Mission San Antonio de Padua: Layout, Agriculture & Scale

Founded in 1771 by Fr. Junípero Serra, Mission San Antonio de Padua sits in the oak-studded San Antonio Valley (Monterey County), the most remote of the 21 Alta California missions—by design, to buffer neophytes from presidio soldiers.

Built Complex (c. 1810 peak)

• 17 adobe structures around a quadrangle: church (1813), convento, workshops (carpentry, blacksmith, weaving), granaries, tallow vats, tannery, guardhouse, soldier barracks, neophyte housing rows.
• Aqueduct system – 3-mile stone-lined zanja from San Antonio River with settling tank & distribution boxes.
• Gristmill – horizontal waterwheel, imported Mexican millstones.

Agricultural Extent

The mission controlled ~4,000 acres under cultivation/irrigation:

• Vineyards: 4,000+ vines (Mission grape) → wine, brandy, vinegar.
• Orchards: peach, fig, pear, plum, pomegranate, quince, apple, olive.
• Field crops: wheat, barley, corn, beans, peas, garbanzos.
• Livestock (1820 report): 12,000 cattle, 8,000 sheep, 1,200 horses, 500 mules.

Neophyte Population

Peak 1,300 Salinan converts (1805). Secularization (1834) dispersed lands; mission returned to Church 1863. Restored 1903–1950 by California Landmarks League & Hearst Foundation. Today: active parish, retreat center, 40-acre historic core within 86,000-acre Fort Hunter Liggett.