Mission Santa Cruz was founded on September 25, 1791 by Father Fermin Lasuen, the twelfth mission in the California mission chain. It was named for the Holy Cross, the name that the explorer Gaspar de Portola had given to the area. The mission is located in the city of Santa Cruz, California.
As with most California missions, Mission Santa Cruz served as a clearinghouse for the often brutal ecclesiastical conversion of natives. In response, Mission Santa Cruz was, as far as can be discerned from available sources, the first California mission to come under armed attack by local natives. On the night of December 14, 1793, Mission Santa Cruz was attacked and partially burned by members of the local Quiroste tribe who inhabited the mountains to the east of Point Aņo Nuevo. The attack was purportedly motivated by the forced relocation of native Indians to the mission. In 1812, Father Andres Quintana was assisinated and had his testicles smashed by natives angry over his use of a metal-tipped whip in the punishment of mission laborers.
In 1797, the Spanish governor of Monterey founded the secular Pueblo of Branciforte across the San Lorenzo River from Mission Santa Cruz. The frequent gambling and smuggling which occurred in and through Branciforte brought what the padres of Mission Santa Cruz considered an unwelcome element to the area. In 1812 the mission received advance warning of an attack by the "pirate" Hippolyte de Bouchard. The mission was evacuated and citizens of Branciforte were asked to protect the mission's valuables. Instead, they looted the mission.
A series of earthquakes in 1857 destroyed the mission. The mission was put up for sale, but no one wanted to buy it. In 1858 a wood frame church was built on the old mission property. In 1889 the current Gothic style Holy Cross Church was built on the original adobe mission site. There is nothing left of the original mission except for a row of buildings which at one time housed local Yokut and Ohlone Indian families. In 1931 Gladys Sullivan Doyle proposed to build a replica of the mission; she used her own money to build a half size replica of the original church.
The Mission Santa Cruz is a museum open to visitors. The Holy Cross Church on the site of the original church is an active and busy parish. The half size chapel has weekday masses and is available for weddings and funerals.
SantaCruz was colonized in the mid-1700s by the Spanish, who established both a mission (MissionSantaCruz) and a secular settlement named Branciforte.
SantaCruz is also notable for the extensive damage it suffered during the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which leveled the mostly unreinforced-brick downtown, killing five people.
SantaCruz, known as Surf City USA, is well-known for surfing, and is the home of O'Neill Wetsuits and SantaCruz Surfboards (as well as SantaCruz Skateboards and SantaCruz Bicycles).
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