Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st, last and northernmost mission in Alta California. It was the only
mission built in Alta California after
Mexico gained independence from
Spain. The difficulty of its beginning demonstrates the confusion resulting from that change in governance. The California Governor wanted a robust Mexican presence north of the
San Francisco Bay to keep the
Russians who had established
Fort Ross on the Pacific coast from moving further inland. A young
Franciscan friar from
Mission San Francisco de Asis wanted to move to a location with a better climate and access to a larger number of potential converts.