Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1904-1969 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
4 Subseries; Bound volume; Black and white print; Colour print
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This series consists of photographs documenting Irish Capuchin missionary activity in Oregon and California, including images connected with ministries in Mission Santa Inés, in Mendocino County, and later, in the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. The collection features numerous prints of churches, friaries, and clergy portraits, highlighting the transition from rugged missionary work in rural Oregon to the establishment of permanent parishes and schools in large urban centers in California.
Key Themes
Early Missions (1900-1909)
Mission Santa Inés: Highlights the order’s early presence at this historic California mission. Photographs show the original belfry before its 1911 collapse and the ‘convento wing’ before it was demolished. Other images capture glimpses of friars traveling by horse and trap through forty miles of Oregon forest to reach scattered settlers.
Oregon & Northern California (1910-1920s)
Oregon Expansion: Documents the first Mass in Hermiston (1910) and the exterior of St. Thomas’s Church in Redmond (1919).
Mendocino County, California: Several images show various wooden churches and clergy residences in Mendocino and in the town of Ukiah.
Growth in Los Angeles (1923)
A file documenting the construction of the church and school of St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Watts, Los Angeles.
Community & Leadership
Individual and Group Portraits: Numerous photographs showing various Capuchin friars and visitations of Provincial Ministers from Ireland.