Old Town San Diego

The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a quaint-looking building, just the type that I hoped to find in Old Town San Diego. The façade is adobe in color and curves in the old Spanish style with a picturesque bell tower, topped with a sea-blue dome. The innocent-looking place of worship made national news with the Presidential election in November when it warned local voters that if they voted Democrat, they would go to hell.

A flyer inserted in the October bulletin cited issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage as part of the reason that casting a vote for the Dems could be a mortal sin. The pastor of the church later apologized for the comment and stated he was unaware of the flyer.

Our visit to the Church of the Immaculate Conception a month later showed no indication of voter persuasion. All was peaceful as we perused inside the chapel and loitered around the steps in front of the church. A subtle warm breeze stirred on this December evening, being well appreciated by our hardy family from snow-clad Utah. This old Catholic church was our introduction to Old Town.

La Casa de Estudillo

Built in 1917, the church isn't quite old as the “original” Old Town. In fact, structures from San Diego's original settlement are few in number. Most of what exists today are modern re-creations of the old ambiance. Over the years I have asked people what they thought of Old Town, and I would get responses from “very cheesy and touristy,” to “worth visiting.” So, I had to come and see for myself.
 

Old Town is not where one might suspect it to be. Instead of being near the harbor with all the modern skyscrapers, it is located inland and to the north. When Richard Henry Dana landed in the harbor during the hide trade of 1835, he wrote: “There was no town in sight.” Later, when he had a free day to explore the area, he stated: “[we] set out on our walk for the town, which was nearly three miles off.”

Gift shop in Old Town San Diego.

The first European settlement on the west coast of the present-day United States was a military outpost, or Presidio, built in 1769 on a hill just above where Old Town is today. Father Junípero Serra also established a mission there. Spanish soldiers began building homes below Presidio Hill using sun-dried adobe bricks, as wood was scarce. By the 1820's, a small pueblo began to form. It became known as El Pueblo de San Diego. In those days a river passed near the town and flowed into the harbor. (Eventually the river was diverted and now runs into Mission Bay.)

Dana gives a description of the pueblo: “The small settlement lay directly below the fort, composed of about forty dark brown looking huts, or houses, and three or four larger ones, whitewashed, which belonged to the 'gente de razon.' This town is not more than half as large as Monterey, or Santa Barbara, and has little or no business.”

The layout of today's Old Town replicates that of the original with wide, organized streets and plazas. Although most of the structures are replicas, a few of the originals exist, including La Casa de Estudillo and La Casa de Machado y Stewart. Many of these places were locked up for the evening when we arrived.

There was no shortage of souvenir and gift shops. They sold everything from wooden roses to painted skulls commemorating Mexico's Day of the Dead. On an outdoor patio, within one of the buildings, we found a group of kids taking swings at a piñata. Above them, inside an upper room, we spied Santa and Mrs. Claus waving at us through a glass window. We walked through the patio before coming to another gift shop that sold authentic Mexican candy.

The environment at Old Town is colorful and fun. It is easy to get lost in window shopping and strolling around, forgetting that you are looking for a piece of authentic San Diego history. Old Town is a great place for wanna-be history buffs like myself, as well as couldn't-care-less-about-history people like the rest of my family. 

Mormon Battalion Historic Site. Our short December sunlight dipped below the hazy horizon. The dome and the cross and the palm trees at the Church of the Immaculate Conception now silhouetted against the pink hues of sunset. We made our way across the street to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

Coming from Mormon stock myself, this was a piece of my heritage. My third great-grandpa, Andrew Jackson Workman, marched with the battalion.

Most have probably never heard of the Mormon Battalion. In 1846, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormons) had been driven from their beloved town of Nauvoo, Illinois. Just two years earlier, their prophet and leader, Joseph Smith, had been killed by the mob, along with his brother Hyrum. Brigham Young now led the group, and desired to migrate to the west where they could settle in the Salt Lake Valley and find a new beginning.

Presently, however, the Mormons had crossed the Mississippi River and were camped near Council Bluffs, Iowa amongst the Potawatomi Indians. Having been forced to leave their farms and homes in Nauvoo, the Saints were in difficult circumstances to make the trip.

Young sent one of his men to Washington D.C. to seek assistance from the government in fleeing the mob. The result was an agreement that if the Saints could enlist a few hundred men to assist the newly declared war on Mexico, then each man would get paid a uniform allowance, as well as pay for his services. As was custom of the church, each man kept the bare minimum he needed, while the surplus was put into the funds of the church, which was used to purchase teams, wagons, and other necessary items for the trek west. Members of the church saw this as a blessing from heaven. 

Statue at Mormon Battalion Historical Site.

The battalion, consisting of over 500 men, walked from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles. They are the only religiously based military unit in United States history. Although never engaged in a true battle, the battalion's efforts supported the United States in their victory over Mexico, and established a southern wagon route to California.

They arrived in San Diego on January 29, 1847, where they stayed for five months until their discharge. While in San Diego they were beneficial in many projects, including the building of a courthouse, and making bricks and building several houses. They also assisted in building Fort Moore in Los Angeles, and after being discharged, some battalion members were present at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered.

Our visit to the historical site lasted well over an hour. This is not your basic, walk-though and read-the-plaques type of visitor's center. All of the workers are volunteers for the church, and they bring you into a presentation that's a bit cheesy, but makes you feel as if you were there. It was very educational and my kids loved it. Afterward, they brought the kids outside and let them pan for (fake) gold.

Andrew Jackson Workman

At the end of our presentation I found a kiosk that could pull up information on members of the Battalion. With curiosity I typed in my grandfather's name and found this small biography:

Andrew Workman

Born: July 15, 1824; Bourbon County, Kentucky

Enlisted: July 16, 1846

Company: B

Rank: Private

Description: 5 feet 7 inches tall, brown hair, gray eyes

Occupation: Farmer

Family: His brother, Oliver Gaultry Workman, also served as a private in Company B.

Discharged: July 16, 1847; Los Angeles. Reenlisted for six months. Discharged on March 14, 1847; San Diego. Traveled to the goldfields. Travel route to the Salt Lake Valley unknown and may not have left California until 1855.

Died: June 15, 19096; Hurricane, Washington, Utah.

Junipero Serra Museum on Presidio Hill in San Diego.

Presidio Hill and Junípero Serra Museum. Two days later, we returned to Old Town, but this time to Presidio Hill. This is the place where it all began, the location of the military outpost established by the Spanish in 1769. Atop the hill is the Junípero Serra Museum, a whitewashed building with Spanish architecture. Around the building are trees and a few memorials, giving a peaceful and secluded feeling to a place that is relatively close to Old Town and the Mission Valley Freeway.

Many assume that the museum is the old Presidio, but that's not true. The outpost has long fallen to ruins and the mission that was once there moved several miles up the valley. When Richard Henry Dana visited in 1835, he observed that the Presidio was already in decay:

“The first place we went to was the old ruinous presidio, which stands on a rising ground near the village, which it overlooks. It is built in the form of an open square, like all the other presidios, and was in a most ruinous state, with the exception of one side, in which the commandant lived, with his family. There were only two guns, one of which was spiked, and the other had no carriage. Twelve half-clothed and half-starved looking fellows composed the garrison; and they, it was said, had not a musket apiece.”

Father Junípero Serra was a Franciscan priest who came from Mallorca, Spain. He established the mission on Presidio Hill in 1769, which was the first ever in California. The museum, which bears his name, wasn't built until 1925. Admission is free, and the collection inside is modest.

Outdoor patio at Junipero Serra Museum.

From the information at the museum, I learned that the first inhabitants of Presidio Hill were the Kumeyaay Indians, who had lived there for centuries. They made their homes in small huts called ewaas, and used the nearby river, ocean, and mountains to hunt and fish. They were skilled basket makers and wove nets for fishing.

When the Spanish came, the Kumeyaay way of life was altered forever. European practices of grazing soon depleted the native grass and forced the wildlife onto higher ground. The natives were forced into labor to help build new structures such as the mission. The Kumeyaay eventually lost their lands and were placed on reservations.

From atop the tower in the museum, one can gaze through the window see the grand expanse of Mission Valley, with the busy four-lane freeway, the San Diego River, Mission Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. Within view are hotels, a baseball field, and golf course. The eternal southern California haze weighs heavily.

Inside the Junipero Serra Museum.

It is difficult to imagine what this area may have looked like nearly 250 years ago. Before the Europeans came there may have been scattered villages with small wooden huts and thin plumes of smoke rising in the air. After the arrival of the Spanish, there would have been several adobe houses, and the river would have bent southward and flowed into the harbor.

Whether one believes that change has been good or bad, Father Junípero Serra has left his mark on California, and it will forever be altered because of him. Although some have been critical for his treatment of the Natives, there are numerous positive aspects of Serra's life. He established several Catholic Missions in California and left a legacy of honor. In 2015, he was canonized by Pope Francis during his visit to the United States. There is a statue of the Father in the United States Capitol. Nearly three decades before his canonization, Pope John Paul II said this of Junípero Serra: “He sowed the seeds of Christian faith amid the momentous changes wrought by the arrival of European settlers in the new world. It was a field of missionary endeavor that required patience, perseverance, and humility, as well as vision and courage.” ♠

Statue of "The Father" at Presidio Park.