Neal Johns called from Baja's San Juan de Dios: It's gone! See photos from before:

Hi gang, Neal Johns (with John M) called me from San Juan de Dios with some very sad news on a historic site!

He called to ask me where the visita was located, as I have been there twice... Neal says it is obliterated by some agricultural project that has plowed it over!

This is the kind of thing that ignorance of historic sites allows... IF the site was visited more, protected or outlined with a fence, etc. then the local ejido or farmer would have a reason to preserve it. As an INAH site, I wouldn't be surprised if the law has been violated... It is too late, however.

The connection to Neal ended before we were done talking, so I will hold out some hope that they were looking in the wrong spot, but it didn't sound so.

Photos from 2000:


This was the largest room, in the middle of the long building ruins. This visita served Mision San Fernando in the early 1800's. (7-25-00)


A room dividing wall. Beyond note the square pits which were rooms in this long building. Picture facing NNW, note some of the date palms near the arroyo and pools. Adobe is built on stone foundation. Some plaster/ paint is visible on inside walls!



[Edited on 3-7-2007 by David K]

what could they possibly be growing out there? i guess there is water nearby? bad day....

In case anyone wanted to know, who didn't... San Juan de Dios is the the middle of Baja between El Rosario and Puertecitos.

Junipero Serra, on his long walk from Loreto to San Diego stopped there and had his swollen left leg treated by a muleteer with the same poultice used to treat mules... It worked!

The site became a Dominican visita of the mission of San Fernando...

Note arrow...

Close up

Probably another "Cilantro" farm what a shame

Jack Swords Photos from Nov. 12, 2003

Here are 4 photos taken at San Juan de Dios by Jack Swords (reduced to post on Nomad)...

another...

note palms in background... they are along the river.

If what Neal reported is correct, then another mission-era site is lost forever...

Can only hope he is mistaken

Diane

We are back.
Here is the picture where the new field about the size of a football field was bulldozed into being. The picture was taken from the middle of the field. Great rows of vegetation were piled up. Compare with DK's picture.

We think maybe this project (whatever it is) might have had something to do with it. These signs were posted at all turns to San Juan de Dios.

There is a shack there now, but not presently lived in. Plenty of water but little flat cleared land.

A mile or so down the road toward El Metate, there are two adobes, a well, a large crypt with at least two graves in it and plenty of flat land. We walked across the flood plain and found running water on the far side. You saw this and took pics, DK, it sure looks more like a mission/visita site than the first water crossing where the adobe was bulldozed. What say, DK?

Poor pic of crypt:

Another view of what appears to be a burial crypt

attached.

John M

Stream

This is the current view of the San Juan de Dios streambed within approximately 300 yards of what Jack Sword has referred to as the San Juan de Dios adobe ruins.

The streambed at this point is favorably similar to that described by Fr. Crespi in March 1769 "...There are many willows and cottonwoods in the bed of this stream, several large pools of good water and much fine grass. Our Indians went out ahead and brought back a heathen who was still a boy, naked and heavily painted in stripes; and a soldier gave him a lighted cigar, which he smoked with great address."

Quote is from Gateway to Alta California by Harry Crosby.

We did not see the heathen, nor the remains of the cigar.

John M



[Edited on 3-14-2007 by John M]

From the adobes, the crypt is on top of a small hill/mesa 100 yards toward the bulldozed site and 50 yards from the new road (in a direction further away from Arroyo San Juan de Dios)). I am Directionally Challenged around there. As you can see, there is a rock wall around it. I thought it was a corral before I checked it out. There are some Indian rock circles on the mesa behind the crypt. There are two adobes, one on either side of the new road. According to my GPS, the old road is the one parallel and 0.2 miles further away (and higher) from the Arroyo.

Maybe John M. can post some pics, My camera hates me and screwed up. I take no responsibility for anything.

Here is the "new" shack at the bulldozed site:

Map of SJDD area

To help visualize these places, I sketched two maps to help...

John, the photo of you with the palms behind look (to me) to be too close to the palms... The visita was on the south side of the road to El Metate, uphill from the river crossing.

The road (then) crossed the river and curved slightly to the north as it heads eastward... passes a branch north into the palm grove area...

The visita site could NOT be seen from the road as it was hidden by brush... However, the north end of the visita was only 20-30 feet from the road! The visita was about 90 feet long and ran north/south.

[Edited on 3-14-2007 by David K]

Here's one a bit further out... The distance from San Juan de Dios (Palms/ Visita) to El Metate is 2.5 miles.



[Edited on 3-14-2007 by David K]

My sketch

David and Jack and others....

Here is my sketch using David K's as a base.

The plowed & cleared area, in my estimation, extends both north and south of the road to a distance of perhaps 300 feet, possibly a little more to the north of the road. The cleared area also extends a similar distance to the east.

I'm not certain of the compass direction at the site so I am using the compass directions indicated by David - I believe them to be correct.

We had with us a copy of the visita ruins photograph David K had taken. Neal lined up the palms, rocks in the mountainside behind the palms in several places to establish what we believe to be the same relationship as in the David K photograph. Where Neal stood to take the photograph is very close to where David K took his photo, even though the photo posted may not look so exact. We were quite careful to line up several things to make an accurate photo comparison.

Sadly this was in the MIDDLE of the cleared area. The cleared area extended another hundred feet or so behind and to the south where Neal stood to take the photo.

More later today.

John M

[Edited on 3-14-2007 by John M]

translation help from FDT

Second reply from FDT on translation of sign

Too bad they destroy an irreplaceable mission site to build a hunting lodge... or whatever!

Are you guys going to enlighten us with the rest of your trip? Enquiring minds need to know! Canelo wash, La Turquesa canyon, etc...