Mission San Jose

Mission San Jose has been rebuilt after suffering damage from an earthquake in the late 1800’s and is now an impressive near perfect replica. I have visited this mission many times as California History and the Missions has been part of every 4th grade class as long as I can remember.

The walls are four feet thick made from adobe, a handmade brick concocted from clay soil and straw. The interior feels much older than other missions. It reminds me of more primitive historic churches such as Tumacacori Mission near Tubac, Arizona, Mission Espada in San Antonio, Texas and San Jose de Laguna Mission in New Mexico.

This is a narrow church, 30 feet wide, and has a redwood beamed ceiling. Most missions are named after the city they are in. This mission is actually in Fremont, California but was coincidentally named after Saint Joseph “San Jose”, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus.

This was the 14th mission of 21 missions, each located a day’s walk away from the next closest Mission. Open Wednesday through Sunday with self-guided tours. Guided tours are once a month on the second weekend. $15 to $7 depending on age and tour type. The next closest mission is Mission Santa Clara.