Mission, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad was the thirteenth mission out of all the twenty one California missions. In October 9, 1791 the mission was founded by Father Fermin Lasuén in the Salinas River Valley, approximently thirty miles SE of Monterrey. The mission was washed away by floods and a earthquake. After the floods and the earthquake the mission was rebuilt in October 9, 1955.
The Indian tribes at the mission were the Chalon, Esselen,Yokuts, and the Salinan. Water was brought from the Salinas and Arroyo Seco Rivers through a five-mile system of cement aqueducts, which was built by the Salinan Indians.
The mission people grew wheat, barley, corn, beans, and peas. They also owned 6,000 cattle and 6,400 sheep, which graved on mission land. There was no bell or bell wall, except a single bell made in Mexico in the 1790’s, which hung from a wooden beam near the chapel entrance.
For almost a hundred years, Soledad Mission was abandoned because of the weather. By the 1950’s the only walls still standing was one corner of the chapel. In 1954 the small chapel was rebuilt using adobe bricks, which were handmade from the dust of the old adobes. Some of the original possessions of the mission are being located and returned to their places. Jose Juaquin de Arillaga was governor of California when it was under rule by Spain and Jose Juaquin de Arillaga was burried at Nuestra Señora de la Soledad.
Soledad Mission is a part of the parish, of Soledad. Since 1835 no priest has served here on a regular basis. Services are held just four times a year. Visitors can appreciate the restored garden and also be able to enjoy the small museum at the mission. Each October a Mission Fiesta is held to raise money for the mission, as well as a barbecue fundraiser held each June.
