Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino
Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino was founded on the 14th of April 1791 by the dominican priest Josef Loriente, with the authorization of the then president of the Misiones priest Juan Crisóstomo Gómez.
The mission named after Saint Thomas Aquinas was established on the mountainside of the San Solano hills addresing the need of founding a mission in the 120 kilometer gap between Misión San Vicente Ferrer and Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera.
The original site, which just consisted of a row of chambers roughly 70 meters long and a small adobe church was relocated about a league to the west on 1974 by decree of the Count of Revillagigedo, Viceroy of New Spain, dated March 27th 1793 on account that the first location was neighboring a swamp suspected of being the cause of disease afflicting the mission population.
The highest population reported for the mission was four-hundred individuals in 1824, which is the highest for all of the five then operating dominican missions, though this is disputed.
The rancherias that were in the Santo Tomás de Aquino jurisdiction include La Grulla, San Rafael, Ensenada, Los Álamos and Maneadero, in an area on the order of 2,730 square kilometers.
Santo Tomás de Aquino was the last dominican mission to be definitively deserted in 1849.
Location and Natural Habitat
The mission was built in an vast valley crossed by two or three little springs in the town that today bears the name of the disappeared mission.
Among the flora that the missionaries found were mezcal, chamizo, alder, willow, oak, poplar and elderberry.
Their agricultural production consisted of wheat, olive, vine, maize, barley, bean and vegetables all of which were cultivated using irrigation. It is estimated that the mission had around 80 to 178 hectares of farm lands.
Missionary Compound
Although the reconstruction of the second mission's site is practically immposible due to the its foundations being destroyed by constant plowing through the years of the land were it use to stand, it is possible to form a mental image of the mission with the aid of reports from contemporary priests.
Priest Miguel López informed in 1795 that some 70 varas had been layed down as foundation for the construction of the mission. One year later himself and priest Josef Loriente notified the construction of a residence with a grand hall, three rooms, common spaces, dispensary and also separate boarding houses for single men and women. In 1797 another testimony makes reference to the existence of a small corral for minor cattle.
Commerce
The missions close proximity to the coast made it possible for it to take part in coastline commerce exploiting the nearby Bocana de Santo Tomás, Bahía de Todos Santos and mainly the bay of Ensenada. Reports such as those of Shaler and John Locke going as far back as 1795 mention trading with the Santo Tomás priests.
Sea otter fur was a popular trade item in the Santo Tomás jurisdiction shorelines, in 1809 the Boston vessel Dromio acquired 1,700 furs in the course of a 34 day period in the bay of Ensenada. It is worth mentioning that the commerce engaged in the San Tomás shores was mostly of an illegal nature due to the violation of the Spanish Crown's restriction against trading with vessels that did not bear Spain's flag.
List of resident padres
Various priests directed Santo Tomás mission during its formative years:
- 1791 – 1797 Josef Loriente
- 1798 – 1803 Miguel López
- 1803 – 1803 Eudaldo Surroca
