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California Mission Blog

Welcome to the California Mission Blog.  The Lowman Family has been publishing books, postcards, posters, jigsaw puzzles, photographic prints, 4th Grade fact sheets and other products about the California Missions since 1946.

Over the years, we have come to love the missions for their beauty and history.  We hope to share some of that love with our readers and provide some interesting and fun facts and stories about the missions along the way.

In 1946, when my father took his first photographs of the missions, things were quite different than they are today.  Missions San Antonio and Soledad had not yet been restored.  There was no mission church at Mission San Jose.  Some of the missions that are surrounded by cities today sat almost alone in the countryside.  Few people visited the missions compared to what we see today.

If you have never visited one of the missions, we encourage you to do so.  I’ve been to every one of the 21 California Missions many times–most of them 50 times or more.  People often ask me if I have a favorite mission, and my answer is “no.”  Each one is different.  Each one has its own beauty and charm.  Each one has something that makes it special.

I’ll try to add to this blog every week or so.  Please come back and visit us often.  We have lots of stories to tell, and we love to tell them!

Bob