Soledad - Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

History

Little remains of the Nuestra Senora de la Soledad mission. Its Spanish name means "Our Lady of Solitude". The Franciscan Fathers thought they recognized the Spanish "soledad" in the name the Indians had given it.

One is still haunted today by this feeling of solitude, and can well understand why the Fathers tried to flee from this oppressive isolation. In scarcely four and a half decades 30 Fathers took on the leadership. Epidemics and floods occurred frequently; in 1831 the church collapsed, and a storehouse had to be converted quickly into a chapel. Secularization did the rest. Only this chapel and a wing of the inner courtyard have been restored.

Location

Fort Romie Road, about 3mi/5km northwest of Soledad, the site of a state prison, not far from the U.S. 101.