Padre Lasuén dedicated this mission to Our Lady of Solitude and, appropriately, it is a solitary place, the only mission in the Salinas Valley. Hot days in the summer and nights below freezing in the winter made rheumatism a common disease among the padres. Twice the chapel was destroyed by floods. But the mission prevailed, recording over 2000 baptisms and 700 marriages. California's first Spanish governor, José Joaquin Arrillaga, is buried beneath the chapel floor. With secularization and the death of its last padre in 1835, the mission went to ruin until restoration efforts were begun in the 1950s.

Thirteenth Mission Built

Founded:
October 9, 1791

Location:
36641 Fort Romie Road
Soledad

MAP TO MISSION &
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS

Mission Scrapbook

LIMITED FINE ART EDITION

"Soledad Afternoon"