St. Rose Parish History

Area History

California was part of Spanish Mexico during the time the California missions were founded. The Spanish government encouraged the creation of the missions. To further this end Padre Sitjar, from Mission San Antonio, searched the region between Missions San Luis Obispo and San Antonio during the summer of 1795, to find a new mission site, as the system was designed for missions to be located a day's journey apart. A site was found and marked near the Indian Village of Vahca near the Salinas River . Mustard seed (imported from Europe ) was scattered along the route from one mission to another, making it easier to locate each mission.

One of the purposes of the new mission was to evangelize the local Native Americans. When the first Padres arrived, only 1200 natives were estimated to be living in the area between San Luis Obispo and Monterey . They were members of the Hokan Nation and have come to be called Salinans, from the Spanish and modern designation given the river which drains the region. Some of the local Indians had learned of the Padres and their work through friends or relatives living at Missions San Luis Obispo and San Antonio , and had been asking for a mission near them.