Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was established fifth, dedicated to Saint Louis of Toulouse, who'd earned a reputation of serving the poor, feeding the hungry - and sadly, was dead at age 23 from a fever.

Originally built out starting in 1772, the site was not popular with local Native American tribes (nothing personal; they didn't want ANY European settlers in the area), and the buildings were burnt. Replacements were constructed of adobe and tile. By 1794, extensive reconstruction was underway to improve current buildings and construct new ones to support growing industries taking place at the mission; work was completed in 1819. By then, however, the prosperity of the mission was in decline, and by the 1840s was a shadow of its earlier glory.

Mission San Luis Obispo dodged the initial secularization fates affecting other missions in 1834... until 1845, when the Mexican Governor Pio Pico declared them for sale. The entire mission compliex - except the church - was sold for about $500. With California becoming part of the United States in 1850, a petition was made and granted to return some of the Mission lands back to the Roman Catholic Church. churchThe mission suffered the same fate of secularization as the other missions, beginning in 1834, for a number of years. Returned to the Roman Catholic Church by President Abraham Lincoln, the mission then resumed its use as a parish church starting in 1862 and continued through 1908, when restorations of the missino began at the hands of Claretian Missionaries.

Founded: September 1, 1772 (#5) by Father Junipero Serra, in present-day San Luis Obispo, California at 728 Monterey Street.

Visit: No admission charged, but donations are accepted; as of July 2018. Museum and Gift Shop hours are 9am to 4pm (Winter hours); 9am to 5pm (Summer hours); Summer and Winter hours are based on if we're currently observing Daylight Saving Time (Summer hours) or Standard Time (Winter hours). Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter..

Learn more: Mission's Web Site * Wikipedia: Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa * Photos I Took * Tour Map (PDF will open in a new window; copyright Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa)