Founded in 1823, the last California mission, Mission San Francisco Solano, served only 11 years before its secularization. Today, the mission is part of the Sonoma State Historic Park in the lovely downtown. It is rather small, but theexhibits are impressive in terms of variety and quality, from watercolor paintings of California missions by Chris Jorgensen to flea-market-finds oil paintings and artifacts. The courtyard is anoasis filled with olive trees, walls of cactus and rosemary. Mission San Francisco Solano has also played a vital role in the wine-making history of the Sonoma county.
