Santa Clara, the first California mission to honor a woman, Clare of Assisi, as its patron saint, was founded nearby on the Guadalupe River on January 12, 1777. It once had the largest Indian population of any California mission. Floods and earthquake led to successive relocations. Its fifth church was dedicated on this site in 1825. In 1851 Santa Clara College was established in the old mission buildings.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 338

Plaque placed by State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with William L. Gates, class of '64, and E Clampus Vitus, Mountain Charlie Chapter No. 1850, January 12, 1980