Fremont - Mission San Jose Chapel

History

This mission was set up about 14mi/23km from the present town of San Jose, on a slope of the Diablo Mountains (the town was not established until 1851) and was intended as a base for expeditions against hostile Indians and also as a place for baptisms. Only one wing of the inner courtyard has been restored, and this houses a museum with artifacts from the mission period and some Mexican sculptures. Shortly after it was secularized the mission leader of many years' standing, Father Narciso Duran, founded an orchestra made up of Indians who had been taught to play western stringed instruments. After secularization the church served initially as a parish church. It was finally destroyed by a serious earthquake in 1868. There