As early as 1774, a Franciscan Padre traveled north along the beach from Carmel and located the site for Mission Santa Cruz at the other end of crescent Monterey Bay. He came to the mouth of a fine river, noted the lush vegetation and forest of tall trees, and concluded that the place would be capable of supporting a large and thriving community. When the Fathers eventually dedicated the Santa Cruz Mission on September 25, 1791, relations between the Missionaries and the Spanish Authorities were at their best.
The Older Missions in the chain, already prosperous, sent to Mission Santa Cruz a great variety and quantity of gifts. The Mission Fathers and Indian acolytes quickly erected the first permanent buildings. The Indian neophyte population grew. Yet progress was made for a short six years.
In 1797, the Spanish Governor established a Pueblo immediately across the river from the Mission. An early public works project was the building of a race track. The Pueblo, called Branciforte, became the headquarters for gambling and smuggling. The Padres could not meet the competition, and Mission Santa Cruz began to decline.
In 1818, the pirate Bouchard attacked Monterey. The resulting panic at Santa Cruz Mission, plus looting by the citizens of Branciforte, did more damage to the Mission than could have been accomplished by the same pirate. In 1840, the population of 400 included only about a hundred Indians. An earthquake and tidal waves in that year partially destroyed the mission buildings. The ruin was completed in 1851 when the remaining walls crumbled.
Roof beams and tiles, as well as the foundation stones, were carried away for other uses. No trace of the original Mission remained. Today, across the street from the modern Holy Cross Church, stands a Replica, only half the size of the original church, and a portion of a cloister wing re-built on the approximate site. The design was conceived from a study of aged drawings and paintings still in existence at the “Mission of the Holy Cross”.