Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park

How did an isolated settlement clothe the hundreds of people who lived there? Take an in-depth look at the cloth industry of Mission Santa Cruz. We will follow the path of wool from the sheep to the shirt and have the chance to try your hand at a drop spindle and spin your own wool. This event is FREE.  Rain or Shine. The Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park is located on School St. off Mission and Emmet Street in Santa Cruz. Please call (831) 425-5849 for more information or email us at [email protected] .

Join us for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape. This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information.  

Join us for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape. This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information.  

Come and learn how Mission Santa Cruz participated in a world economy back in the early 1800’s, and the roles the native people played in the hide & tallow industry. Watch a demonstration of how a branding iron works on leather, and get involved by dipping your own candle to take home.This is a FREE event, no reservation required. The Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park is located on School St. off Mission and Emmet Street in Santa Cruz. Please call (831) 425-5849 for more information.

Join us for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape. This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information.  

Join us for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape. This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information.  

2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the last remaining building of the Santa Cruz Mission, a structure built by the hands of Ohlone and Yokuts people under Spanish control. Join us to learn about building methods of the indigenous people here before European arrivals, and how this and other adobe buildings were constructed under Spanish control. Visitors will get a chance to participate in a hands-on activity in demonstration of each building style, and learn about how life changed for Native people at the mission.  All living history demonstrations are FREE, no reservation required. Call (831) 425-5849 or email [email protected] with questions.

Join us at the Santa Cruz Mission on the shortest day of the year for candle-making. Around the longest night of the year, civilizations all over the earth have celebrated with traditions of fire and light. We’ll discuss the labor of candle-making as it happened here at the Santa Cruz Mission under Spanish colonization, and ways in which the winter solstice was acknowledged and celebrated throughout various cultures. Each participant will get a chance to make one dipped wax candle, rain or shine. This event, as always, is free. Call 831-425-5849 or email [email protected] with any questions.

Join us for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape. This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information.

Join us at 1pm for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape.This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information. 

Join us at 1pm for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape.This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information. 

With Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month on the mind, join us at the Mission for a historic exploration of local Indigenous foodways. We'll discuss the foods native to California before Spanish contact, and explore the ways in which food varieties and cultivation methods drastically changed under Spanish colonization. Touch, smell, and taste a bit of history as we compare & contrast California history to the "classic Thanksgiving story", and discuss ultimately the effect this forced diet change had on the local population. As always, this event is FREE, no registration required. Call (831) 425-5849 or email [email protected] with any questions.

Join us at 1pm for a guided tour through Santa Cruz’s oldest building, the only remaining example of indigenous housing from the California Missions. Learn about the daily life of people who lived here, and ways in which the Spanish Mission system drastically impacted local native people’s culture and landscape.This is a FREE event open to the public, no reservations required. Call (831) 425-5849 for more information. 

Come and learn how Mission Santa Cruz participated in a world economy back in the early 1800’s, and the roles the native people played in the hide & tallow industry. Watch a demonstration of how a branding iron works on leather, and get involved by dipping your own candle to take home.This is a FREE event, no reservation required. The Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park is located on School St. off Mission and Emmet Street in Santa Cruz. Please call (831) 425-5849 for more information.