mission

The Padres In El Cajon

The Indians were here first. Then, Columbus discovered America. Then, other explorers from Spain went to Mexico, and then to California.

Then, the Padres came. The Padres of El Cajon were Franciscan Catholic priests. They came in the 1780's. The Padres were sent to America to help the Indians. They helped the Indians know God and taught them how to pray. The Padres were sent to America by the King of Spain.

As time went on, many villages were built by the Padres. These were called missions. One of the missions was called the San Diego Mission.

At this mission the Padres taught the Indians how to do many things. They taught them how to plant crops, weave cloth and make clothes. They also taught them how to make bricks from adobe mud and build buildings, and churches from them.

The Padres were looking for cattle and sheep lands where there would be plenty of food for their animals. They started to look around and soon found El Cajon Valley. They were very happy to see all the many acres of good land in our valley. That is why the Padres came to the valley of El Cajon. Soon they began to plant crops and put the cattle here to graze. They planted barely, wheat, corn, beans, and grapes

The native Indians called our valley AMUT-TAR-TU. It means level ground center. The Padres first named our valley "The Vale of Santa Monica."

The Padres wanted to help the Indians learn how to farm and then let them take over the land. It is said if the Padres had left any buildings, they were destroyed by the flooding of the San Diego River after 1850.

About 1845 the Mexican Government called all the Padre back to Mexico and gave the land to Maria Pedrorena.