Strawberry Moon over Ranchos Church

Completed in 1816, the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church, often called the Ranchos Church, is a large, sculpted Spanish Colonial church with massive adobe buttresses and two front-facing bell towers. The architecture of the church is an impressive blend of native and Spanish styles. Four “beehive” shaped buttresses support the back of the church structure and two buttresses in front of each bell tower support the front. Inside the church, stairs lead to a choir loft above the entrance.. A thick adobe wall surrounds the church, cemetery, and forecourt.