Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
On September 1, 1772, Fr. Junipero Serra celebrated Mass with a cross erected near San Luis Creek, founding Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. The very next day, he departed for San Diego leaving Fr. Jose Cavaller with the difficult task of building the mission. The Church and Priest’s residence, the convento wing, was built by 1794. After 1818, the Mission’s prosperity began to decline, and by the 1840s there was little left of the thriving community of earlier times. Governor Pio Pico sold the Mission to Capt. John Wilson for $510 in 1845. During this time, buildings were appropriated for any use deemed necessary by the civil authorities. The Mission became the first courthouse and jail in San Luis Obispo County. The mission was thoroughly restored in the 1930s under the guidance of Father John Hartnett. The Mission is a California Historical Landmark.
San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt