Mission San Jose was founded in 1797 as the only mission in the East Bay by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén. It was the 14th mission in the California chain, holding the route to the San Joaquin Valley and later, to Gold Rush country. Mission San Jose was a whole town with dozens of buildings and was one of the most prosperous of the California missions. The mission controlled agricultural land spanning much of the East Bay, south to San Jose. It was a diversified operation - from growing wheat, olives, grapes to cattle-ranching and attracted many of the local Native Americans.
The main historic attraction is the Church of Mission San Jose, a rebuilt version of the 1809 adobe structure, which was damaged in a 1868 earthquake and later replaces. Today, visitors can see the result of the 1985 restoration, which was done with much attention to historic and architectural detail. The Mission is an active center of the St. Joseph parish community.