How California Started: The Missions and Father Serra

In the 1700s, California belonged to the Spanish who set about establishing a system of missions from San Diego to Sonoma. There were originally only missions in the Baja region of California that were run by the Jesuits, but in 1767, a priest from Spain by the name of Junipero Serra was asked to take over the missions. He'd been living in Mexico and accepted his new job happily. The Spanish wanted the missions as a way to not only convert the Native Americans, but to lay a foundation that would establish Spanish rule in the New World.

Father Serra was in his fifties when he began his task of establishing new missions and died at the age of 70 in 1784. He had help from the governor of Baja, Gaspar de Portola, who was ordered to get rid of the Jesuits. He led an expedition over the land that included Father Serra. They arrived in San Diego and met two ship loads of soldiers that were all supposed to head up to Monterey to find the harbor, but they missed it and ended up at the San Francisco Bay. Thinking it was the ocean, they turned around and headed back to San Diego. Later, they traveled again and Father Serra established the missions that were all connected by the El Camino Real, or King's Highway. In all, there ended up being 21 missions along the coast of California, but the Spanish plan of establishing a foot hold didn't last too long. When the Mexicans fought for independence and won, the Spanish vacated the lands, leaving the Mexicans and Native Americans in California.

Since the Mexicans didn't have enough money or resources to continue the missions, they began to divide and sell off the land for ranching. The Mexican government deeded the property as land grants to Mexicans, and some Indians, who built ranchos in the various cities where them missions used to rule. Most of the land was fertile and provided excellent farming and the perfect climate for growing citrus crops. Orchards and vineyards were started and flourished. Then, when the Americans began moving west, the Mexican American war broke out. As the Mexicans were pushed out of California, the Americans took the ranchos and divided up the land even more until in the 1800s when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Sacramento.

The gold boom brought an onslaught of people into northern California and towns sprung up to support the miners. The next big change came after World War II when housing was needed for the soldiers returning home. The land was suddenly reduced more and the agricultural land was mostly turned into residential neighborhoods. However, many of the old missions were preserved and are still standing for tourists to visit.