Each year, The Foundation at Hearst Castle hosts a free event for members as a way to express our gratitude for their support. On Saturday, October 16, we treated members to a historical tour of Mission San Antonio de Padua followed by a luncheon at the Julia Morgan-designed Hacienda Lodge next door at Fort Hunter Liggett.
Mission San Antonio de Padua
Joan Steele, the mission administrator, shared that, founded on July 14, 1771 by Fray Junípero Serra, San Antonio was the third in the eventual chain of twenty-one Alta California Missions instituted by the Franciscan Order. The Spanish government, eager to establish territorial claims in the New World, had already built presidios at the ports of San Diego and Monterey. Mission San Antonio represented their first inland venture for the Franciscans, and Serra protested formally against a Spanish Military presence at this new mission, citing multiple human rights violations against the Indigenous Peoples by the Spanish soldiers. Mission San Antonio, therefore, was the first mission established without a Spanish Presidio.
Unlike the majority of the California Missions, San Antonio did not have a city grow up around it after secularization. Today it appears much as it would have during the Mission era. Protected, both as a California State and a National Historic Site, the eighty-six acres sit like an oasis from a bygone era. Still visible are remnants of the ancient aqueduct system, the workings of the mill pond, original river rock threshing floor and grist mill.
Hacienda at Fort Hunter Liggett
Our group caravanned to the Hacienda at Fort Hunter Liggett, where we sipped sangria and Hearst Ranch Winery’s Three Sisters Cuvee while Lisa Cipolla, Cultural Resources Program Manager, provided a brief history of the Hacienda.
To design the Hacienda, Hearst hired Julia Morgan who also designed the famed Hearst Castle which lies southwest of the Hacienda in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean at San Simeon. The structure replaced an earlier wooden barn that was used by cowboys on his ranch. It was completed in 1930, but the Hacienda and surrounding land was sold to the Army in 1940.
In those ten years, however, well-heeled guests at the Hearst Castle were able to ride on horseback to the Hacienda where they could spend the night and enjoy the local entertainment.
The Hacienda remains as a treasured historic icon on an Army base tucked in a remote valley in the Santa Lucia Mountains in southern Monterey County adjacent to Mission San Antonio.
Brief presentations were also provided by The Foundation at Hearst Castle’s Abe Marquez, President of the Board; Colonel Lisa Lamb, Garrison Commander Fort Hunter Liggett; Mary Levkoff, Hearst Castle Museum Director Emeritus; Amy Hart, State Park Historian at Hearst Castle; and Michael Young, FHC’s Executive Director.
Guests dined alfresco on a lunch of Mexican favorites after which Ms. Cipolla led an exploration of the Hacienda dining room, lounge, and guest rooms and suites with a dessert buffet waiting on the back patio. Click here to learn more about overnight accommodations and rates.
We learned that W. R. Hearst never stayed at the Hacienda, but he hosted parties there. Many famous actors, including Will Rogers and Marion Davies, were honored guests. Several movies, including Clear and Present Danger, We Were Soldiers, and the 1966 film Incubus, used Fort Hunter Liggett and the Hacienda as filming locations. The property was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1977.
Unlike the majority of the California Missions, San Antonio did not have a city grow up around it after secularization. Today it appears much as it would have during the Mission era.
Founded on July 14, 1771 by Junipero Serra, San Antonio was the third in the eventual chain of twenty-one Alta California Missions instituted by the Franciscan Order.
The Hacienda remains as a treasured historic icon on an Army base tucked in a remote valley in the Santa Lucia Mountains in southern Monterey County adjacent to Mission San Antonio.
To design the Hacienda, Hearst hired Julia Morgan who also designed the famed Hearst Castle which lies southwest of the Hacienda in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean at San Simeon.
On Saturday, October 16, 2021, members were treated to a historical tour of Mission San Antonio de Padua followed by a luncheon at the Julia Morgan-designed Hacienda Lodge next door at Fort Hunter Liggett.
To support our efforts, please consider making a contribution today. Learn more about how you can help preserve Hearst Castle and expand education programs for under-resourced schoolchildren.
