The Ohlones and the Mission San Jose

The Ohlones and the Mission San Jose. Rancho Higuera Historical Park. The Ohlones were the indigenous people of this area and had a village called Oroysom east of this site. As hunters and gatherers they ranged far and wide. They wove baskets using various roots and willow branches and had lively commerce with other villages., A number of huge stones, some of them eight feet in diameter and each with several grinding holes, were once found along Agua Caliente Creek, which runs through this property. The Ohlones used them to grind acorns gathered from the oak trees that grew in the canyon., Natural springs and creeks provided fresh water. There were edible plants and an abundance of animals, fish and fowl. The natives navigated the bay in boats they built with tule reeds., A large Ohlone burial site was once located near the corner of Curtner Road and Mission Boulevard. The graves were carefully excavated and relocated to the Ohlone cemetery on Washington Boulevard., After the founding of Mission San Jose at Oroysom on June 11, 1797, this land became part of the vast mission lands. A road shaded by olive trees was built from Mission Santa Clara to the circular steps of Mission San Jose. The Higueras later built their adobe along this road. Portions of it still survive., Life in Oroysom changed after the arrival of the Spanish Franciscans. They brought their religion and a new way of life as well as their cattle, horses and European fruits and vegetables. The founding of the mission had some negative consequences for the Ohlones who were brought to live, work and worship there. They learned new skills and built the adobe mission church and other buildings, but their way of life was irrevocably changed., Ohlone vaqueros (cowboys) managed the expanding mission cattle herds that roamed the hills and valleys, including this land of the Agua Caliente (Warm Springs). The cattle were a source of wealth for the mission, and later for the ranchos. Ships sailed down the San Francisco Bay to the Mission Embarcadero, near present-day Union City, where they exchanged manufactured goods from the East Coast for the dried hides (leather for shoes) and the tallow (fat for soap and candles) from the cattle., An earthquake on October 21, 1868 destroyed the original 1809 adobe church. It was reconstructed and dedicated on June 11, 1985., Images: , Acorns from oak trees provided sustenance for the Ohlones. Baskets were used to gather the acorns. (Museum of Local History), Mortars and Pestles (Photo by Julianne Howe), An Ohlone fisherman drags a tule boat into the water. Illustration by Michael Harner (The Ohlone Way), Founding of Mission San Jose (Painting by Hal Booth), 1826 pencil drawing of the Ohlones at Mission San Jose by William Smyth (Bancroft Library), 1826 Water color by William Smythe of vaqueros roping a cow. Mission San Jose and Mission Peak are in the background. (Bancroft Library), Mission bell in front of the reconstructed adobe mission church. (Photo by Lionel Goularte)