Mission San Francisco Solano Postcard

Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823 and named for a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." It was originally planned as an asistencia ("sub-mission") to Mission San Rafael Arcángel. The mission is located in present-day Sonoma, California.

Mission San Francisco Solano Postcard

By 1839, the Mission was in ruins and unoccupied. In 1846, European settlers took over the town in what has come to be known as the "Bear Flag Revolt." It was during this time that the Mission was sold to a man who used the chapel entrance as a saloon and stored his liquor and hay in the chapel. The Mission eventually became a parish church serving the Pueblo and Sonoma Valley until it was sold to a private interest in 1881. In 1903, the Historic Landmark League bought the remains of Mission San Francisco Solano. Restoration was completed in 1913. The restored chapel burned in 1970.

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Mission San Francisco Solano