By David Kierwww.vivabaja.comCo-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ The Mission Santa Catalina story begins with the actions of Padre Juan Crisóstomo Gómez while serving as Dominican President from 1790 to 1793. Padre Gómez had recently completed the construction of the great stone church of Mission San Ignacio, and also had practiced… Read more »
By David Kierwww.vivabaja.comCo-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ By the end of 1791, the first five Dominican California missions were established along El Camino Real, securing the corridor between the peninsula and San Diego. The interior could now be brought under control with ‘mountain missions.’ The Indian attacks would be… Read more »
By David Kier www.vivabaja.comCo-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ The future site for the fifth Dominican Baja California mission was discovered in 1769 and named San Francisco Solano, by Franciscan Padre Juan Crespí. In April, 1785, ‘San Solano’ was visited by Dominican Padre Luis Sales and a party of soldiers… Read more »
By David Kierwww.vivabaja.comCo-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ The Dominicans were anxious to complete their charge to establish five missions in the void between San Fernando de Velicatá and San Diego de Alcalá. The Dominicans called this region La Frontera and after 13 years, they only could create three new missions…. Read more »
By David Kierwww.vivabaja.comCo-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ The San Vicente mission was founded on August 27, 1780 by Padre Miguel Hidalgo and Padre Joaquin Valero 20 leagues (about 50 miles) north of Santo Domingo. The location was well watered and at an important intersection of routes north to San Diego… Read more »
By Jennifer Kramer www.bajatheothercalifornia.com Of the many times that I’ve been to the Valle de Guadalupe, I almost always end up Las Nubes winery. Friends from the U.S. are in town? Las Nubes. Taking down groups on tours for work? Las Nubes. Just an easy Sunday afternoon in the valley for fun? Las Nubes. It’s… Read more »
By David Kier www.vivabaja.com Co-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ One year following the founding of their first mission (El Rosario), the Dominicans were ready to begin the second mission of their California service. Padre Manuel Garcia and Padre Miguel Hidalgo traveled twenty leagues (about 50 miles) north to a site… Read more »
By Graham Mackintosh Thirty years ago I was in the middle of a two-year quest to walk around the coast of Baja California. Pacific lagoons such as Ojo de Liebre (Scammon’s Lagoon) and Laguna San Ignacio presented special challenges. Heading north to south and unable to find any fishcamps on the northern shore, I had… Read more »
By David Kier www.vivabaja.com Co-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ El Rosario was the first California mission founded by the Dominican Order, just one year after assuming responsibility over a dozen Jesuit founded missions, and one founded by the Franciscans. The site for El Rosario was known to the Cochimí Indians… Read more »
By David Kier www.vivabaja.com Co-author of ‘The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834’ San Fernando was the first California mission founded by the Franciscan Order, and also the only Franciscan-founded mission on the California peninsula. Originally, California was believed by many to be an island. Once it was established California was a peninsula, Spain… Read more »