Tag: Santa Clara

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Mission Santa Clara de Asís: Historic Church On Campus🏫

Continuing on with my long overdue trips to California’s 21 missions, I arrived at the next mission on my list: Mission Santa Clara de Asís. As its name indicates, I thought that it was located somewhere in the city of Santa Clara. But I didn’t expect it to be sitting right at the heart of Santa Clara University!

Mission Santa Clara at Santa Clara University, 2025.

Santa Clara University

Founded in 1851 (during the Gold Rush!), Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit Catholic university. According to the official SCU website, this 174-year-old school is California’s “oldest operating institution of higher learning.” But while SCU was the first to open its doors, the University of the Pacific (also founded in 1851 as “California Wesleyan College”) was the first to receive a state charter. Regardless of technicalities, both Santa Clara University and the University of the Pacific are the oldest universities in California. (Which I had always assumed was UC Berkeley!)

But before this historic campus, of course, was the even more historic Mission Santa Clara. The university was built around the Mission, which explains why it’s located literally right in the middle of the campus, surrounded by students going to and from their classes.

Campus map of Santa Clara University.
⭐Mission Santa Clara is right at the ❤️of SCU.

👉Fun Facts about Santa Clara University

#1: The university was originally an all-boys preparatory school called, “Santa Clara College.” It became “The University of Santa Clara” in 1912 and the first Catholic, coed university in California in 1961 when female undergraduates were admitted.

#2: The founder and first president of SCU was John Nobili, S.J.

Plaque commemorating John Nobili S.J. found inside the Mission church.

Born “Giovanni Pietro Antonio Nobili” in Rome, he became a Jesuit priest and missionary who was assigned to the Oregon Territory. When he came to California, he visited San Francisco and San Jose, and he was appointed as a pastor at Mission Santa Clara. The preparatory school he founded in 1851 became the Santa Clara College and eventually, the Santa Clara University we know today. There’s a street (Nobili Avenue) and residence hall (Nobili Residence Hall) named after him.

The Nobili Hall at SCU. It’s right behind the Mission church.

#3: SCU’s mascot is a bronco, which I found out from Oxford Languages is a wild/half-tamed horse of the western U.S. And specifically, their mascot is called, “Bucky the Bronco.” Though I couldn’t meet Bucky the Bronco during my visit, I did find this bronze statue of what appears to be a bronco:

Update 8/27/2025: I got to see cute versions of Bucky the Bronco at the SCU student store!

Aren’t these the cutest horse plushies?

Lovely Campus

Not only does SCU boast of long history, but it also is such a pretty campus, with brightly colored roses and lush lavender growing here and there. The overall aesthetics of the campus give the impression that it’s being maintained with utmost care.

Roses at SCU.
Lavender at SCU.

Mission Santa Clara de Asís: The Beginnings

Mission Santa Clara was the 8th California mission established by Junipero Serra, coming after Mission San Francisco de Asís aka Mission Dolores (HERE is my post on the 6th CA mission) and Mission San Juan Capistrano. Founded in 1777, the settlement outpost was first named “La Misión Santa Clara de Thamien,” at a Native American village of Socoisuka located on the Guadalupe River. There, the Franciscans shared Christianity to the Ohlone people.

Oil painting of the early days of Mission Santa Clara, by Andrew Putnam Hill (1849). It shows the Mission during the 1830s at its fifth site where it stands today.

Multiple Reconstructions & Relocations

Per various sources, natural disasters such as flood, earthquake, and fire led to several relocations of the mission; it was rebuilt 6 times and relocated 5 times since 1777!

At one of the entrances to the university, you can find this cross and plaques next to it. They mark where the third site of the Santa Clara Mission (1784-1818) was after its flooding. After an earthquake and a temporary church at the fourth site, the Mission was rebuilt at its current location (at the heart of SCU) and has been there since 1825.
There’s also a signage at the third Mission site showing how the site would have looked back when it was active. *The yellow arrow is where the entrance cross is.
Another signage on campus showing where the five different sites of Mission Santa Clara were. The first and second sites were next to where San Jose Airport is today!

In addition to multiple reconstructions, the Mission and its inhabitants have been through much over the decades: initial success as a Spanish Catholic mission, cultural conflicts, epidemics, and changes in ownership, like most California missions. It was established and owned by the Spanish Franciscans until Mexico’s secession from the Spanish Empire, during which the ownership went to the Ohlone people and fell into decay due to insufficient funds. Then under the ownership of Jesuit priests, including John Nobili, the Mission became Jesuit and the heart of SCU ever since.

Plaque outside the Mission marking it as a historical landmark.

Visiting Mission Santa Clara de Asís

One of the first things you will inevitably notice when you arrive at the Mission is the big cross in front of the church building. The cross at one of the entrances to the campus was a marker for the Mission’s third site. This cross contains “a portion of the original cross first erected by Fray Tomas de la Peña, O.F.M. before the entrance to the first Mission Santa Clara de Asis” at its base:

Remnants of (what is reported as) the original cross of Mission Santa Clara! (You can’t really see it in this photo due to the reflection of the glass. I highly recommend viewing it yourself in-person!

Behind the wooden cross is the beautifully carved facade of the chapel with sculptures of three different individuals on it:

They are St. John the Baptist (left), St. Clare (middle) who the Mission is named after, and St. Francis (right):

According to this very informative signage nearby the Mission, the facade has changed multiple times since 1825. It’s fascinating to see the various facades of the Mission throughout its history:

✝️More Crosses & Roses🌹

There are also these small white crosses placed out in front of the Mission. I didn’t know what they were until after stopping by the Visitor’s Corner inside, but they are crosses memorializing the “Martyrs of El Salvador” who were murdered “by government forces at the Jesuit University of Central America in El Salvador” in 1989. The eight crosses bear the name of each of the martyrs.

Eight crosses memorializing the “Martyrs of El Salvador” stand outside the mission steps.

Around the church building are more beautiful roses:

Left and right, there were just bushes after bushes of vibrant roses:

There’s a rose garden within the walls of the Old Cemetery, too.

Under the spotless, azure sky, the scene above- roses in sunlight at the historic Mission- was ethereally beautiful!

The gates were locked, and sure enough, it says online that the cemetery is closed to the public as a “memorialized area for those still buried” (SCU.edu).

Rose Garden and Cemetery beyond the gates. According to the self-guided tour pamphlet, the walls of the Garden/Cemetery “outline the gravesites of thousands of Ohlone, Californios, and Anglos buried here from 1822 to 1851” but the graves actually go beyond the walls – which I’ll share more below!

Outer Garden & Sacred Heart Statue

There’s another garden on the other side of the chapel.

Map on the “Mission Santa Clara Self-Guided Tour” pamphlet.

On the left-hand side of the chapel, is the “Mission Gardens” area that’s open to the public. It’s a lovely area where a statue of Jesus stands, surrounded by ever-beautiful roses. It’s called the “Sacred Heart Statue” on the map (I found out later that it was built to cover the old Mission water well!)

“Sacred Heart of Jesus” statue. Erected in 1884.
I think someone in charge of the campus grounds sometimes puts roses in Jesus’s hand. They’re not always there, but there was a rose in His hand when I visited the first time,🌹
At the foot of the statue, there are two inscriptions: on the front it says “Venite Ad Me (Come to Me) Matt. XI. 28.” and on the back “Discite A Me (Learn from Me) Matt. XI. 29.” They’re what Jesus told his disciples as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

Wisteria Arbor & More

Next to the Sacred Heart Statue is the Wisteria Arbor, which I read are over 160 years old! I visited during the summer so I couldn’t see any wisteria in bloom; but they say if you visit during the spring, you’ll get to enjoy the beauty & fragrance of this historic wisteria.

When you walk down the Wisteria Arbor, you’ll get to where the “Former Padres Dormitory” used to be (somewhere on the left-hand side in the photo below):

I didn’t really understand until I saw this illustration online showing what the old Mission would have looked like in its original form:

Screenshot of diagram showing the original Mission Quadrangle. Online resource shared by SCU HERE.

So the Mission today is missing some parts of the Quadrangle and the Padres Dormitory.

But the original Adobe Wall and Lodge from 1822 (the left and top sides of the Quadrangle) remain standing today.

The Adobe Wall & Lodge & Beyond

Having survived the 1926 fire that destroyed all the other parts of the 1822 Misssion, the Adobe Wall and Lodge are the oldest structures on campus and look as such. Wait, they’re also the “oldest structures on any college campus in the West” (Mission Map)!

You can even see the individual adobe bricks inside the wall:

Further beyond are where there used to be an ancient olive orchard that provided olives and oil.

Grounds beyond the Adobe Wall. Apparently, there used to be 40 olive trees at one point!

And there were remnants of these Mills/Grinding Stones, which I read were used to process olive oil, grains, and corn:

You can also find another rose garden (where one of the mills/grinding stones is), an area of Ethiopian/Abyssinian Roses, a granite obelisk, and an observatory:

Rose Garden with Grinding Stone at its center.
Ricard Observatory and an obelisk commemorating the launching site of Professor John J. Montgomery’s controlled flight in 1905.

The areas next to the Ricard Observatory were also where a fruit orchard and vineyard had once existed.

Inside Mission Santa Clara de Asís

One of the entrance doors at the Mission.

To be honest, I didn’t know how to get inside the Mission. Mission Dolores had a signage directing people where to enter, but Mission Santa Clara didn’t. As I didn’t want to barge in on a service inside a historic property and an active campus church, I spent some time lingering outside totally unsure how to get in. But luckily, I ran into a student worker at SCU who let me inside the chapel after making sure that the church was open and no event (i.e. mass services, weddings, funerals, baptisms) was taking place within.

I entered through the main entrance door and immediately faced the decorative interior of the chapel and sanctuary at the back:

What you see when you enter inside.
The Vestibule is where you stand once you enter. On the left from the entrance are the stairs to the Bell Tower (off limits to visitors) and on the right is the Visitor’s Corner where you can pick up a “Self-Guided Tour” pamphlet.

I think I was first surprised by how colorful the ceiling was in its pink and sky-blue hues. And how long the chapel was, with intricate chandeliers (total of 3) and individual wooden chairs instead of pews. It was definitely unique and different from Mission Dolores.

Closeup of one of the intricate chandeliers inside the chapel. I thought the floating heads of angels were a little grotesque, though.

Above the Vestibule was an organ donated by a generous couple:

The Mission Organ, ” A Gift from Mr. & Mrs. Foster G. McGaw.”

…and down the chapel were lamps with images depicting the final days of Jesus’s ministry, before His resurrection:

Here’s a closeup of one of the lamps, lighted, too:

Side Chapels

I was amazed by the details on all the paintings, sculptures, and wall decorations as I made my way down to the sanctuary:

This side chapel, labeled as “Holy Family” on the map, used to be a baptistery and houses a painting of Jesus (God the Son) with Mary and Joseph, under God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (dove). By Riva Giuseppe Bergamo (1889).
Portraits and sculptures inside some of the side chapels you’ll see on your way to the sanctuary. Each side chapel is dedicated to different individuals, including St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuit Order); St. Anthony of Padua (first follower of St. Francis); St. Francis (founder of the Franciscan Order); St. Joseph (stepfather of Jesus, husband of Mary & patron saint of SCU); and “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
“Catala Crucifix,” carved in Mexico. This crucifix arrived at the Mission in 1802.

The above “Catala Crucifix” is inside one of the 7 side chapels. It’s called “Catala Crucifix,” because Father Magín Catalá used to pray before it. Magín Catalá was a Spanish missionary born on January 30, 1761 at Montblanc in the Diocese of Tarragona, Spain. He joined the Franciscan Monastery in Barcelona when he was just 16 years old and was ordained a priest in 1785. From Cádiz, Spain, he traveled to Mexico in 1786 to work for the missionary college of San Fernando. After about 8 years, he arrived in California and spent the following 36 years working at Mission Santa Clara (from 1794-1830).

Plaque commemorating “Padre Magín Catalá, O.F.M.” Referred to as “The Holy Man of Santa Clara,” Catalá was revered and loved by those around him, including the Native American converts.

*There’s also a plaque on the outside of the chapel marking Magín Catalá’s cell where he passed away:

The Sanctuary

After taking in all the artworks and information displayed in each side chapel, I finally reached the sanctuary, which is made up of the main altar and pulpit. Though it wasn’t the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, the sanctuary’s ceiling, nonetheless, was stunning to view!

The sanctuary. According to the official pamphlet, the High Altar ceiling and reredos aren’t the originals but are replicas of the 1825 church.
Against the fresco ceiling painted in azure blue, the golden stars seemed to glisten. *The “IHS” at the center are Greek for “Jesus.”

Visitor’s Corner & Bell Tower

Visitor’s Corner/Center inside Mission Santa Clara.

While I did see students giving tours to visitors, it says online that guided tours are not offered, with the exception of schools and class groups who can arrange tours through the de Saisset Museum located right next to the Mission. But for regular visitors like me, there are Self-Guided Tour pamphlets (which I’ve included and mentioned multiple times above) available at the Visitor’s Corner. It can also be downloaded online HERE.

Also at the Visitor’s Corner are informative tapestries and a tablet with more interesting facts about the Mission, along with plaques commemorating Santa Clara students and faculty veterans.

The steps to the Bell Tower are on the other side but are not open to the public.

Steps to the off-limits Bell Tower.

Per Wikipedia, the original bells were donated by King Charles III of Spain in 1777 and rang every evening per a promise made to the king.

Bells inside the Bell Tower.

Today, a recording of the bells are played instead of actually ringing the bells. I actually got to hear it when I visited on a Friday morning:

There are 3 bells, cast in 1798, 1799, and 1805, respectively. One of the three bells was donated by King Carlos IV but was destroyed in a fire, and King Alphonso XIII donated a replacement in 1929. The replacement (fourth) bell is on display at the de Saisset Museum.

Alas, the Museum was closed! 😞

I recommend NOT visiting Mission Santa Clara during the summer like I did… So that you can explore de Saisset Museum’s California Stories from Thámien to Santa Clara Exhibit showcasing Mission era artifacts, including the fourth bell.

St. Francis Chapel (The OG Chapel)

After exploring inside the Mission, I walked around the garden/cemetery to get to the Mission Office, in hopes of finding a souvenir shop next to it. The door was shut, so I tried knocking.

The Mission Office.

To my pleasant surprise, I got to meet the Director of Development of Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Andrew Chai! He let me inside the Office and showed me the St. Francis Chapel, which has the actual remains of the original Mission church, including its adobe wall, floor covering, and artifacts. I was so lucky to have visited during the Mission Office’s hours, which is the only time when you can view the historic chapel:

More Cool History

Not only did Andrew show me the insides of St. Francis Chapel, but he also shared with me a plethora of cool historical facts about the Mission I hadn’t known. He told me that…

🧱There used to be an old well at the Mission. But when it no longer was used, the statue of Jesus was built to cover the hole that had lost its purpose.

🧱The Mission church today was reconstructed with different materials (i.e. steel) and built in different dimensions (longer and larger to fit all the students at SCU) from the original structure. The original materials, paint, and shape of the Mission can be seen inside the St. Francis Chapel, which is much smaller than the reconstructed Mission.

Inside St. Francis Chapel, with the original adobe wall!
The original floor covering!

🧱And here’s something literally wild: these paw prints are from animals (maybe dogs?) who couldn’t resist stepping on the floor before they had dried completely. Thanks to them, we get to see their little footprints preserved for hundreds of years inside St. Francis Chapel!

Aren’t these the cutest? 🐾

🧱There used to be a small, redbrick student chapel adjacent to the Old Cemetery. But after the 1926 fire, only the entry porch remains today as steps leading to the Cemetery.

Where the old student chapel would have been. *I drew in a very rough sketch of a church building just to imagine how it would have looked like with the student chapel there. That’s probably NOT how it had looked like!
Steps to the old student chapel, which used to house the Holy Family painting now placed inside the Mission church.
I’m not sure if the above is the original floor of the old student chapel. Regardless, isn’t it neat?

🧱The Old Cemetery actually goes beyond its walls and into the grassy lawns next to the Mission. Unaware students and visitors might be sitting or walking right above cemetery grounds!

🧱As mentioned previously, other original structures onsite are the Adobe Wall and Lodge. I was told that the Lodge used to be a kitchen and still functions as one, albeit with stainless appliances.

….and so much more!

⛪ The Mission Office & Passport 📃

Everything Andrew shared with me made me appreciate the Mission so much more. If you want more than just a reading from pamphlet/guide/online resources, I highly recommend that you visit the Mission Office during their hours. (Thank you Andrew for making my visit to the Santa Clara Mission all the more memorable & fun! 😊)

The Mission church is open every day, from 7 AM to 7 PM, but the Mission Office is open from Monday to Friday, from *8 AM to 4 PM. (*While it says 8 AM online, it says 8:30 AM inside the Visitor’s Corner… Maybe the hours have been slightly adjusted recently?)

Notice about Mission passport stamps at the Visitor’s Corner.

Not only can you get a glimpse of St. Francis Chapel (and 🐾!) through the Mission Office, but you can also get a stamp if you have a “Missions passport.” According to California Missions Trail, this passport is a pocket-sized booklet/pamphlet for recording all the Missions you visit. Apparently, if you visit all 21 Missions and collect stamps for each, you can receive a Certificate of Completion. (They also give out “Certificate of Progress” for those who collect stamps for 6 Mission sites.)

While passports are “available at most of the Missions,” I couldn’t get mine at SCU! 🥲*Per the California Mission Store by Lowman Publishing, passports are available for purchase only at the following 10 missions: Mission San Diego, Mission San Luis Rey, Mission San Gabriel, Mission San Fernando, Mission San Buenaventura, Mission San Miguel, Mission San Antonio, Mission San Juan Bautista, Mission San Carlos in Carmel, and Mission Dolores in San Francisco.

Update 8/27/2025: I finally got mine and began my stamp collecting journey! HERE is an entire post on Missions Passport.

Speaking of Mission-related items, there isn’t a gift shop at Mission Santa Clara. But there are some Mission-related items at the campus store:

The SCU campus store, “Bronco Corner,” is within walking distance from the Mission.

But I learned that purchases made there don’t support the Mission. So if you want to support Mission Santa Clara, donations can be made HERE.

Outside St. Francis Chapel.

👉Fun Facts about Mission Santa Clara

#1: Mission Santa Clara once had the largest Indian population of any California mission.

Signage on campus about the Ohlone people who joined the Mission.

#2: It was the first CA mission named in honor of a woman, Saint Clare, who followed Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order.

#3: The city, county, and university are all named after the Mission; the logo of the university is the Mission church itself.

More souvenirs at the SCU campus store.

#4: It’s the only mission located on a university campus:

Mission Santa Clara Today

With its Jesuit origins focusing on education and its Franciscan nature of serving the poor and marginalized, the Mission continues to serve as the spiritual and historic heart of Santa Clara University. Soon reaching its 250th anniversary in 2027, Mission Santa Clara de Asís is a lovely chapel of California’s unique history. Its story of faith, sacrifice, and diversity are being well-preserved on the SCU campus adorned with historical signages and roses.

P.S. Some tips & advice: I highly recommend visiting Mission Santa Clara during the spring, when you can enjoy the Wisteria Arbor in full bloom and visit the de Saisset Museum. Plus, it can get quite hot during the summer in Santa Clara…Plus, if you plan on taking photos like I did, be aware that Santa Clara University is a private property and permits are required. Per the SCU webpage HERE, I applied for permission by contacting the Mission Office.

P.P.S. Not only does SCU abound with roses, signages, and history, but also the campus teems with squirrels. This fellow followed me for a little while during my self-guided tour:

P.P.P.S. Did you know that you can enter inside Mission Santa Clara from your home? Link to virtual tour👉https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=GtTkK1X7Zzf

P.P.P.P.S. Here are more photos of the aesthetic Santa Clara University and Mission Santa Clara!

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Lick Mill & Mansion: Remnants of History Amongst Apartments

Mansion Grove Apartments

I traveled to Santa Clara, CA for the first time recently. And while down there, I visited an apartment complex called Mansion Grove. It’s located near the VTA Headquarters, Samsung, Cisco and other big companies.

The gated community features fountains, pools, a community garden, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a fitness center. It even has a quaint cottage that residents can borrow for their families and friends. (With a fee, of course!)

Mansion Grove’s leasing office.
Little park and fountain by the leasing office.
Community garden and tennis court.
Fountain and the Cottage that residents can rent for their guests.

I was walking around this peaceful and rather large apartment complex when I spotted the following:

On the left is a circular brick building and on the right is a white wooden structure that looks like a mansion.

Even at a quick glance, these buildings didn’t seem like they belonged there. Though they sit right inside the gated community, something about them had too much of that historical charm. But the most I imagined was that they were old facility buildings from a previous apartment company. Never did I imagine that they were buildings of the richest man in California back in the 19th century!!!

The Lick Mill and Mansion.

James Lick: The Man

Portrait of James Lick
 (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876). Ca. 1870.
From the Library Company of Philadelphia.

When I finally got down to researching about the mysterious buildings, I was surprised to find that they were built and owned by a man named James Lick. According to Wikipedia, he was an “American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences.”

He was born in 1796 in Fredericksburg (née Stumpstown) in Pennsylvania to Pennsylvanian Dutch parents. His grandfather was a German immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War and his father was a carpenter. After learning the family trade and how to make pianos in Baltimore, Maryland, he built his own shop in New York City. In 1821 at the age of 25, he moved to Argentina, where his piano-making business was successful.

Old photo of Main Street in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, circa early 20th century.
From the Matthews Public Library.

His Early Years

As I researched on, it was astounding to see all the drama he faced so early on in his life! Not only did he fall in love with a woman named Barbara Snavely, have his only child with her and never marry, but he also was taken as a prisoner of war at one point. He was coming back to Buenos Aires from his trip to Europe when the Portuguese captured the ship he was on. He had to escape on foot!

After the dramatic escape, he moved from Argentina to Chile due to the political instability at the time and then from Chile to Peru. He then decided to settle in California. In 1848, just a few days before the historic discovery of gold, James Lick arrived in San Francisco.

How the City’s Mission Bay looked like back in November 1848. Illustration by Bayard Taylor. From the British Library. 

What’s also fascinating is that James Lick’s friend and neighbor back from his time in Peru was Domingo Ghirardelli! And apparently, Lick told Ghirardelli to move to San Francisco. Ghirardelli made his name and fortune selling chocolate while Lick made his buying real estate.

Portrait of Domingo Ghirardelli by Gustavo Luzzati.
c. 1899. From the National Portrait Gallery.

Feats of the Richest Man in California

Illustration of the hotel Lick House by William Laird MacGregor, c. 1876.
Published by the S.F. News Company. From the California History Society.

James Lick was at one point the richest man in California, owning large areas of Santa Clara County and San Francisco, land around Lake Tahoe, a large ranch in Los Angeles County, and all of Santa Catalina Island!

He built a grand hotel called Lick House, which sadly burned down in the fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Aside from the ostentatious hotel that was destroyed by the fire, Lick had also…

  • donated to the University of California for the construction of the Lick Observatory,
  • built free public baths called the James Lick Baths,
  • founded the California School of Mechanic Arts,
  • erected bronze statues before the San Francisco City Hall,
  • built a memorial to Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”) in the Golden Gate Park,
  • and contributed to the Conservatory of Flowers. (Lick had intended the Conservatory of Flowers for San Jose but it ended up being purchased by San Franciscans and placed in the Golden Gate Park.)
Photo of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in 1895.
From the Western Neighborhoods Project.

The Lick Observatory

Photogravure of the Lick Observatory, c. 1900. From D. Appleton & Company.

The Lick Observatory was “the largest philanthropic gift in the history of science.” It began its operations in 1888 (Regents of the University of California). It was “the first permanently staffed mountain-top observatory” and “the world’s largest refracting telescope” at the time (University of California). There were groundbreaking discoveries and innovations made at the Lick Observatory, including…

  • “Albert Michelson’s use of interferometry to measure the size of Jupiter’s moons,”
  • Edward Emerson Barnard’s discovery of Jupiter’s fifth moon,
  • creation of a “photographic atlas of the moon,”
  • James Keeler’s study of the spectra of stars,
  • the discovery of “unimaginably large numbers of galaxies,”
  • Robert Trumpler’s “confirmation of the general theory of relativity,”
  • “studies of star clusters,”
  • and the discovery “that dark matter absorbs light in space.”

The Lick Observatory sits on Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. Surprisingly, it’s also where James Lick is buried. The observatory sounds like a must-visit spot for historians and scientists alike!

Photo of the Lick Observatory by C. C. Pierce, ca.1904-1909.
From the California Historical Society.

The James Lick Mill

Per the City of Santa Clara website, this mill is a “a four-stone, water-powered flour mill” built in 1855.

Here’s a plaque placed by the order of the Santa Clara City Council:

According to the plaque, the flour mill was powered by the water from the Guadalupe River. It was converted into California’s first paper mill in 1873 and in 1882, a fire destroyed the original mill. So, the building standing today isn’t the original built by James Lick. In 1902, the newly-built mill became a plant for alcohol manufacture and in 1987, the building was included in the historic trust zone.

Photo showing how the Lick Mill and its surrounding area looked like back in 1905 on an information board in the Ulistac Natural Area.

The James Lick Mansion

Next to the mill stands the mansion. It was “constructed in 1858 and contains a lovely mahogany interior,” which I could not see as the mansion is not open to the public.

The front door. I SO wanted to get a good tour of the interior! For the time being, I am content with finding these photos shared by the Library of Congress.

It was a well-built, pretty structure with decorative yet simple designs.

And near the mansion was another plaque specifically for the Lick Mansion:

Here’s a close-up of the plaque “placed by order of the Santa Clara City Council”:

Per the plaque, this mansion has been built in “Italianate” style and with native redwood. And all 24 rooms have “imported marble fire places”! 👀

Reason Behind the Mansion

The mansion was large, even by today’s standards. And that got me thinking how, perhaps, James Lick would have felt lonely living in it by himself. When I read about the reason why he had built the mansion, I really think he would have been.

Once the construction of the mill was completed, Lick invited his only son, John Henry, to live with him in a small cabin he had. His son was 37 year’s old and had never met his father before! When he arrived, he let his estranged father know that his mother, Barbara Snavely, had passed away a few years ago.

Portrait of John Henry Lick (1818-1891),
only son of James Lick. Dated 1863.
From Matthews Public Library.

According to this snippet from James Lick’s biography, The Generous Miser, (shared HERE), James Lick couldn’t marry her because her father, a local miller and farmer, deemed him too poor at the time. The source shares that James Lick sent photos of the mill to Barabra’s father after it was built, which just shows how he never got over the refusal.

So this man couldn’t marry the woman he wanted to marry, met the child they had together when the said-child was 37, and never remarried. What’s all the more sad is that apparently, he built the Lick Mansion “in hopes of improving their [he and his son’s] relationship” (Misch and Stone 1998). It’s heartbreaking to read that their relationship didn’t improve, and so Lick didn’t bother to furnish the house properly.

John Henry went back to Pennsylvania in 1863 and only returned just before his father passed away.

Next to the Guadalupe River

Various sources mentioned that the Lick Mill and Mansion were located next to the Guadalupe River. I didn’t know just how close the two actually were to the river! They’re literally right next to it:

The Guadalupe River and the Lick Mansion in 2025.
There’s a biking trail and gates of the Mansion Grove apartments in between.

The Rich Yet Lonely Man

Guadalupe River up close.

Despite the wealth and opportunities James Lick had, he lived such a lonely life. He had someone he wanted to marry but couldn’t and a child he couldn’t become close to.

After reading about the reasons behind the construction of the mill and mansion (and the negligence of the latter), I can’t help but think how affected James Lick was by the things that weren’t granted to him.

One might say he would have had his friends. But apparently, many of his contemporaries thought him eccentric. On top of that, rich people are fully aware that most people approach them for their money. So I think it’s likely that he didn’t really have deep friendships.

James Lick was granted uncommon wealth, power and influence but not what he may have truly longed for: a family.

Ephemerality of the World

Chancing upon James Lick’s mill and mansion in the middle of the Mansion Grove apartment complex just made me realize, again, how transient everything in the world is. Yes, there are schools (i.e. James Lick High School, James Lick Middle School, and Lick-Wilmerding High School), as well as a street, park, freeway, and light rail station (i.e. Lick Mill Blvd, Lick Mill Park, James Lick Freeway, and Lick Mill Station) named in his honor.

VTA light rail station.

I mean, there is a crater on the Moon, an asteroid, a village, and even a species of lizard commemorating him! But most people don’t even know who he was. I chanced upon his mansion and mill in the middle of a modern apartment complex and only found out about his life after doing research on my own.

It doesn’t matter if someone was or is the richest person in California. Everyone fades into obscurity, albeit some leave behind names and/or contributions. James Lick did both, leaving behind his name and making big contributions to the public and to the sciences. And yet, he had also become a part of the oblivion of everyone and everything that once was and were.

Lick Monument, ca. 1876.
In Cedar Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, PA.
From Matthews Public Library.

As a practicing Christian, this reality affirms my belief: nothing in this world prevails except for God’s Word that continues to change minds, hearts, and souls:

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

Historical Site Neglected

And as a historian, seeing the mill and mansion of someone so significant to California’s history left as they are in the middle of the apartment complex (next to a parking lot!) is just sad to say the least.

Well… At the very least, the mansion and mill are noted in the apartment map.

P.S. I just realized – it’s called “Mansion Grove” because of the Lick Mansion! 🤯

P.P.S. Here are more posts where history and travel intersect:

P.P.P.S. And here are some aesthetic photos of the Lick Mansion to finally wrap up this post: