California Missions in Monterey County
The history of Monterey County is deeply tied to the history of California's missions. Monterey County is home to three of California's 21 missions, and two of the first three missions. Within these beautiful buildings you can hear echoes of a history that dates back to before the founding of the United States.
The second Spanish mission ever founded in California, the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, was established in 1770 in Monterey, just steps from what is now El Estero Park, and was moved to Carmel the following year. Jolon's San Antonio Mission, the third California mission established and widely considered the most successful, was founded in 1771. In 1791, Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad was established; the town surrounding it, Soledad, took its name from the mission.
Franciscan Padre Junípero Serra, who established the second and third California missions, is interred at the Basilica Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Carmel.
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