Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is a Christian religious center that was established by Spanish Roman Catholic priests in California. The Franciscan missionary Fermín Lasuén founded the mission on Oct. 9, 1791, near what is now Soledad, California. Local Ohlone, or Costanoan, Indians helped build the mission and were its earliest members. The settlement’s Spanish name means Our Lady of Solitude, reflecting the mission’s stark, lonely spot in the Salinas Valley. The mission prospered at first, but a series of floods, earthquakes, and epidemics steadily reduced its population. In 1833 and 1834, the Mexican government seized and redistributed properties that belonged to all the missions. Mission Soledad was abandoned in 1835 and fell into ruin.
By 1954, the mission grounds were little more than crumbled adobe dust. A small chapel was rebuilt near the original ruins, and so was part of the priests’ quarters—the convento. Gardens and a small museum were also added. The church’s original bell hangs near the chapel entrance. No priest serves the mission on a regular basis, but services are held four times a year on designated days.
José Joaquín de Arrillaga, once governor of Alta California (upper California), died at the mission in 1814 and is buried in the cemetery.
