The Name of Mission San Jose

Often incorrectly called Mission San José de Guadalupe, Mission San Jose is located in Fremont, California and is the only Californian Mission on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. It has occassionally been called Mission San José de Guadalupe because a person accidentally placed a sign with this name on the museum roof in the early 1900's. This was probably because the pueblo (or city) of San Jose was founded 13 miles south of the Guadalupe River (California) and the person who made the sign thought that this city was connected with Mission San Jose (both the mission and the pueblo were named in honor of St. Joseph).

History

The mission was founded June 11, 1797 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen and is the 14th of the 21 Spanish Missions in the state of California.

Location

Mission San Jose is located in Fremont, which is in Alameda County as well as in the Silicon Valley. The nearest high school is named after it (Mission San Jose High School) and it was the center of one of the original five communities that existed before they merged to become Fremont. The Mission is also near (about a mile or so) to Mission Peak.

Interesting Facts

• Each mission located in California is one day's walk apart from each other. This was done so that the monks and people going on pilgrimages would travel during the day and have a place to rest each night.
• Many people get confused with the fact that Mission San Jose is not in San Jose, California, but rather, in Fremont, California.

Sources

• The Story of Mission San Jose