Mission San Diego Founded: Spain's First California Mission
The first European structure in California started with four soldiers, two priests, and a makeshift altar under an oak tree. Father Junípero Serra blessed it on July 16, 1769. Within months, the Kumeyaay people attacked twice—they hadn't invited anyone. Serra kept rebuilding. The outpost needed 21 more missions stretching north before Spain could claim the coast, each one a day's walk apart. That oak tree settlement became San Diego, now 1.4 million people. California's oldest city exists because Serra refused to leave after the second burning.
July 16, 1769
257 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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