The Genesis of Mission San José is connected to the development of El Camino Real. By 1796, El Camino Real had become a well-traveled highway that joined the northern extremity at San Francisco with the southernmost mission at San Diego. …
The Franciscan Missionaries had long hoped to establish a chain of missions in which each link of the chain would be a day’s ride apart on horseback. By 1796, there were thirteen Spanish missions along the California coast from San …
Mission San José (sometimes called Mission San José de Guadalupe because of the nearby pueblo named San José de Guadalupe) was founded on June 11, 1797 by Father Fermín de Francisco Lasuén and named for Saint Joseph. The mission is …