Mission San Antonio de Padua

For those interested in the history and archeology of early-California and Native American cultures, the Mission San Antonio offers the perfect venue to explore our cultural past.Our comprehensive museum houses an amazing display of Mission-period and early-California artifacts. Museum admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. It was founded on July 14, 1771 and was the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra. The mission was also the site of the first Christian marriage and the first use of fired-tile roofing in Upper California. Today the mission is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey. The grounds of the Mission itself are available for personal exploration and discovery. You can see the original millrace which brought water to the Mission for crop irrigation, pits for the tanning of cattle hides, foundations of various structures still under excavation and the original Salinan Indian cemetery.