Mission Santa Cruz
...ssion of Santa Cruz, they lived on the bay of the San Francisco river. When they joined the mission, their lives changed miraculously. The Ohlone Indians traded things with the other tribes nearby and with the people at the mission. The Indian boys and men learned how to build and made adobe bricks. The girls and women learned how to sew and cook. The Indians got their water from the river and Father Lasuen and his missionary group were going to do the same. They learned a lot from the Ohlone Indians and used the things they learned for sources at the mission. Mission Santa Cruz was off to a great start. The spot was specially picked by Father Lasuen. It had rich soil and was one of the most beautiful areas out of all the missions. It was planned to be by built by many helpful Indians. With all of these things, the mission was almost perfect. But with all the effort it just wasn’t enough to make the mission as perfect as was planned. Father Lasuen put a cross in the ground directly in the middle of the land. The mission was built on a hill with a perfect view of the San Lorenzo river. The first few years were successful. The Indians planned to work hard, starting at the beginning and did, which gave the mission’s work a big boost, but flooding slowed it. They realized that they built too close to the river so it was moved it back to a different hill. They had to start building over because the flood. Many fires, earthquakes and other disasters threatened Mission Santa Cruz. This is how they got their nickname “The Hard Luck Mission”. In 1799, a rainstorm caused so much damage that the church had to be rebuilt. Father Quintana was tricked into going to see an Indian that was sick and was attacked and killed by the Indians. But through the many disasters, Father Lasuen and his group’s work still moved on. On February 27, 1793 a new and beautiful church was built. It was almost 30 feet wide and almost 115 feet long. The first few years after the mission was built were happy and enjoyable. Indian Chief Sugert and his family had become members of the mission. By 1796, there were around 500 Indians at the mission. The mission was similar to other missions because they planted wheat and corn. They also raised sheep and cattle and planted vineyards...