Mission San Miguel Arcángel — Attraction in Paso Robles

Mission San Miguel Arcangel, the 16th mission, was founded by Franciscan Fr Fermin Lasuen in 1797. After the death of Father Junipero Serra in 1784, Fr Lasuen became Father-President and took charge in the establishment of new missions. This was the 7th mission founded by Father Lasuen.

The purpose of Mission San Miguel was to shorten the travel distance between Mission San Antonio de Padua and Mission San Luis Obispo. Along the Camino Real (the King's Road), missions were plotted to be a day's ride (or 3 days walking) apart from one another. Missions were also established to be near a water source, to have fertile lands capable of supporting multiple crops and/or livestock, and to be near native villages. Becoming self-sufficient became as equally necessary as the intended goal of seeking Catholic converts (neophytes) itself.

The site was selected because this location filled a last gap (day's ride) from Mission San Diego to Mission San Francisco. Equally important, both the Salinas River and a large Salinan village were nearby. A temporary wooden church was built, replaced with an adobe church in 1798. A destructive fire in 1806 burned the roof of the church (thatched), many buildings and much of its stored grain.

By 1814, the Mission's population had grown to over 1,000 neophytes. The larger (and current) Mission San Miguel chapel was built from 1816-1818. It was built with a tile roof. By this time, the Mission was prosperous as it grew wheat, corn, barley, peas, grapes, cattle, horses, sheep and pigs.

With the Mexican Secularization Act of 1833, Mission San Miguel was seized by the Mexican government in 1836. Purchased by William Reed for $600 in 1846, his family lived there until they were murdered in 1848. The mission buildings were later converted into a hotel, saloon and stores.

In 1859, President Buchanan returned the mission to the Catholic Church. But by then, its buildings were in ruins. It was not until 1878 that an assigned priest re-established a small parish. In 1928, Franciscan Friars from the Santa Barbara Diocese returned to Mission San Miguel Arcangel.

In 2003, Mission San Miguel was severely damaged by the devastating 6.5 magnitude San Simeon (San Andreas Fault) earthquake. Retrofitting has continued for years, with the church finally reopening in 2009. Funding to complete retrofitting continues to this day.

Unique to Mission San Miguel is its original native frescos on its chapel walls. It is the artwork of Esteban Munras and other Salinan artists, completed in 1821. This is the only CA Camino Real mission with its original (unretouched) frescos. Also, its series of 12 walkway arches are original. Mission San Miguel contains the most surviving original structure than any other CA mission.

If Mission San Antonio is considered the least visited CA mission due to its distance from Hwy 101, then Mission San Miguel should be considered the easiest. It is located just feet away from its Highway 101 exit. What is most remarkable about a visit here is the interior of the Mission. Its rooms are truly representative to its times; its chapel is simply breathtaking in still having its original frescos on its walls. If driving along Camino Real in a mission quest in search of the best, then Mission San Miguel should be...

I passed by this mission a couple months ago and was instantly drawn to its beautiful exterior features so I decided to stop by at a later date. I stopped by a week ago, the website has not updated the fee change so I paid the $12 entry fee. The individual at the front desk was nice enough to go over the areas that were enabled to be accessed during the tour and it was nice that they included a map because not only could I not hear her explain the tour but the directions on the map were sort of confusing. I was impressed with the mission itself which not only exceeded with beauty but you could tell that the individuals in charge of the mission went through great lengths to ensure that the mission remained in the natural and original state; very rare to see missions like this anymore. As I finished the tour which ended on the opposite end of the main entrance/ the gift shop, place my me in the cemetery, and I decided to return to the gift shop to take some items home with me. I took my items to the cash register which coincidentally placed me right in front of the entrance door when an older individual started pounding on the door telling me I am in front of the door exit and proceeded to insult me and call me stupid for standing in front of the exit. Not only did I try explaining to the individual that it was in fact the entrance to the mission and that the tour ends all the way at the end of the building, but not one of the two employees stepped in to correct the man, but instead asked him how his tour was and what his favorite part was. It was almost as if I was at fault for standing in the wrong place at the wrong time regardless of the fact that layout of the gift shop placed me there and that the individual could have easily utilized the other entrance door without hitting me with it or insulting me. I was very disappointed because not only could the whole situation been avoided but it seems like simple stuff such as explaining the tour better, using a tone that anyone can hear and understand, fixing the layout of the gift shop or placing an entrance sign can allow individuals who are confused about the tour to gain a better...

*Visit was made before lockdown was put in place. Mission San Miguel Arcangel is visit #8 for us. We made a last minute visit here and just had enough time to see the whole grounds. It is a pretty good size and with it's old looking gates & adobe walls it's the most authentic looking Mission in California. After paying the fee and going through the Museum I found a very nice model of the Mission built by the inmates at San Quentin, this project was offered as a rehabilitation effort for the inmates. They had other rooms with different models, pigments, and some 18th century paintings. This Mission has a very large Cemetery, according to the Mission's burial records it holds the remains of more than twenty-two hundred Native Americans. Right there in the cemetery you can see the Bell Wall as well. This is definitely a Mission worth...