Mission San Miguel Arcángel

Another mission bearing the name San Miguel Arcángel is the Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera in Baja California.

Mission San Miguel Arcángel

The "Mission on the Highway" circa 1910.
Location	San Miguel, California
Name as Founded	La Misión del Gloriosísimo Príncipe Arcángel, Señor San Miguel [1]
Translation	The Mission of the Glorious Prince, Archangel Saint Michael
Patron	Archangel Saint Michael
Nickname(s)	"Mission on the Highway" "The Unretouched Mission" [2]
Founding Date	July 25 1797 [3]
Founding Priest(s)	Father Fermín Lasuén [4]
Founding Order	Sixteenth
Military District	Third
Native Tribe(s) Spanish Name(s)	Salinan
Native Place Name(s)	Valica [5]
Current Owner	Roman Catholic Church
Current Use	Parish Church (under repair)
Coordinates	35°44′41″N, 120°41′53″W
National Historic Landmark	#NPS-71000191
California Historical Landmark	#326
Web Site	http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/

Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area. In 1846, Governor Pío Pico sold the Mission for $600 to Petronillo Rios and William Reed. Reed used the Mission as a family residence and a store. In 1848, Reed and his family were murdered, leaving the Mission vacant for a period of time. The Mission was a stopping place for miners coming from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and was consequently was used as a saloon, dance hall, storeroom and living quarters. In 1878, after 38 years without a resident padre, Father Philip Farrelly became the "First Pastor" of Mission San Miguel Arcángel. Through all the years the priests kept the church in condition and it is called the best-preserved church in the mission chain today. In 1928, Mission San Miguel Arcángel and Mission San Antonio de Padua were returned to the Franciscan order. Since then, the Mission has been repaired and restored. and has one of the best preserved interiors (which gives one of the best examples of old mission life). For many years, the Mission served the town as an active parish church of the Diocese of Monterey. Unfortunately, harmonic vibrations from the nearby Union Pacific Railroad main line has weakened the unreinforced masonry structures over the years. The San Simeon Earthquake of December 22, 2003 caused severe damage to the sanctuary at Mission San Miguel. It will be a several years before seismic retrofitting of the structure (estimated to cost between $10 million and $20 million) will be completed; until then, the building will be off-limits to the public.

Notes

1. ^ Leffingwell, p. 91
2. ^ Ruscin, p. 129
3. ^ Yenne, p. 140
4. ^ Ruscin, p. 196
5. ^ Ruscin, p. 195

References

• Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5. 
• Ruscin, Terry (1999). Mission Memoirs. Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA. ISBN 0-932653-30-8. 
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8. 

See also

• Spanish missions in California
• USNS Mission San Miguel (AO-129) — a Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

External links

• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
• Virtual Reality Panorama "Inside Mission San Miguel"
• NPS description of Mission San Miguel

An interior view of the capilla (chapel) at Mission San Miguel Arcángel circa 1897.

Mission San Miguel Arcángel chapel interior, 1934.