Mission San Rafael Arcangel

Mission San Rafael Arcangel

One of the most interesting stories pertaining to the old Spanish Missions of California regards Mission San Rafael Arcangel in San Rafael California. This is an easy mission to explore being located just about twenty miles north of San Francisco along U.S. Hwy 101. If your vacation plans include San Francisco, make certain to put this historic site on your trip planner.

A Mission for Healing

Mission San Rafael Arcangel is the twentieth of the twenty-one missions established in California. The mission was originally established as a hospital site and helper to nearby Mission Dolores in San Francisco although some historians believe that the perceived threat of Russian activity just to the north may have also influenced it's establishment. In December 1817 some two hundred Indians along with four Franciscan friars crossed San Francisco Bay to establish a hospital mission. The new mission's name was in honor of Arcangel Rafael, God's healing messenger. By the year 1820, an estimated five hundred native Americans had been transferred to San Rafael Arcangel.

Mission San Rafael Arcangel interior

The necessity for such a site was due to the illness suffered by a majority of the Indians residing at Mission Dolores. The friars at Mission Dolores, also referred to as Mission San Francisco de Asis, concluded that the harsh weather and regular fog  on the San Francisco peninsula was not only causing much of the sickness but preventing recovery as well. At that time there was never the intent to have the mission site attain status as a full fledged mission however it did in the year 1822. Mission San Rafael Arcangel was built to be a branch, or asistencia, of Mission Dolores. During the early years, Mission San Rafael Arcangel served as what would be the first sanitarium in Alta California.To protect the mission and/or sanitarium from possible hostile Indian attack, a small group of soldiers were transferred their from the presidio in San Francisco.

Mission San Rafael did have it's share of trouble by hostile Indians. At one point there was quite a controversial event when a Father Mercado was accused of arming his neophytes and sending them out to fight Indians who the father suspected were getting ready to attack. A large number of the suspected hostiles were killed and wounded. As a result, Father Mercado was given a six month suspension.

Searching for a Milder Climate


The realities at Mission Dolores were such that it's believed that 5,000 Native Americans were buried at the mission cemetery. Disease ran rampant at the mission site and as was the case with much contact between Europeans and Native Americans, the Indians were quite suceptable to European bred diseases. This phenomena began from the very first contact between Native American and European.

Historic bells to the left of entrance

The site of Mission San Rafael Arcangel was chosen for a reason. The area which is present day San Rafael California had much more sunshine and much less fog than the San Francisco peninsula to the south. The mountains to the west of San Rafael acted as a buffer to the weather coming off the Pacific Ocean. The San Francisco peninsula lacked this natural barrier. The added sunshine and generally milder weather was sought to help the healing process. The move to establish the mission in San Rafael seemed to work quite well. Ailing Native Americans seemed to recover very well at this new more sunny and mild location.


Mission Dimensions and Characteristics

The original church was eighty-seven feet long and forty-two feet wide and eighteen feet high with a clay tile roof. Rather than being mounted on top of the new church, the church bells  were hung from a plain wooden frame in the front to the left of the door as one faced the church. Those same bells are on display today, at the same location in front of the replica church. The visitor today will also see the star shaped window above the church door which is a distinguishing characteristic of the current structure. Interestingly enough, the star shaped window never was on the original building. It appeared in 1899 in paintings of Edwin Deakin. In essence, it never existed. Deakin's star shaped window did survive in his artwork and was built into the replica building which was constructed in 1949.

Three additional Western Trips photo article links about San Francisco area Spanish Missions you'll find interesting are Mission Dolores in San Francisco...Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma...and Santa Clara de Asis Mission in Santa Clara California.

Original mission bell

Mission San Rafael Arcangel Replica 

The original mission replica you'll explore today, the one dedicated in 1949, was built according to specifications known at the time. There were no photos of the original structure therefore the replica was built based on what was known with some variations. The small church building faces west whereas the original faced east. The site location is next to the St. Raphael Parish of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The replica site is approximate since other church buildings had been built adjacent prior to 1949.

Today's visitor will notice that the old mission replica is in no way adorned as are the other California missions to the south. This was because, as mentioned above, Mission San Rafael Arcangel was not originally planned to become an official stand alone mission. Built as a branch of Mission Dolores, the church building was a fairly plain unadorned structure.

Today's San Raphael Parish

The replica building reflects this. This of course is one of the facts that make Mission San Rafael Arcangel unique among the California Spanish missions.

Visiting Mission San Rafael Arcangel 

A day trip north of the Golden Gate Bridge to Mission San Rafael Arcangel is an excellent addition to a Bay Area trip planner. The story of the Spanish Missions is really a vivid story of the very beginnings of California settlement. There's much to learn visiting any of the old missions and Mission San Rafael Arcangel tells us a very unique part of that story.


From San Francisco, drive north on U.S. Highway 101 from the Golden Gate Bridge about fifteen miles and exit at Central San Rafael (Exit 452). The mission is located at 1104 Fifth Avenue about four blocks west of the freeway.   

(Photos from author's private collection)

THOUGHTS ON EARLY CALIFORNIA SPANISH MISSIONS VIDEO

      
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