056: Secrets of Mission San Luis Rey Part 2 with Art Historian Helena Hazleton

In Part 2 of my interview with Helena Hazleton, Museum Director at Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, we discuss its later history and some features that make it stand out among missions.

Main topics of Part 2: 

• The mission's unique architecture, including its distinctive dome and lavandería
• Rare Spanish colonial artworks, some with surprising origins
• Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, son of Sacagawea, and his role at the mission
• How Mexican and Irish Franciscans worked to restore the mission 
• Connections to Aztec and Maya art and the mission's adaptation to frontier life
• The historic mission cemetery

After listening to this episode, I'm sure you will want to visit the King of the Missions.

For more information:
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia

Transcript

Helena Hazleton (2) 0:00

the two pools at the bottom of the steps have two faucets that are gargoyles, the water spouts from the mouth of the gargoyles, and most people think it bears resemblance to Aztec and Maya sculpture. They're made out of volcanic stone, so we are not sure if they're local, Most likely they were made by someone in the area. But you can imagine that there was a master craftsman that was teaching the native Luiseño how to carve and showing them the influence of particularly Aztec. Sculpture

0:40

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 0:58

Can we take a step back for a second just to, just to illuminate a little of the history? The Mormon Battalion, what was the Mormon Battalion?

Helena Hazleton (2) 1:06

So the Mormon Battalion is the only, religious, a branch of the military of the US military that has ever existed. Basically, they were hired by the American army to serve as a, basically the guides during the Mexican American war to trace a land route between. East and West. So their idea was to cross the desert, and to bring, to establish like the foundation for the rest of the American army to come and occupy

Damian Bacich 1:41

Okay.

Helena Hazleton (2) 1:43

Yes.

Damian Bacich 1:45

there's the Mormon Battalion Museum, in fact, in Old Town, San Diego, if I remember correctly, but it's been a long time since I've been there. Okay. So interesting. And then Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea. Can you tell us a little bit about him?

Helena Hazleton (2) 2:02

So the Mormon battalion hires Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea, as their guide. Charbonneau was raised by, I believe it was Clark, from the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Damian Bacich 2:17

was their, was their guide.

Helena Hazleton (2) 2:19

Yeah, and, and he was an explorer. He was hired to come with them, and when they ended here at Mission San Luis Rey he was appointed as the first mayor of San Luis Rey because he was half Mexican. Native. From a very different tribe, but he was half native. His, his father was French and his mom was Sacagawea. And he is mayor here at the newly formed San Luis Rey Village for a few months, no longer than seven months, and he ends up quitting his position because he felt he had no power against the newly formed formed Office of Indian Affairs.

Damian Bacich 3:02

This is prior to statehood, but when California is occupied by the U. S. Army. Okay. So then how do we get to the point where The mission is now restored beautiful, in one piece.

Helena Hazleton (2) 3:19

Oh, that's a long story. That's a really long story. I did a lot of research on that particular subject last year. I was able to to visit several times the archives at Mission Santa Barbara. Most people don't know this but Mission Santa Barbara and Mission San Luis Rey are connected. because of who administrates the missions today. Out of all the missions in California, only two today are Franciscan missions, Santa Barbara and San Luis Rey. So I'm happy to say that I have access to their archives easily, easier than other researchers in the area. And I, I went back and forth to study the history of the restoration and the community, and that is the Franciscan community. that still occupies both missions. So to make another long story short, after Abraham Lincoln grants the mission back to the Catholic church, that was per request of the Archbishop of Monterrey. The Archbishop of Monterrey, who happened to want to establish his his cathedral in Old Mission, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara was the repository of both mission artifacts and the Franciscan friars during secularization. So when the Franciscans were expelled and where they, where they lost territory and when there was nothing else to do for a mission, they ended up going to Mission Santa Barbara. And it was the only mission that was always occupied by Franciscan presence. With an archbishop, a secular archbishop, who wants to have their mission as the seat of his, his, cathedral. He decides to grant Mission San Luis Rey to the, to the Franciscan friars. That was sometime in the 1870s. The Franciscan friars, there were like eight or nine friars left at Mission Santa Barbara. They refused. They take the matter to the Pope. The Pope agrees with them and they tell them you don't have to abandon Mission Santa Barbara. The Archbishop will go and establish his seat somewhere else. But they still take possession of Mission San Luis Rey. Between the 1860s and 1880s, Mission Santa Barbara becomes an apostolic college. That is a school for missionary, people. It is not very successful, but they managed to attract a few people, mostly Irish immigrants to become Franciscan missionaries under Mexican culture at Mission Santa Barbara. One of these Irish priests was Father Jeremiah O'Keefe. And in order to save what was left of Mission Santa Barbara in the 1880s, He does a trip to Mexico, he goes to different areas in Mexico trying to convince Franciscan friars in different areas in Mexico to come and help them, but the friars in Mexico were not in a very good position either because government, Mexican government was confiscating their own territories, eh, eh, as well in the 1850s and 60s. So that was the story.

Damian Bacich 6:33

president, right?

Helena Hazleton (2) 6:35

Exactly, yes. That was not a very successful attempt. So he ends up writing to new Franciscan communities, mostly German immigrants back east and it is them who, it is them who come and help the friars at Mission Santa Barbara. And they become part of a new, new province. It was the province of the sacred heart, but then. After 20 years, Father O'Keefe is called by a group of Franciscan friars from Zacatecas, from the old college of Guadalupe in Zacatecas, and they say we want to see if we can establish a school over there. They come, scout the the ruins of Mission San Luis Rey they ask for permission. The heads of the order say, yes, you're able to rebuild the school here. And a community of Mexican Franciscan friars come in 1892 to restore the mission under the leadership of Father Jeremiah O'Keefe, an Irish immigrant who became a Franciscan at Mission Santa Barbara, who restored it. He's considered the, the, the second founder of the rebuilder of Mission San Luis

Damian Bacich 7:45

And I think it's so interesting that you have a group of missionaries from the College of Zacatecas. Which is the same college that sent missionaries to northern Alta California in the 1830s, when a lot of the Spanish Fernandinos, right, from the College of San Fernando left. And so,

Helena Hazleton (2) 8:07

Yes.

Damian Bacich 8:08

I mean, for example, at Santa Clara, where I used to, where I used to live and do a lot of work, We had Zacatech and Franciscans, etc. So it's, it's interesting to see that they were also, they also came back in the 1890s.

Helena Hazleton (2) 8:23

Mhm.

Damian Bacich 8:24

so then tell me something now, since you're an art historian and you've done a lot of work on the mission and in and around the mission, What are some of the most interesting things you see and that when people come to visit you, you recommend that they, they take a look at?

Helena Hazleton (2) 8:47

Well. If you only have 20 minutes, go to the historic church. It is a beautiful church. Craftsmanship is 99 percent Luiseño. I always like to highlight that. But somehow it's a very European looking church with some very naive motifs, like in the recreation of certain textures on the plaster of the walls. trying to make up like tile or marble or velvet curtains. It's very beautiful and very interesting to see those details, not just at this mission. There are details like that all throughout mission churches in California. We also have one of the most important Spanish colonial art collections of any mission. And it is the result of different things. First, Franciscan friars from Zacatecas, Mexico, from the College of Guadalupe, they bring artwork. to the mission. I don't know if most of your listeners know this, but the old College of Guadalupe in Zacatecas today is one of the most important Spanish colonial collections in Mexico. They had a massive collection and when the friars came here in the 1890s, they brought some pieces with them. So we have very Interesting pieces that are, they are in my opinion museum quality. You can find them at museums, mostly in Mexico City, but also in Europe. Madrid, the, the Museo de las Americas. Beautiful pieces by Miguel Cabrera, by José de Alcibar. which were masters in their craft. We have a very beautiful painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe made by José de Alcibar with a certificate of, not certificate of authenticity, but the legend and the signature by José de Alcibar with the date that came with the the friars from Zacatecas in the 1890s.

Damian Bacich 10:55

what date or time period are we looking at with that one, for example?

Helena Hazleton (2) 11:00

Most of the artwork that we have in the church is from the mid 1700s, 1760s, 1780. And maybe a little bit later.

Damian Bacich 11:12

than the church itself.

Helena Hazleton (2) 11:14

Yes, and it's something that we're still doing research on. Right now, we have two statues of Mary and Joseph that, are located in the main altar of our church. We took them for conservation earlier this year. We work with Balboa Arts Conservation Center, nonprofit conservation studio in San Diego, who works with major museums in the area. They know our collection pretty well. And we were doing research on the statues. And when they were doing the examinations, they noticed that the statues were repainted. So we, I date statues based on. how it looks now. So Mary and Joseph look like statues from maybe early 1800s, but after doing some research they discovered that someone had repainted in the early 1800s over a gilding and details that might be earlier than that. So we were able to figure out that statues that we assume were from the early 1800s might be actually a hundred years earlier than that. And that is something that is ongoing

Damian Bacich 12:26

Oh, wow.

Helena Hazleton (2) 12:27

So that's, that's the type of research that I'm trying to, to bring to the table at the mission.

Damian Bacich 12:33

So with with artworks like these it must be Quite a task to try and keep them in good shape and keep them preserved.

Helena Hazleton (2) 12:44

Oh yeah, we have a lot of termite damage and that is something that we're, we're trying to fix. It's not an easy task. It's something that will definitely take a little bit, longer than what most people assume, but we are working on getting a, Mostly the, the collection that is on display now, we're working on getting it fixed and having it properly researched and giving it a not just a timeframe, but an origin story to a provenance. That's how, how we say it. So we have, for example, pieces that come from Zacatecas in Mexico, but our church also has a lot of the pieces that originally belong to Mission San Diego. And the Presidio Church, yes.

Damian Bacich 13:31

How did that come about?

Helena Hazleton (2) 13:34

Nobody knows exactly how it came about. So we have it's about a dozen pieces. There is a book James Nolan. He tracked the story of the pieces and how they ended up here at the mission. It the book is called The Discovery of the Lost Treasures of California's First Mission.

Damian Bacich 13:56

All right. I'm gonna look that one up

Helena Hazleton (2) 13:57

It uses photographic evidence from the 1800s and early 1900s to track the story of the artwork we have in the historic church to the Presidio Church and the Mission Church at San Diego. So apparently what happened during secularization Jose Maria, very important, prominent man in San Diego, ordered that all the valuables of the Presidio Church, had to be taken to his house. And from his house. He donated them to what is called now the Adobe Chapel or the, the Church of Immaculate Conception in Old Town in San Diego. So that is when they were. Recorded, photographed a a and we can associate or we can track the provenance to the artwork that we have at Mission Sand, right to the Adobe Chapel in San Diego. Last photograph in San Diego, I believe it's from the 1930s. And from there, nobody knew what happened to the artwork until James Noland did his research. In his research, he interviews a friar who was, the administrator of Mission San Luis Rey for a few years. Father Anthony Soto and Father Dominic Gallardo. And he was the one, he's the one who tells them, oh yeah, they brought this over from San Diego. When? We don't know, maybe the 1930s, but nobody registered anything. Nobody recorded anything. He just happened to see a painting in our church and see a photo of it from Old Town in the 1880s.

Damian Bacich 15:40

So then these things that are from San Diego, from Mission San Diego, for example, they remain and they will remain in San Luis Rey. It's not like that there's going to be some sort of repatriation.

Helena Hazleton (2) 15:55

They are part of our mission collection. Apparently they were donated.

Damian Bacich 15:58

I see. Very interesting.

Helena Hazleton (2) 16:01

We have a statue. It's the statue of the Immaculate Conception. She's considered the sainted patron of San Diego. And she was in the main altar of the Adobe Chapel. We have her sitting in our, in one of our church chapels. We're working on having it go to conservation next year. Very beautiful gilded

Damian Bacich 16:24

Okay.

Helena Hazleton (2) 16:25

Yes.

Damian Bacich 16:27

of the things that makes San Luis Rey so interesting is that the fact that it has this sort of dome and and there's another right side dome right and you don't really get that in most of the other California missions. And it also makes for some really great acoustics, right?

Helena Hazleton (2) 16:50

Yes. Our church has incredible acoustics.

Damian Bacich 16:54

and what, what really made me think of that is I remember one of the first conferences I went to of the California Mission Studies Foundation. There was a man there who At the time he used to lead a choir of early California music and he was standing in the side chapel, I guess, singing the alabado. And it was just, gorgeous, you know, just to hear that. And he wasn't even projecting his voice, but it was echoing all throughout. So I think it's, it's a really beautiful and fascinating church. What about on the grounds itself? What other unique features are there that you might want to see if you if you visit the mission?

Helena Hazleton (2) 17:45

Well, you, if you have more than 20 minutes, then go to the lavanderia

Damian Bacich 17:48

I,

Helena Hazleton (2) 17:49

after seeing the church.

Damian Bacich 17:51

that. I, I've got to have the tour with you of the lavandería and, and it's really cool. So what, what stands out?

Helena Hazleton (2) 17:58

Well, if Mission San Luis Rey was, It's grand and vast and wealthy. The lavandería shows that. It's not other missions have still their lavanderías in front of their churches mostly.

Damian Bacich 18:11

is, can you define it for everybody?

Helena Hazleton (2) 18:13

It's, it's, lavandería is the Spanish word for laundry. It is a place, eh, where people used to get water but mostly women did laundry once or twice a week during the mission era. In Mission San Luis Rey, the lavandería was an entire gated area with an orchard as well. And there are steps, It's 46 steps. We asked fourth graders to count because that slows them down running through, ruins of the Steps. 46 steps leading down to two areas with pools and the ruins of an old filtration system. Today the Lavanderia is in ruins. We're working on, redoing the space. Making it a little more walkable and tourist friendly mostly safe for field trips and tours as well, and adding native gardens, to make the area a little more sustainable as well. But you can see the ruins of the old kiln, and there had been several archaeological studies done on the lavandería and how big it actually was. The ruins of the lavandería were basically interrupted when the street right in front of the Mission, Mission Avenue, was made. That destroyed the lavandería and part of it just ended up on the other side of the street outside of Mission property. But it was a beautiful, intricate area. One of the travelers in the 1860s, I believe it was Dujot Sili. It was Eugene Duflot de Mofras. When he, writes about the lavandería, he compares it to the orangería at Versailles. That's how big it was. And he says, not because it was grand, but the distribution of the steps make me think of the dimensions of the, the steps of the orangería at Versailles.

Damian Bacich 20:18

You also showed us when we were there some of the artistic features of the lavandería, especially ones that kind of harken

Helena Hazleton (2) 20:24

Yes.

Damian Bacich 20:24

to Mexico. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Helena Hazleton (2) 20:28

So, the two pools at the bottom of the steps have two faucets that are gargoyles, the water spouts from the mouth of the gargoyles, and most people think it bears resemblance to Aztec and Maya sculpture. They're made out of volcanic stone, so we are not sure if they're local Most likely they were made by someone in the area. But you can imagine that there was a master craftsman that was teaching the native Luiseño how to carve and, and showing them the, the influence of the, particularly Aztec. Sculpture for the features of the Lavanderia.

Damian Bacich 21:12

I mean, not being really an art historian myself, but having, having studied Mexican culture and history, you can't help but recognize those faces and those motifs. So then, You, as an art historian from Mexico, do you see a lot of similarities and connections, and also what differences do you notice, between the types of art and architecture that you find at a mission, the Mission San Luis Rey in particular, and maybe buildings or structures or art from the same time period in in Mexico or Central Mexico? What is the connection? Do you see a connection? I mean, obviously there must be some connection.

Helena Hazleton (2) 22:05

Yes. And no, I'm from Mexico city. Mexico city was a big city back in the day. It was like the biggest cultural center closest to California at that point. And California was frontier land. So anything that came over here was. an adaptation that had to work for the specific needs that you have in a territory that is far from pretty much everything else that you know of. the missions were interconnected. We know that for sure. There was not much trade allowed. Individually for the missions but they were still able to benefit from the big Spanish trade being right in between, China, the Manila galleons on their way back to Mexico and Peru. So you kind of see those little items like the lacquered chests you see the vestments made out of silk that the friars were able to get to, that you will see similarly in, in Mexico City. But you also see how things like architecture were adapted to the place, the specific place and the needs here. For example in Mexico City where I'm from. Churches were built from stones of the destroyed Aztec temples because that's what was available here. You don't have that, so you have to make your own construction material. That's why we have adobe and Clay. They intentionally established Mission San Luis Rey by a river bank so they could use the clay to make the bricks. For the church. Yeah, they have to find construction material like the roof on in the church. The wood beams a come from Mount Palomar oak trees in Mount Palomar because that was the tallest tree in the area. You cannot build a church bigger than what we have because you don't have taller trees than that. it is trying to adapt what you know of what's familiar into the specific needs that you have in the frontier territories.

Damian Bacich 24:20

What other building projects or restoration projects are going on right now? Are there's the lavanderia you mentioned. Is there anything else going on?

Helena Hazleton (2) 24:30

We have the lavanderia and we're working right now on making sure that at least the artwork in the historic church is preserved in the near, in the near future. The church is constantly working on preservation projects. We had this year the church repainted by Spectra. Spectra has worked on the retrofit and reconstruction of a lot of historic buildings, including missions. We're reworking on sound systems and we're constantly doing fundraisers to help preserve the church and the mission itself. Today the mission operates, it be The mission was rebuilt as a seminary for the friars, but the seminary is no longer here. So our church has a big area that was restored with dormitories and classrooms and now it is used as a retreat center and people can stay here overnight. So that helps with, with operational funds as well. We work with the museum, well, At the museum we work on preservation mostly and visitor engagement and experience. We have the only active cemetery and the oldest active cemetery in San Diego County, and it is one of the very few mission cemeteries where anybody can come and buy property to be buried here as well. So it is a mission that is still very active in other areas as well, and the heart of it is because we're in a historic building that needs preservation.

Damian Bacich 26:02

Right. So if somebody were to come, visiting San Diego and wants to visit Mrs. San Luis Rey and say they have a half day, would you structure their visit if they were if they had some good time to, to look around?

Helena Hazleton (2) 26:20

Good time to look around. Definitely don't miss the church. If you're coming on on your own there are materials at the church desk that our volunteers can let you borrow. To, to learn a little bit about the art that we have in the church. If you can come on a Saturday or Sunday, sign up for a guided tour. It's the most complete experience that we, we offer. And it lets you get into certain areas that are not open to public because we are an active mission. And we have other responsibilities as well, like privacy for a guest of our retreat center. But I would suggest sign up for a guided tour or. Call us in advance, we can, we can arrange a private tour if you call us with enough time to plan ahead. And we can make sure that the experience is good. I would suggest the church is a must. If you only have 20 minutes, go to the church. That's my, my personal opinion. The historic cemetery, it is an incredible place as well. There is a lot of local history to learn just by reading the tombstones in the historic section of the cemetery. And I highlight historic cemetery, historic section. Because our cemetery is active and it's expanding. So you see a modern new cemetery right next to a really old cemetery,

Damian Bacich 27:43

I see.

Helena Hazleton (2) 27:43

the oldest in the area. Then to get a little more perspective of what the history of the mission is, is and what happened here. Our museum is, I would say after seeing several mission museums, it's one of the, probably one of the biggest, the one that occupies the most space. And I like that it tells. On purpose, the story of the two communities, not just the building, of the two communities that are responsible of the construction and preservation of the place. So, of course, we tell the story of the Indigenous people, of the Luiseño people, and we tell the story of the Franciscan friars and how they still Take care of this place, basically. Just as in Mission Santa Barbara. We have a beautiful gift shop. People love our gift shop. We have a coffee shop with a beautiful patio overlooking the oldest pepper tree in California, 200 year old pepper tree. And then grab energy to hike down to the lavanderia because again, the lavanderia is not right next to the church like in other missions. It is a hike down the property and you have to go down 46 steps and go back up 46

Damian Bacich 29:02

And you can Count them.

Helena Hazleton (2) 29:04

so yeah, we count them every single day we have fourth graders. It slows them down. our trick. And

Damian Bacich 29:12

I, I would highly recommend, a visit to Mission San Luis Rey, especially if you're in a San Diego area or if you're in Orange County, I've been very impressed by it and exactly the, the history connected to it and the fact that, it's in such a beautiful state and, you know, the, the Luiseño people are, are still active and connected to the mission. There's the story of Pablo Tak, there's Father Perry, there's, Father O'Keefe who helped bring it back. Thank you. There's so many interesting stories. And then that, that La Banderia, as you mentioned, which is, which is very spectacular and you can just imagine people down there doing their laundry, et cetera. a really great place in a beautiful location to visit.

Helena Hazleton (2) 30:07

If, if I may say one more thing, about the Luiseño people in particular, Well, the local band. of Mission Indians, the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians has been fighting for federal recognition for a long, long time. So they, depend on institutions around the area. That one of those institutions is the mission to help them preserve their culture and traditions. There is a very recent book done by a local Luiseño scholar. Her name is Olivia Chilcote. Her book is called Unrecognized in California. And she tells the story of the fight for federal recognition and how federal recognition has affected her particular tribe, the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. And how difficult it is to do anything without the federal recognition when they try to preserve, the only thing they want to do is to preserve their own culture and traditions.

Damian Bacich 31:09

Yeah, I know that that's a, that's a big struggle. Also here in Northern California, a number of, of Indigenous groups looking for that federal recognition which is key to being able to do a lot of different things. But is there anything else that we want to mention before we finish up?

Helena Hazleton (2) 31:29

If you're ever in San Diego in North County, don't forget to visit Mission San Luis Rey.

Damian Bacich 31:35

Absolutely.

Helena Hazleton (2) 31:35

It is, it is a must. And because we're not, the mission is kind of far from downtown Oceanside. We're about five miles inland. A lot of people who visit the area just for the beaches kind of miss the mission. And it is a beautiful space. Once you get to see what the mission is about, it's a place that attracts people for some reason. It has like an interesting energy.

Damian Bacich 32:01

It really does. So Elena, I want to thank you. Mission San Luis Rey is one of my favorite places to visit when I'm in the San Diego area, Oceanside. And if people have a chance to go there, they may even meet you, right?

Helena Hazleton (2) 32:22

I run tours every once in a while.

Damian Bacich 32:25

if you're so lucky as to have a tour with, with Elena Hazleton, you will come away knowing a lot about the history and art and architecture of Mission San Luis Rey.

Helena Hazleton (2) 32:37

Any docent is equally passionate about what we do at the mission.

Damian Bacich 32:42

So thank you. Thank you for spending your time to talk with us. And once again, I really appreciate what you've talked about and I really think everybody should take the opportunity to visit, to visit Mission San Luis Rey.

Helena Hazleton (2) 32:58

Yes. Thank you, Damian.

Damian Bacich 33:00

are welcome.

33:12

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