Mission San Antonio de Padua, nestled in central California’s Valley of the Oaks, is number three in the Franciscans chain of twenty one missions, established July 14, 1771. Located below the Santa Lucia Mountains, adjacent to the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation in Jolon, California, Mission San Antonio de Padua is almost as isolated today as it was more than 200 years ago.

In 1773, the fathers moved the mission from its original location to a spot further up Canada de Los Robles because of an unstable water source. Here, the mission fathers and Salinan people developed an extensive aqueduct system, which brought water from the nearby Mission Creek and San Antonio River, to be used for bathing, washing, and crop irrigation. This was the first engineered water system in California, and eventually included a water powered grist mill. Today, the Mission still boasts the most complete mission era water system in California.

In 1773, the fathers moved the mission from its original location to a spot further up Canada de Los Robles because of an unstable water source. Here, the mission fathers and Salinan people developed an extensive aqueduct system, which brought water from the nearby Mission Creek and San Antonio River, to be used for bathing, washing, and crop irrigation. This was the first engineered water system in California, and eventually included a water powered grist mill. Today, the Mission still boasts the most complete mission era water system in California.

In addition to its sophisticated water system, Mission San Antonio was the first to use a Spanish, red-tile roof. Realizing the old thatched roofs posed a fire hazard, the fathers looked to the Spanish style, which used dried clay for tiles. Tiled roofs had two advantages over the old thatched roofs: they protected against fire, and they were also waterproof.

The Mission's agricultural progress was successful, and by 1805 there were 1,295 people at the Mission. The Great Church at Mission San Antonio was completed in 1813, and was designed to serve the Mission's large population. It is still one of the largest mission churches in California.