Mission San Francisco Solano

The northernmost and last of California's 21 Franciscan missions, San Francisco Solano anchors the northeast corner of Sonoma Plaza and is now the centrepiece of Sonoma State Historic Park. The mission complex includes the original adobe chapel from 1841 (the 1823 building was demolished) and a small museum covering the history of the California mission system and its devastating impact on the indigenous population.

The grounds are modest but well-maintained, and the collection inside is genuinely informative without sanitising the history. Entry is included in the Sonoma State Historic Park pass, which also covers the Barracks and the Vallejo Estate. Spend an hour here before wandering the plaza, and Sonoma begins to make more historical sense.

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A story
Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823, was the last and northernmost of the 21 California missions established by the Spanish Franciscans. It was also the only one founded under Mexican rather than Spanish rule — and the only one built north of San Francisco. When the Mexican government secularised the missions in 1833, the Sonoma mission became a parish church before being turned over to General Vallejo, who used the buildings as a stable and warehouse.