Mission Santa Clara
California State Historic Landmark 338
#338 Mission Santa Clara
Santa Clara, the first California mission to honor a woman, Clare of Assisi, as
its patron saint, was founded nearby on the Guadalupe River on January 12, 1777. It once had the
largest indian population of any California mission. Floods and earthquake led to successive
relocations. Its fifth church was dedicated on this site in 1825. In 1851 Santa Clara College was
established in the old mission buildings.
University of Santa Clara campus.