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The Mission
The Buildings of Mission San Miguel, Arcangel.
by Wally Ohles,
Author and Historian

The year 1806 saw the construction of 27 "huts," as living quarters for the Native Americans, called Salinan Indians," by the Europeans. In 1808, a granary (65 feet long), a storage and carpenter room (42 1/2 feet long) and a sacristy (23 1/2 feet long) were constructed.

At Rancho La Playa, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean at San Simeon, a house was constructed in 1810. It was 61 1/2 feet square. Also, during 1810, under the guidance of Padre Juan Cabot, thousands of adobe bricks were made and stored for use in the construction of the present-day church structure of Mission San Miguel.

Padre Juan Cabot was generally known as "el marinero," the mariner, in contrast with his older, dignified brother, Padre Pedro Cabot, of Mission San Antonio de Padua, who was called "el caballero," the gentleman.

In 1812, a house was constructed at Rancho Asuncion, the southernmost property of Mission San Miguel; this building was located on El Camino Real, about three miles northeast of the present city of Atascadero.

The next year, 1813, a building 56 1/2 feet long, was erected on Rancho El Paso de Robles. This location was six miles south of the Hot Springs, and about one mile south of the present city of Templeton.

By 1814, more construction was going on at San Miguel. In 1816, the stone foundations of the present church building were laid; the location is 3/4 of a mile west of the Salinas River.

A house was constructed at Rancho del Aguage, in 1815, near the Vineyard Spring; the rancho contained an area of 22 acres, and is located about three miles northeast of the Mission. The vineyard, known as "La Major," is now in Monterey County; it is still property belonging to Mission San Miguel. The name "Vineyard Canyon" comes from the location of this site.

The adobe house there consisted of two rooms and a small parlor; it was roofed with tiles, naturally, and had a tile-covered corridor, which protected the adobe building from winter rain and summer sun.


The Mission