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'Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad' was founded on October 9, 1791 to minister and take in the Indians of the Salinas Valley. The Ohlone, the original residents of the valley, were converted and brought to live here, followed by Esselen and Yokuts. Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga was buried in the chapel after he died on July 24, 1814 during a visit to the Mission. Though prosperous in its early years, the Mission declined after 1825. Nevertheless, Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría stayed on in poverty to serve the Indians until his death in 1835, when the mission was secularized. The Mission lands were subsequently "regranted" to the Bishop of Monterey in 1859. For over a century after secularization the Mission sat crumbling in the wind and rain. In 1954, when restoration was begun, only piles of adobe dirt and a few wall sections from the ''cuadrángulo'' (quadrangle) remained. The chapel was reconstructed and dedicated under the auspices of the ''Native Daughters of the Golden West'' in October, 1955. The ruins of the quadrangle, cemetery, and some of the outer rooms can still be seen.
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad today serves as ''Nuestra Señora de La Soledad Catholic Church'' in the parish of Soledad. It is open to visitors, but is not used as a parish church.

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Notes

References

See also

External links

Notes

1. Leffingwell, p. 109
2. Ruscin, p. 111
3. Yenne, p. 120
4. Ruscin, p. 196
5. Ruscin, p. 195

References

★ California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions, Leffingwell, Randy, , , Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN, 2005, ISBN 0-89658-492-5

★ Handbook of North American Indians, Levy, Richard., , , Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1978, ISBN 0-16-004578-9 / 0160045754, page 486

★ Mission Memoirs, Ruscin, Terry, , , Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA, 1999, ISBN 0-932653-30-8

★ The Missions of California, Yenne, Bill, , , Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA, 2004, ISBN 1-59223-319-8

See also

★ Spanish missions in California

★ Chalon

★ USNS ''Mission Soledad'' (AO-136) — a ''Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

External links

★ Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper