home

Casey Grant and Rob Nichols

The San Jose mission was founded on July 11, 1797 by Father Fermin Lausen. The San Jose mission is 15 miles northeast of the city of San Jose. Mission San Jose was in a troublesome location known to be an area populated with many runaway neophytes (Christianized Native Americans) and hostile tribes. It served as a base for military operations against those Native Americans resentful of the intrusion of the missionaries. Many skirmishes and battles took place here between the hostile natives and the Spanish soldiers.

During the first year conversions were slow. In the first year only 33 Native Americans were baptized. Eventually the mission exceeded any other mission in Northern California in conversions. Over 6,000 baptisms were recorded. The fertile land helped the missions to a great extent with their farming. Not only did their farming thrive but also there livestock, they had over 20,000 cattles and horses. Much of the prosperity of this mission is due to Father Narciso Duran who ran the mission for 27 years before he went on to become the Father-President of the California missions. Fr. Duran had a great talent for music and taught many neophytes how to read music and play the many instruments he obtained from Mexico. He even created a thirty piece band whose mission concerts drew audiences from many miles away.