, garden, and a vineyard bounded by an adobe wall and aprickly pear fence
The goal of the missions was to become self-sufficient in relatively short order.Farming was the most importantindustry of any mission. Prior to the missions, the Native Americans had developed a complex, self-sufficient culture. The mission priests established what they thought of as a manual training school: to teach the Indians their style of agriculture, the mechanical arts, and the raising and care of livestock. The missions, utilizing the labor of theneophytes, produced everything they used and consumed. After 1811, the mission Indians could be said to sustain the entire military and civil government of California.[38]
Ranchos (not to be confused with secular government land-grant ranchos) were established in a wide area for raising cattle, sheep and other livestock. These included; San Pasqual, Santa Anita, Azusa, San Francisquito, Cucumonga, San Antonio, San Bernardino, San Gorgonio, Yucaipa, Jurupa, Guapa, Rincon, Chino, San Jose, Ybarras, Puente, Mission Vieja, Serranos, Rosa de Castilla, Coyotes, Jabonaria, Las Bolsas, Alamitos, and Cerritos.[39] When Rancho San Gorgonio was established in 1824, in what today is known as theSan Gorgonio Pass, it became the most distant rancho operated by the San Gabriel Mission.[40]
To efficiently manage its extensive lands, Mission San Gabriel established several outlying sub-missions, known asasistencias. Several of these became or were included in land grants following theMexican secularization of the missions in the 1830s, including:
In 1816, the Mission built agrist mill on a nearby creek.El Molino Viejo still stands, now preserved as a museum and historic landmark. Other mission industries included cowhide tanning/exporting and tallow-rendering (for making soap and for export),lime kilns, tile making, cloth weaving for blankets and clothing, andadobe bricks.
Bells were important to daily life at any mission. They were rung to mark mealtimes, to call the Mission residents to work and to religious services, to mark births and funerals, to signal the approach of a ship or a returning missionary, and at other times; novices were instructed in the intricate rituals associated with the ringing of the mission bells. The mission bells were also used to tell time.
The actor Gil Frye portrayed Father Miguel Sánchez in a 1953 episode, "The Bell of San Gabriel," of thesyndicatedtelevisionanthology seriesDeath Valley Days, hosted byStanley Andrews. As a child portrayed in the segment by Peter J. Votrian, Miguel provides funds acquired from a wealthy nobleman to sweeten the tone of the bell at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. Years later, the ringing of the bell saves his life when he is a young monk stranded in the desert in the Death Valley country.[42]
The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Cemetery is the oldest and first Catholic cemetery in the state of California.[43] A large stone cross stands in the center of theCampo Santo (cemetery), first consecrated in 1778 and then again on January 29, 1939, by the Los Angeles ArchbishopJohn Cantwell. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000 "neophytes;" a small stone marker denotes the gravesite of José de los Santos, the last American Indian to be buried on the grounds, at the age of 101 in February 1921. It is the oldest and first cemetery in the state of California.[43]
Also interred at the Mission are the bodies of numerousFranciscan priests who died during their time of service, as well as the remains of Reverend Raymond Catalan, C.M.F., who undertook the restoration of the Mission's gardens. Entombed at the foot of the altar are the remains of eight Franciscan priests (listed in order of interment): Miguel Sánchez, Antonio Cruzado,Francisco Dumetz, Ramón Ulibarri, Joaquín P. Núñez,Gerónimo Boscana,José Bernardo Sánchez, and Blas Ordaz. Buried among the priests is centenarianEulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné, the "keeper of the keys" under Spanish rule; her grave is marked by a bench dedicated in her memory, andVictoria Reid, a woman fromComicranga, who was taken to the mission at a young age and became a respected figure inMexican California.[44]
The Tongva people have their own ceremony and traditions after death. A 1724engraving depicts Native Americans (most likely Tongva) carrying a dead body over a smoky fire.[43]
Visitors can tour the church, museum and grounds. The adobe museum building was built in 1812 and was originally used for sleeping quarters and book storage.[45] Exhibits include mission relics, books and religious artifacts.[46] The grounds feature operations from the original mission complex, including indoor and outdoor kitchens, winery, water cisterns, soap and candle vats, tanning vats for preparing cattle hides, and a cemetery. There is also a gift shop.
As part of the William McPherson Collection[47] in the Special Collections[48] at theClaremont Colleges' Honnold/Mudd Library, the San Gabriel Mission[49] are a valuable resource for research on the pre-statehood activities of the Mission.[50] William McPherson was a rancher, scholar, and collector fromOrange County, California, who donated his extensive collection of mission documents, primarily from the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, to Special Collections in 1964.[50][51]
The matrimonial records span 1788 to 1861 and are notarized interviews with couples wanting to marry in the Roman Catholic Church, performed to establish the couples' freedom to marry.[50] The collection includes 165 investigations, with 173 men and 170 women.[50] Because the donated records are fragile, they are no longer available to be photocopied. TheCalifornia Digital Library has an online guide available to search the collection.[52]
^Engelhardt,San Diego Mission, pp. v, 228 "The military district of San Diego embraced the Missions of San Diego, San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, and San Gabriel..."
^Dietler, John; Gibson, Heather; Vargas, Benjamin (2018). "'A Mourning Dirge Was Sung': Community and Remembrance at Mission San Gabriel".Forging Communities in Colonial Alta California. University of Arizona Press.ISBN9780816538928.
^Hernández, Kelly Lytle (2017).City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965. UNC Press Books. p. 25.ISBN9781469631196.How much the neophytes embraced Catholicism remains a lively debate among scholars.
^abSaavedra, Yvette J. (2018).Pasadena Before the Roses: Race, Identity, and Land Use in Southern California, 1771–1890. University of Arizona Press. pp. 20–21.ISBN9780816535538.
^Street, Richard Steven (2004).Beasts of the Field: A Narrative History of California Farmworkers, 1769–1913. Stanford University Press. p. 39.ISBN9780804738804.A clerk with the Jedediah Smith fur-trapping party spent considerable time observing his San Gabriel mission surroundings. He soon found himself unable to tolerate the site of the natives working in the nearby vineyards and fields. 'They are kept in great fear, and for the least offense they are corrected,' he confided in his diary. 'They are... complete slaves in every sense of the word.'
^abEstrada, William David (2009).The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space. University of Texas Press. pp. 35–36.ISBN9780292782099.Thus, the missionaries and pobladores became competitors. They secured Indian labor through various material inducements, such as food and clothing, and also by capture.
Jones, Terry L. and Kathryn A. Klar, ed. (2007).California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity. Altimira Press, Landham, MD.ISBN978-0-7591-0872-1.
Krell, Dorothy, ed. (1979).The California Missions: A Pictorial History. Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, CA.ISBN0-376-05172-8.
Leffingwell, Randy (2005).California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN.ISBN0-89658-492-5.
McCawley, William (2006).The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles. Malki Museum Press and Ballena Press, Banning and Novato, CA.ISBN0-9651016-1-4.
_(14779735781).jpg)
