need your expert input
are there any date palm trees at the Santa Maria site?
I don't recall date palms there. I just looked at some of my photos from that trip and some lovely palms but no pics of dates. Perhaps David or
others will chime in since I can't say with certainty.David K - 1-29-2016 at 11:14 AM
Nope, just blues and greens, I think.
4x4abc - 1-29-2016 at 11:47 AM
I am surprised as all Jesuit missions had date palm treesDavid K - 1-29-2016 at 12:30 PM
The Jesuits (just one in this case) were at Santa María only from May 1767 to Jan 1768, upon which time the Jesuits were all ordered to Loreto to be
expelled back to Europe.
Padre Victoriano Arnés cultivated a tiny spot next to the stream and planted wheat and cotton. The crops were just maturing when he was summoned to
leave his mission.
His mission was made of sticks and palm fronds. The Franciscan, Padre Juan de Medina Beitia had the large adobe church and side buildings constructed
after he arrived, sometime soon after April 5, 1769.
[Edited on 1-29-2016 by David K]4x4abc - 1-29-2016 at 01:01 PM
and then they went NorthDavid K - 1-29-2016 at 01:18 PM
Not Beitia, after several months of working at Santa María, he transferred to San Ignacio. He couldn't hack the conditions at Santa María.
The padre of San Borja (Lasuén) traveled to Santa María from his mission... as did the padres at San Fernando from 1769 to 1773.
Santa María was eventually abandoned by the Dominicans in 1775. This is just one of many 'never' published facts you will find in my new book! All
previous mission books (assumed?) Santa María closed once San Fernando was was founded in 1769.
