San Francisco Solano Mission, founded in 1823, was the last and most northerly of the 21 Franciscan missions of Alta California. It marked the northern end of "The King's Highway," El Camino Real. The Mission was the only one of the California missions to be established under Mexican rule, independent of Spain.
Sonoma Mission, as it is popularly called, was the dedicated goal of the young and zealous Padre Jose Altimira. With the approval of Mexico's Governor Arguello, but without official church sanction, Altimira headed into the northern wilderness to find a more healthful location for his Indian neophytes than the crowded San Francisco de Asis Mission.
Here in the Sonoma Valley he found his ideal location, with fertile soil and mild, sunny climate. He blessed the site on July 4, 1823, and started construction the following month.
