San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia


The San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia was established in 1786, as a "sub-mission" to Mission San Francisco de Asís in the San Pedro Valley at the Ohlone village of Pruristac. The site is located within the bounds of the Rancho San Pedro in what today is the town of Pacifica.

History

Within the first year a chapel, granary, tack room, and three other rooms had been constructed, using native labor. In 1788 two more rooms were added. In 1789 a second granary was built, quarters for the mayordomo, and quarters for the missionaries were built. Also, a covered passageway which temporarily served as a kitchen. Crops of wheat and beans were planted in quantities to provide for the needs of the parent mission. At its peak the asistencia consisted of a three-wing main structure surrounding a central plaza. Corn, peas, barley, asparagus, and rosemary would, in time also be cultivated, along with grape vineyards and groves of peach and quince trees. Due to a significant decline in the native population, the facility was used mainly as an outpost to graze cattle after 1790.

After secularization of the missions in 1834, Juan Alvarado, the Mexican Governor of California, granted the lands of the Rancho San Pedro to Francisco Sanchez in 1839. Included were all of the buildings of the Asistencia. Sanchez retained ownership of the property after California was ceded to the United States in 1848. In 1894, roof tiles were salvaged from the property and installed on the Southern Pacific Railroad depot located in Burlingame, California. Today, little remains of the original installation.