The ruins of Descanso Mission, constructed in 1817, lie abandoned 22 kilometers south of downtown Rosarito and east of the sand dunes of Cantamar. It is the second-to-last and most northern of the Missions constructed by the Dominican friars along the historic Camino Real of history, myth and romance.

The Missions System was the means by which the Spanish Crown, beginning in 1697 at Loreto in Baja California Sur, worked its way slowly up the peninsula over the next 150 years reaching all the way to the Mission San Francisco Solano in present day Sonoma, California, U.S.A. During this period, 25 missions were created in Baja and 21 in Alta California. In 2010, the Mexican Federal Government designated Rosarito's Descanso Mission site as Monument Number 1811.

And now, the mission site has been designated as an Archeological Zone by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) comprising six proposed projects over 18,000 square meters. The project is to include an Interpretive Center, a replica of the Descanso Mission, reconstruction of the old cemetery, of Casa Machado and of Rancho La Viña, located six kilometers up the river valley where the Dominican padres planted the first grapes in all of the Californias. The grapes grew in great abundance sheltered inland and some of the old vines remained more than one hundred years later until they were wiped-out by the winter storms of 1968-69.

The Santana family, owners of the property where the project is to be located, is determining the viability of creating a non-profit group to collect funds for the project.

Like so many of the missions, where native stone was not available, the construction was of adobe blocks made of local mud and straw and, in the case of Descanso Mission, added seashells. However, adobe melts in the presence of water, and the walls and foundations of the Descanso Mission have melted away over nearly 200 years of neglect into smooth heaps resembling sculpture. A protective roof has been placed over the adobe foundations and floor tiles by INAH and sacrificial coverings have been added to the delicate structures to avoid further erosion.

Although founded in 1939, it was not until 1986 that INAH began cataloging historic sites in the states of Baja California. Ten years later, the federal INAH coordinated with Baja State and Municipal governments, citizens' groups, and the University of Baja California, to identify historic archeological sites, especially focusing on those sites within the historic corridor stretching the entire 800 mile length of the Baja peninsula designated CAREM (Camino Real Misionero de las Californias).

On February 4th, The Secretary of Tourism for the State of Baja (SECTURE) and INAH toured Descanso Mission to compile technical and historical information necessary to continue with the project, which includes a site across the river valley from the Descanso Mission, atop a cleft in a high mesa, where lies the ruin of the Presidio. This fort overlooked the Mission, and commanded an uninterrupted view of approaches from the south.

Excavations there show a central walled compound about one third the size of a football field with the foundations unearthed of a small blockhouse within.

By 1834, when the Mission Descanso closed, there was a total population of 254 indigenous natives, with herds of 3,500 cattle, 1,500 sheep, 50 horses and ten mules. Corn, barley and wheat were produced in addition to the grapes and other fruits from higher up in the valley.There was also a small maritime commerce with small boats gathering such things as salt, fish, clams, lobsters, mussels.

There have also been found artifacts in the valley such as bowls and grinding implements dating back more than 6,000 years.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Mission System's role in creating Baja and Alta California. Originally, the word 'California' only applied to the Baja peninsula. Gradually the word spread north into the U.S. as the Missions expanded northwards. The Baja Missions provided the hard-won foundational chain that created the U.S. State of California and their contribution has been incalculable: in art, architecture, literature, and in the very names of rivers, mountains, cities, streets and deserts.

Some years back, a new chapel was constructed on the Descanso Mission site financed by the old Descanso River Valley families: the Machados, Gilberts, Crosthwaites and Cotas, among others.

This church, incidentally, is a featured location in the forthcoming film, "Little Boy," shot at Baja Film Studios, Rosarito, and can be seen in the trailer for the movie. The ruins of the Descanso Mission are directly behind the church.

VIDEO: Little Boy Official Trailer

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