055: Secrets of Mission San Luis Rey Part 1 with Art Historian Helena Hazleton

In this episode, I interview art historian Helena Hazleton, Director of the Museum at Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. In this captivating conversation, Helena shares her expertise on one of the largest and most productive California missions.

Main topics of Part 1:
- The unique history and founding of Mission San Luis Rey in 1798
- How the mission survived the devastating 1812 earthquake
- The story of Father Antonio Peyri and his influence on the mission's success
- The remarkable tale of Pablo Tac, a young Luiseño who wrote a grammar of his native language
- The mission's decline during Mexican rule and its abandonment
- Abraham Lincoln's role in returning the mission lands to the Catholic Church

Helena provides fascinating insights into the mission's architecture, its relationship with local indigenous peoples, and its place in California history. This interview offers a wealth of knowledge about one of the state's most important historical sites.

For more information:

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia

Transcript

Helena Hazleton (2) 0:00

at some point it administrated close to 950, 000 acres of land. More than, about 7,000 people were baptized, been in a matter of 45 years. Uh, the active population was about 3000, which was the largest of any mission. he built about five missions in a matter of three years I believe. And San Luis Rey was one of those five missions, actually it was the last one.

0:32

Welcome to California Frontier, the show about the often overlooked and unexpected early history of the place we call California. I'm your host, Damian Basich.

Damian Bacich 0:51

Today I'm honored to have with me Elena Hazleton, who is the director of the museum, correctly if I'm wrong, at Mission Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. So I'm hoping that today we're going to have an interesting conversation about some of the things that I think are really Unique about this mission. And Elena has a lot of expertise and a lot of background. So thank you Elena for being here.

Helena Hazleton 1:23

Thank you for

Helena Hazleton (2) 1:24

me.

Damian Bacich 1:26

we met about maybe a year and a half ago. I think it was probably in the spring or April, I think in April of 2023. When the California Missions Foundation organized a day at Mission San Luis Rey, if I'm not mistaken. And you provided some really interesting tours of the mission, the mission grounds, the church. And I came away really wanting to know more about this mission. and really, impacted by the uniqueness of it and the, the different it's history and the different artifacts and artworks and things that are there. So. Before we begin, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself and how you wound up working with Mission San Luis Rey?

Helena Hazleton (2) 2:29

Well, I am not from California. I'm originally from Mexico City. I was born and raised there. I went to school to study art history. I studied at Universidad Iberoamericana. In Mexico City and I ended up starting my career, eh, mostly teaching but I also worked from about 2012 to 2017 at a Muso May, which houses one of the largest private art collections in the world. And it has a beautiful Spanish colonial collection as well. I came to California in 2017, just randomly. My husband lived here and we met before I moved in. We decided to get married. It was just easy for me to come here. And we ended up living three blocks from Mission San Luis Rey. And trying to find something to do in a new, completely new place for me. I came to Mission San Luis Rey and I stayed and I've been here for a little over seven years

Damian Bacich 3:40

Wow. Well, not so random. Pretty intentional in some ways, but, but that's great. So you, I guess you saw a connection between your background and your expertise and. And what was going on at the mission, I assume.

Helena Hazleton (2) 3:58

absolutely. Coming from Mexico city, it's very clear that missions are familiar to us, uh, for many different reasons. But the thing that attracted me to the mission is, well, I went into the church and I saw, you a couple of paintings and the statues that are on display in the church, and I just thought that this is where I belonged, making sure that that I'm studying what is going on

Damian Bacich 4:24

Well, good. I think you're doing a real, a real service to all of us who want to know more about the history of California, especially as it connects to Mexico and to the Spanish empire and to these places that I think that. You know, most Californians grow up learning about the missions, um, when they're in fourth grade. And I think that's great. I try to support that, as you probably know.

Helena Hazleton (2) 4:50

Yep, I run a fourth grade program at the

Damian Bacich 4:52

you go. So, but oftentimes that's it, right? That's where it stops. And when you talk to people about their knowledge of the mission, The mission era of the California missions and that that time of its history, either they're very dismissive. Well, yeah, we did a mission project when I was in fourth grade, or they know very little at all. Or they've heard just some basic things. But being there. You, you were able to pull out a lot of very nuanced and fascinating aspects of that place and of that time period. So I'm wondering, before we, we get deep into that, could you maybe give us a little bit of a sketch of Mission San Luis Rey, you know, how it started a little background on its history.

Helena Hazleton (2) 5:48

so to make a really long story, Short. Mission San Luis Rey is the 18th of the California missions that were established. It's one of the latest ones but it was also one of the largest. One of the things that friars and explorers noticed In the late 1790s is that there was a need for a, a mission that connected San Diego and San Juan Capistrano. So there were a few attempts to, to find a suitable location for the mission. And they ended up in a valley eh, today it's called the San Luis Rey Valley where the original Payómkawichumn people live, or the Luiseño people, as they are known. Officially today, they established the mission. Father Laswin came June of 1798 to perform a baptismal ceremony. Um, six weeks, six weeks later, he left, left a very young father, Antonio Petty, in charge of building a community and building a, what would be the, the foundation, the structure of the building and the mission just started. Continued, started growing then, and it didn't stop until Mexican secularization. Um, it became the largest, the most productive of California missions. Um, at some point it administrated close to 950, 000 acres of land. More than, we have the padrones and the inventories, uh, In the 1820s, there were more than 50,000 heads of cattle, eh, several ranches, eh, rancher, eh, and ascia. That depended on mission sandwich Rey. Um. More than, uh, about 7,000 people were baptized, been in a matter of 45 years. Uh, the active population was about 3000, which was the largest of any mission. And it just was a very powerful institution.

Damian Bacich 7:57

So this is really, uh, I think something that a lot of people don't understand. Mission San Luis Rey is directly north of San Diego and we're in, uh, Oceanside. What is today Oceanside? But you mentioned it's the 18th. of the missions. So, um, why so late? Um, well, 1798. Yeah, why, why so late? And, um, even though it's right one, a few miles up north from San Diego.

Helena Hazleton (2) 8:31

Um, well, we don't know exactly why so late. Um, what I know is that Father in the late 1790s, he, uh, uh, set up a in the, in. a program, an institution to connect pre existing missions where he saw the need because there were a few rancherias or because the the friars were tired of traveling maybe more than a day to do a funeral or a baptism. So he connected, he built about five missions in a matter of three years I believe. And San Luis Rey was one of those five missions, actually it was the last one. Eh, and it was, it came in an attempt to, to connect to preexisting missions. So people here, eh, were served by either San Juan Capistrano or San Diego, but it was hard for the friars on either of those missions to travel more than a day to minister in. In this. Rancherías and populations. It was also a different tribe that spoke a different language. The Kumeyaay and the Luiseño have different languages, so they saw the need to bring a particular institution for the Luiseño

Damian Bacich 9:43

And so the Kumeyaay are the people who live in the vicinity of Mission San Diego.

Helena Hazleton (2) 9:47

Exactly. Yeah.

Damian Bacich 9:49

and can you, um, just remind everyone of those two terms that you used? You use the term rancheria and a term asistencia. Can you tell us a little bit about what those mean?

Helena Hazleton (2) 10:01

Well, rancherías were small populations, mostly of indigenous people. Some of them were people who were already baptized, and other villages were people that were still yet to be baptized, but Already had an idea of what, um, what being at a mission was part of a, an assistencia is like a sub mission. Uh, it's, uh, a center of operation of mission San Luis Rey, or any other mission that had an assistencia, but in a separate location, sometimes when missions were, or, or administrate large territories, it was necessary to have an assistencia to either store grains or have a small chapel. that can minister people, and it would depend, uh, completely on the big mission. Asistencia, well, San Antonio de Palo, which was the Asistencia of Mission San Luis Rey, uh, it's unofficially known by some people as the 22nd mission, because of how important it was.

Damian Bacich 11:01

Yeah, San Antonio de Paula is, is also a really interesting place, and it's, it's still a functioning church and parish. Um, yeah, it, so that was the most important as asistencia connected to Mission San Luis Rey. And, and so what I'm, what I understand is that there were populations of people who lived out there at these asistencias, and it was the, the Mission Padre who would come from time to time to visit them, right? Okay. How many, do you know offhand how many asistencias were connected to Mission San Luis Rey?

Helena Hazleton (2) 11:40

Well, the only official asistencia was San Antonio de Pala, but there were granaries and, uh, small buildings at Las Flores and Rancho Santa Margarita, which are part of, uh, today they're part of a, a military base and, uh, a marine base, Camp

Damian Bacich 11:58

Oh, that's right. You know what? In fact, I was, I had the privilege of visiting, um, Santa Margarita Las Flores on Camp Pendleton Last summer and I have some, some really cool footage that I need to edit and put

Helena Hazleton (2) 12:15

I'm going next week. Yeah, we are going, the, the docents and I are doing a field trip

Damian Bacich 12:20

That's a really interesting place. And very few people get to go visit because it's on Camp Pendleton on the Marine base. Wow. Okay. So that's really interesting. So, at its, at its height, you said that the mission was, it's. one of the most, if not the largest and most productive of the mission chain. Um, can you tell us a little bit about the phases of its history? Obviously, there's a time when it was recently founded, then there's its height, and then you have the, can you talk a little bit about that? How the arc of the history of this mission?

Helena Hazleton (2) 13:00

it starts, it's a rare case of a mission that starts strong with a, with a population that starts growing very fast. Um, there is like a early phase of growth between, I would say, nine, 17 and 98. to around 1810, uh, when the mission starts becoming productive, um, the construction of the mission church. Um, the mission church is one of the most beautiful mission churches, in my opinion. Um, it's certainly the largest. the only one that is still standing on a cruciform layout. Um, the construction of the church was, uh, reflective of that period of growth. Um, the mission starts with a small chapel that they eventually expand. But by 1811, they, uh, It was not enough. They thought they needed a larger church, so they set up a construction of the current church that we have, Third Church, and construction of the church took place between, I would say, 1811 to 1815. That's when it's finished.

Damian Bacich 14:13

Oh, go ahead.

Helena Hazleton (2) 14:16

No, you were

Damian Bacich 14:16

Well, you make, when you say 1811 to 1815, it makes me think that there was a massive earthquake in 1812. So, how did this mission manage to survive that earthquake while San Juan Capistrano, up the road, was, was destroyed and so many people died?

Helena Hazleton (2) 14:37

Well, the church was under construction back then. And, uh, there, there was an architect. You might have, uh, have heard of the architect that traveled from missions to mission, uh, uh, Letting friars know that he was available. He brought manuscripts, um, and he came to see what was done after the earthquake. We had only one wall that was built then, the east wall. Um, construction was adapted a little bit. Um, there are legends. There's, this is not something that was recorded anywhere, but most people still believe that the original Two bell tower plan that they had initially was adapted because San Juan Capistrano, the reason why the church was destroyed is one of the bell towers fell into the nave of the church. Um, some people think that that might have been something that changed the, the layout or the construction of the church. We are not very sure if that was actually the case. Uh, but we have one bell tower, uh, and. Construction was adapted. There were some things that people used to do back in the day to reinforce a building if there was an earthquake, like to build wider walls. Make less windows, open less windows, um, reinforce more with more columns, uh, uh, smaller roof as well. So there were things that were adapted, but Mission San Luis Rey, because the church was not finished when the church, when the earthquake came, um, it did not change the layout too much. Mm hmm. Mm

Damian Bacich 16:20

it's so, it's, it's amazing to think that, you know, here we are in California and 200 years ago is the earthquakes or something immemorial here in California, you always had to be dealing with them. And the fact that they the. The architecture of the building while it's being, while it's being built in order to, to, um, to withstand earthquakes is, is really interesting, especially given the fact that so many of the missions now are being required to, to be retrofitted for, uh, seismic activity have, Has San Luis Rey needed to go through a modern retrofit?

Helena Hazleton (2) 17:12

yes, it was finished a little over 10 years ago. Our church has been retrofitted,

Damian Bacich 17:17

Okay. And then, then what about secularization? We know that in the 1830s, right, that the missions are, are secularized. That is, they're put in the hands of lay administrators. What was that process like at San Luis Rey.

Helena Hazleton (2) 17:37

Um, well, secularization comes, um, in the early 1830s. And when, uh, the friars that were in California are given the option of either swear allegiance to a new government or go back to, to Spain, um, The person who administrated the mission, Father Antonio Peire, who was a very powerful man, um, he decides to go back to Spain. So that was the first thing that affected the mission, because after his, his departure, um, the mission just started losing more and more of its territory to, uh, the, the political favors that the Mexican governors, uh, started doing. Um, The, uh, Father Perry leaves, uh, that's another thing that is special about Mission St. Louis Rey, the plan Father Perry had. after secularization because he doesn't live on his own. He takes with him two young boys, um, who grew up at the mission, Agapito, Amamix, Pablo Tac, and his plan was to put these boys, um, they were 12 and 10. Agapito was 12, Pablo was 10. His plan was to find a Franciscan school for the boys where they can become missionaries and they are the ones who can come back. and continue the, the, the labor that he did for 30 something years. Um, after a two year trip that takes them to Mexico City, then New York, and then Rome, uh, the boys stay at the Colegio de la Propaganda FIDE, uh, in Rome. And father Perry goes back to Spain. Um, the last thing people know about him is that he was trying to get a passport to come back to California, but there's nothing else that, that people know. After that, we know he never came back. Um, he was elderly, he was sick. And he probably died in Spain, although nobody knows for sure where he was buried. Probably close to his hometown, near Barcelona. He was from Catalonia, and the boy stayed in Rome.

Damian Bacich 19:43

So, so

Helena Hazleton (2) 19:45

Passed away

Damian Bacich 19:45

you're right. Yes. So, uh, Pablo attack writes, The only grammar of indigenous language in California at the time, right? And he writes a story of his life at the mission. Um, the propaganda feed, that's the college in Rome where missionaries were trained, right?

Helena Hazleton (2) 20:05

Yes.

Damian Bacich 20:05

the idea was that these young men would come back to California as missionaries to their own people.

Helena Hazleton (2) 20:12

Mhm. Yes,

Damian Bacich 20:14

that's, that's really interesting. Now, Father, but they, their life is cut short by, by disease, I'm assuming?

Helena Hazleton (2) 20:23

yes, Agapito dies, I believe it was smallpox, at the age of 17 in Rome. And Pablo was also affected, he was sick, but when he was around 16, 17 years old, he catches the attention of an important person, Cardinal Giuseppe Mesofanti, he was a linguist, important person in Rome as well. And it is Cardinal Mezzofanti who encourages Pablo to write the story of his people. And, uh, uh, it's the grammar of his language as well. Without knowing, Pablo Tagg probably saved his language. It is, the Luiseno are still struggling to save their language, and it's probably Pablo Tagg the one that helped. Because he left a written record of how the language sounded.

Damian Bacich 21:16

Right.

Helena Hazleton (2) 21:16

Uh. Yeah, Pablo Tak, after struggling with being ill for a few years, he also dies pretty young in Rome.

Damian Bacich 21:25

Yeah, what a shame. I've, I've read through his, um, his grammar and his, and his, uh, uh, story, that conversion of San Luiseño's, and It's not only written in Spanish and Luiseño, it's in as well, so he was,

Helena Hazleton (2) 21:42

Yeah.

Damian Bacich 21:43

very well educated, uh, there, and, yeah, what a, what, it's really interesting to think how history might have been different had he survived and had he come back to California.

Helena Hazleton (2) 21:54

Yes.

Damian Bacich 21:55

So, Perin was, uh, the Franciscan who really sort of made the mission into what it was. Can you tell us a little bit more about him? You mentioned he was a very powerful man.

Helena Hazleton (2) 22:10

Well, Pablo Tac in his, uh, in his manuscript, it describes him as basically living the life of a king. He had a, like a small court according to Pablo Tac and pages. Uh, but he was also a very intelligent and a very good administrator. I believe that's what made Mission San Luis Rey so prosperous. It was his, his view and his administration basically, and his willingness to negotiate with, with the local people as well. Um, you'll hear stories of, uh, how there were other rebellions at missions like Santa Barbara, San Diego. San Diego, um, particularly this year, it's the, the 200th anniversary of the, uh, the Chumash, uh, riots, the rebellions. That was never an issue at San Luis Rey, and it was probably because Father Perry was a good negotiator. He knew how much to intervene, um, and I'm not saying that the Native people lived a Pretty life at the mission. That was not the case. Um, it was the 1800s, um, you would still have alcaldes, mayordomos, soldiers, and there are some pretty cruel accounts of, of life at the mission, but I also believe that Father Perry understood how much he could get away with without, making enemies for himself.

Damian Bacich 23:41

Right. And that's a really, really important talent, right? Especially out on the frontier. And people forget that, uh, even though the Spanish were, um, in charge of this territory that they were colonizing, they were. The small minority compared to the indigenous people that were around. And I think just looking recently at statistics and, I mean, indigenous people were the vast majority in California up until just following the gold rush, right? So, you, you had to be very, uh, astute in order to maintain this equilibrium, like you said. When an uprising was possible at any time, if things went sideways, and, and as people may know, uh, there, we have a, a great interview with Dr. John Johnson, um, from Santa Barbara, who used to direct the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum about the, the Chumash uprising, which is really fascinating if you haven't listened to it, you should go back and listen to it. Um, so what about the, um, The period then between, say, the time that Father Perry leaves and the time that the U. S. takes over, what was life like at the mission then?

Helena Hazleton (2) 25:05

Well, that's the period of decay. Um, a few friars come and go, uh, but also the land, because it was a very powerful territory. It was disputed by, by the Mexican governors that were assigning land grants for, for themselves. Um, Pio Pico, for example, sold a property of Mission San Luis Rey to his own brother.

Damian Bacich 25:29

And Teópico was Mexican governor of California in the mid 1840s, up until the time of the U. S. occupation.

Helena Hazleton (2) 25:39

Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Damian Bacich 25:40

Right. So, uh, so this was a time of decay. And then, so, uh, 1846, U. S., uh, the war breaks out between U. S. and Mexico, uh, the United States annexes Alta California, which then becomes, in 1850, the state of, of California. What happens? to the mission. It goes through a period of decay. Obviously, when you come now, it's not, it doesn't seem like it's in decay. I mean, it seems like an old place that needs, that sometimes needs refurbishing, but it looks beautiful. So what happened then to bring it to the state that it's in now?

Helena Hazleton (2) 26:26

Well, the mission was far from towns or pueblos that would have a community that can save the mission. Um, that leads to a period of complete abandonment, about 46 years of abandonment. There was a nearby village, the San Luis Rey village, which was mostly a native village, but there were some pioneers that were part of the population as well. Um, we have a few ranches, um, that form from what used to be Mission San Luis Rey territory. Um, the Rancho Margarita and Las Flores become private ranches. Um, we have Rancho Guajome, Rancho Buena Vista, which is in the city of Vista today. Um, Rancho Monserrate, the city of Fallbrook. Um, all these ranches, um, just become a Farmers, ranchers, and employ the native population, while the building was abandoned and there was a period of decay, basically. Uh, the building is, uh, When you have an abandoned building and you have nearby populations, you will see bricks being stolen, tiles being taken from the roof. And little by little, the building starts just collapsing in ruins, basically. There were some attempts to rescue valuable objects. Um, You might have heard of a woman originally from San Diego. She was an immigrant from Mexico to Apolinaria Lorenzana. She comes to the mission after Father Salvidea passed away. So the last two resident priests at Mission San Luis Rey where Father Jose de Ibarra and Father Salvidea as well. Father Salvidea is famous because he ministered for over 30 years at Mission San Gabriel. He died actually here in Mission San Luis Rey and he is buried in this church. So after he's dead, Apolinaria comes over to save paperwork, to save a few valuable objects. They take the vestments to Mission Santa Barbara. Uh, and the rest is just an abandoned building with nothing much to see. Um, during the Mexican American War, the Mormon Battalion ends their, uh, their quest here at Mission San Luis Rey as well. And they help just do land surveys, understand what is going on, uh, with the, uh, with the building. Uh, but the Mormon Battalion also leaves after they're discharged. And the mayor, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, another thing that makes this mission special, the son of Sacagawea, was the first major of St. Louis Rey in 1947. He also ends up quitting because there was nothing to save. And he, he had no power, no control over anything and he goes back north. So the building is completely abandoned. A few, uh, uh, surveyors just trying to establish maps come and goes. And it is until, uh, about 1865. When the leftover mission lands, it was about 60 acres of land, are granted back to the Catholic Church by Abraham Lincoln, only about three weeks, three and a half weeks before he was killed. March 18th.

Damian Bacich 30:04

In fact, if I recall correctly, in the museum, isn't there the document with Lincoln's signature where he returns the, the land to the Catholic Church? Is that right?

Helena Hazleton (2) 30:19

Yes, we have the document on display with Abraham Lincoln's signature.

30:32

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