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The Santa Clara Mission performed more baptisms than any other mission in the area and the Indians who were there learned Spanish. The missionaries were very interested in making the Indians productive Spanish citizens, as well as providing a prosperous agricultural base for the surrounding villages.
An earthquake, in 1818, caused much damage to the mission and forced a fourth and temporary adobe church to be built. The fifth and final mission began construction in 1822 and was dedicated on August, 11, 1825. The mission stood until 1926.
its destruction.
 
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The The Santa Clara surrounding area.
 
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Santa Santa Clara College Saisset Museum.
{mission_sml.jpg} Sources:http://iccd.engr.scu.edu/http://www.scu.edu/visitors/mission/history.cfmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Clara_de_As%C3%ADs

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By Chris DelineDeline, Daniel Bettinger and David Wright
HistoryThe
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History
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The Santa Clara and funding. Burchard Villiger, S.J., became president then, and transformed Santa Clara. Part of his transformation was remodeling the mission building. The Final model of the church caught fire in because of faulty wiring. It was completely burned, but students and faculty rescued some paintings, statues, and relics. A new Church was built to replicate of the 1825 church before its remodels. The new church was bigger and wider than the original because it had to serve as a parish church for the university and the surrounding area.

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Santa Clara College is now a Jesuit university, Santa Clara University. There are about 4,000 undergraduates enrolled currently. The mission church is used as a parish for the university students, faculty, and alumni, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. It is the only mission to be used as a university. It is open to visitors everyday and the museum for the Mission is located in the university's De Saisset Museum.
{mission_sml.jpg} Sources:http://iccd.engr.scu.edu/http://www.scu.edu/visitors/mission/history.cfmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Clara_de_As%C3%ADs

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The Santa Clara Mission
By Chris Deline and David Wright
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The The main Native the third and final church on the treasury.
TheTwo temporary models for the church made of wood were constructed, until the final adobe model was dedicated on May, 15, 1784. Father Serra said the first mass on the following day.The Santa Clara Mission Today
performed more baptisms than any other mission in the area and the Indians who were there learned Spanish. The missionaries were very interested in making the Indians productive Spanish citizens, as well as providing a prosperous agricultural base for the surrounding villages. An earthquake, in 1818, caused much damage to the mission and forced a fourth and temporary adobe church to be built. The fifth and final mission began construction in 1822 and was dedicated on August, 11, 1825. The mission stood until 1926.The mission staved off secularization in the following years in order to better prepare the Indians for life after its destruction.
The Santa Clara Mission TodaySanta Clara College, was founded in 1851. In December of 1850, the new bishop of California, Dominican Joseph Sadoc Alemany saw a need for more schools and churches. He offered the land and the buildings to John Nobili, S.J. This is how the university became affiliated with the Jesuits. Santa Clara College became the first in California to begin instructing students. It struggled as it was starting out because of a lack of teachers and funding.

By Chris Deline and David Wright
HistoryThe Santa Clara Valley was first seen by European explorers during a land expedition by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769. Juan Crespí, Francisco Palóu, Pedro Font, and Juan Bautista de Anza all commented on the lush nature of the area and the amount of Indian settlements there in their personal logs. The Valley was thought of as an excellent place to establish a mission. The Spanish Viceroy, Antonio Bucareli, ordered expeditions in order to select future mission sites. The original site intended for Santa Clara was on the San Francisquito Creek near the Palo Alto Redwoods, but when they returned in the summer two years later, they discovered the creek dried up in the summers. They then recommended a new site on a river they named Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Viceroy intended to establish two missions in the San Fransisco Bay area in order to fend off Russian or British exploration. The southern of the two was to be named after St. Francis' childhood friend, St. Clare. In November 1776, Governor Rivera sent Fray José Murguía to establish the new mission with soldiers and supplies. On January 6, 1777, Fray de la Peña and soldiers left for the Guadalupe River and eventually set up a cross and a makeshift altar. On January 12, 1777 Fray de la Peña said the first mass at the new mission, eigth in California, called Santa Clara de Asis. In the following days, Fray Murguía arrived with the needed supplies. http://www.scu.edu/visitors/mission/history.cfm {MissionSantaClara_sized.jpg}
The main Native Americans that the Spanish tried to convert were the Costanoans (from the Spanish Costeños, or people of the coast) or Ohlones (an Indian word of uncertain meaning). They lived in tiny settlements that the Spanish called rancherías and were mostly hunter gatherers. They primarily lived in unison with the environment, but the Franciscan missionaries changed their lifestyle completely. The Guadalupe River eventually overflowed in January 1779 and the missionaries were forced to move areas. They moved to higher ground in order to escape the river's flooding capabilities. Fray Juñipero Serra blessed the temporary church on November, 11, 1779. Fray Serra would eventually bless the third and final church on November 19, 1781, when he laid the cornerstone. There he placed a crucifix, religious images, and Spanish coins to signify the treasury.
The Santa Clara Mission Today

The Santa Clara Mission
By Chris Deline and David Wright
needed supplies. http://www.scu.edu/visitors/mission/history.cfm {MissionSantaClara_sized.jpg}