Mission San Luis Rey

Mission San Luis Rey was built on June 13, 1798. It was nicknamed “King of the Missions”. San Luis Rey is the18th mission in the mission chain. It was named after St. Luis the 9th, King of France. San Luis Rey is located in Oceanside, California. It was founded by Father Lasuen.

San Luis Rey’s church was very interesting to learn about. The church is the tallest building in the mission. The windows are high to prevent thieves and to make the walls stronger. The church was very important to them because it was a place to pray and to have mass.

Mission San Luis Rey has a magnificent bell tower. They bells would be rung to signal morning and night and to announce daily events such as lunch and dinner. They would also be rung for celebrations, warnings, and in times of mourning. There were once was 8 bells in the bell tower but now there are only 4 bells.

Kitchens at this mission were not convenient like the ones we have in our homes today. They used the kitchen for cooking and preparing the meals. The indoor kitchen was a smoky room with holes in the top of the roof so the smoke could go out. The Indians at the mission ate atole. They served tortillas at almost every meal.

I wish I could have seen the worker’s quarters. Fortunately, I learned that unmarried women and girls 8 years or older lived in a dormitory which was called a momjero. Men lived in similar buildings. The men slept on mats on the floor or on benches. Married workers lived with their families in houses.

The padre’s lifestyle was very simple and so were their rooms. Padres had mat beds which were very comfortable. The padre’s room contained only the basic necessities.

The tannery was very interesting to learn about. The tannery housed cowhides that were used for trading and tallow. Cowhides and tallow replaced fir. They first scraped the hides then soaked them in salt water so they wouldn’t rot.

All farmers had jobs and responsibilities. The livestock...