Where Was The Original Mission San Gabriel?

In July 1921, a ceremony was held at the southwest corner of San Gabriel and Lincoln boulevards, newly incorporated into the City of Montebello, during which a granite marker was unveiled proclaiming the site to be that of the original Mission San Gabriel. The land was owned by Walter P. Temple, who paid for the monument in commemoration of the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the founding of the mission.

Fourteen years later, the site was given California Registered Landmark status, giving some official credence to the idea that this, indeed, was the Mission San Gabriel's first location. The problem is that the only reason why Temple placed the marker where he did is because he owned that land. The plot on which the monument rests is against the base of the Montebello Hills and could not possibly have been the actual site of the mission compound. The facility would also not have been up on the hill behind the marker and could only have been north or east.

Research conducted in the 1980s by archaeologists has identified a potential location, in an area to the north and slightly west. The place is known as CA-LAN-1311H and would be along the west bank of the Rio Hondo (the original San Gabriel River), north of the intersection of San Gabriel and Lincoln boulevards.

As described in Greenwood and Associates' report "The First Historical Settlement in Los Angeles County: Investigations at Whittier Narrows,"

The setting is a river terrace overlooking the San Gabriel River flood plain at the base of a major ridge system. The river bank rises steeply to a narrow terrace approximately 15m[eters] wide, and then rises again to the second terrace which contains the site. This area gently slopes to the south to a small drainage channel that parallels San Gabriel Blvd., which is situated at the base of the ridge. To the east, the upper terrace curves to the south, forming the east edge of the site. To the west the upper terrace ends at the base of a small hill that has been greatly altered by the construction of a gas processing plant.

The report does state, moreover, that "the site is located in a natural gas field." The problem with archaeological investigation was that "the activities related to the drilling and placing of the wells, installation of pipelines, building and maintenance of roads, extensive grading, and other ground altering activities have seriously impacted the site and may have greatly altered the landform."

Archaeological investigation was conducted in May and June 1987, using shovel test pits, excavation areas, and surface collection. In two areas, Indian materials were located including flakes, cobbles and ground stones (manos), though there were also many items from later periods located throughout the investigation area. The issue was that there didn't appear to be any items from before the late 19th century or after Spanish and Mexican settlement, making a definitive identification of the site as the original mission somewhat problematic. Finally, the amount of disturbance, especially in the post-1917 period when heavy oil exploration and drilling was occurring, meant that "much of the information has been lost to past activities."

What has, in the historical record, most strongly pointed to the area north of San Gabriel Boulevard and west of the Rio Hondo is the diseño or map for the Rancho Potrero Grande, made about the time of its 1845 grant to Manuel Antonio Perez. This rough tracing, which was not conducted according to strict surveying (as was the case with all of the diseños), clearly shows the downslope from the hills to the west, the road coming from the current Mission San Gabriel [roughly today's San Gabriel Boulevard] and a water course marked "zanja onda," which would obviously seem to refer to the Rio Hondo. Between the road and the "zanja onda" is markings showing another change in grade in the landscape, or a short decline or hill. Between that downslope and the "zanja onda" are the words "corral Mision Vieja" and a series of hatch marks in a circular pattern.

Could this have been the original Mission San Gabriel site? It seems to correspond with the general area that was CA-LAN-1311H. If one interprets Father Palou's site description as on a "rising ground" rather than "hill," this also seems to make sense. The problem, once again, is that the mission structures were tule and wood, subject to decay and removal, and the landscape was dramatically altered by flooding, ranching and farming, oil development and other activities. On the other hand, Walter Temple's 1921 plaque site is plainly implausible, with the only rationale being that he owned that land and not the property to the north.

We'll never know the exact site because there just isn't enough evidence, but it seems that CA-LAN-1311H is about the closest we'll get.

Link to the 1840s diseño of Rancho Potrero Grande:

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb967nb58f/?layout=metadata&brand=oac

Sources:

Lois Roberts and James Brock, Cultural Resources Archival Study: Whittier Narrowes Archaeological District, prepared for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Newport Beach: Archaeological Advisory Group,) March 1987.

Roberta S. Greenwood, John M. Foster and Anne Q. Duffield with contributions by Gwendolyn R. Romani, A. George Toren, and Sherri M. Gust, The First Historical Settlement in Los Angeles County: Investigations at Whittier Narrows, prepared for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Sonora: Infotec Research Incorporated,) January 1989.

"Diseño del Potrero Grande vic. Misión Vieja," ca. 1845, U. S. District Court. California, Southern District. Land Case 243 SD, page 63; land case map B-1279, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Contributed by Paul R. Spitzzeri.