Mission San José

Mission San José is a former Franciscan outpost with a reconstructed adobe church and museum on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in Fremont. The compound holds several exhibit rooms, an arcaded courtyard and outdoor areas that invite visitors to walk through and explore.

Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén founded the compound in 1797 as the fourteenth station in the chain of California coastal outposts. It linked Livermore Valley to San Joaquin Valley and played a key role until secularization in the 1830s.

This site stands where an Ohlone village called Oroysom once existed, home to families who fished, gathered acorns and lived along these hills. Museum displays and artifacts show how native people worked, built their homes and cared for their families before Europeans arrived.

The grounds open daily with no admission charge, and guided walks plus information leaflets are available. Visitors who allow enough time can explore the church, exhibits and courtyard at a relaxed pace and learn about daily life here.

Father Narciso Durán built a 30-piece orchestra and choir here in the early 1800s that became well known across California. Manuscripts and instruments from that period survive today, showing how music shaped daily life in this remote outpost.