Old Mission San Jose

Mission San Jose was founded on June 11, 1797 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen on a site which was part of a natural highway by way of the Livermore Valley to the San Joaquin Valley. It is the fourteenth of the 21 Spanish Missions in Alta California. They were founded to secure Spain's claim to this land and to teach the native people Christianity and the Spanish way of life. Many people come to the Mission looking for information about their relatives, such as baptism or burial records. They also provide some services for genealogical searches. A fully developed mission was a self-sustaining village. It was occupied by local natives, a few soldiers, several artisans with families, and one or two priests. According to Spanish law, the mission's lands and resources belonged to the natives and would be put in their control when they had learned to manage themselves in the Spanish way.The site chosen for the only mission on the east side of San Francisco Bay had been inhabited for countless generations by the Ohlone Indians. Their village at this site was known as Orisom. The Ohlones lived close to the land in harmony with nature, taking what they needed for their sustenance but never wasting irreplaceable resources. What we could call ecology was a way of life for them. Their food included seeds, roots, berries, acorn meal, small game and seafood. Three years after the founding of Mission San Jose, several hundred Ohlones had come to live at the Mission. They were introduced to a new way of life by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries. Thousands of cattle roamed the mission ranges. Acres of wheat and other crops were planted and harvested under the direction of the padres. Witnesses have described various incidences of paranormal activity including unexplained sounds, cold spots, eerie feelings, and even apparitions of Native Americans.