Janet Dowling Sands’ long-term fascination with California’s missions eventually inspired her to head out with her husband — an architect and a history buff — to visit and paint all of them. “That’s ...

A piece of California history that dates to 1776 is going up for auction in New York City later this month. A two-page letter by Father Junipero Serra, regarded as the father of the California mission ...

The missions—built between 1769 and 1823 and extending in a chain of 600 miles from Sonoma to San Diego—stand as symbols of California's Spanish colonial past. Pictured is San Miguel's bell tower.

Long before Napa made California wine famous, the roots of California wine were planted—literally—by Franciscan missionaries along the California Mission Trail. ByLayne Randolph, Contributor. Forbes ...