The church and convento rooms built against the hillside to the north, as well as the building that clung to the bluff above Oak Canyon Creek to the south, formed a walled compound that would have been defensible against invading enemies.
In addition to vegetables and fruit trees grown in the courtyard garden, the friars who lived here probably oversaw one or more small fields of corn, beans, and squash in the valley below. Wild game was supplied by village hunters, and food was supplemented by dairy and meat products that mission cows, goats, sheep, and pigs provided.
Did you know?
These domesticated animals, initially introduced to the Native peoples by Spanish colonizers, also furnished wool, leather, and tallow for soap and candles.