Mission
San
Luis
Obispo
de
Tolosa
was
founded
on
September
1,
1772.
It
was
the
fifth
mission
founded
by
Father
Junipero
Serra,
located
on
the
central
coast
of
California
in
what
is
now
the
city
of
San
Luis
Obispo.
The
location
was
chosen
because
it
was
halfway
between
San
Diego
and
Monterey.
It
was
named
for
Saint
Louis,
Bishop
of
Toulouse.
Mission
San
Luis
Obispo
is
the
only
L-shaped
mission
of
all
21.
In
1776,
nearby
Chumash
Indians
attacked
the
mission,
setting
it
on
fire
with
burning
arrows.
The
roof,
made
of
tule
reeds,
burned
readily,
and
the
fathers
came
up
with
the
idea
of
tiling
the
roof
with
ceramic
tiles,
an
idea
which
caught
on
with
all
of
the
other
missions.
The
Spanish
soldiers
who
kept
the
mission's
safety
were
successful
in
killing
many
of
the
bears
that
roamed
the
area,
and
thus
Mission
San
Luis
Obispo
de
Tolosa
supplied
many
of
the
other
missions
with
bear
meat.
In
1845,
Governor
Pio
Pico
declared
Mission
buildings
for
sale
and
he
sold
everything
except
the
church
for
a
total
of
$510.
The
mission
fell
into
ruins
during
the
period
of
secularization
and
the
priests
that
were
left
would
rent
out
rooms
to
help
support
the
mission.
The
Mission
San
Luis
Obispo
de
Tolosa
became
the
first
courthouse
and
jail
in
San
Luis
Obispo
County,
California.
In
1872,
during
the
100th
anniversary
of
the
mission,
improvements
began,
but
real
restoration
did
not
begin
until
1933.
The
San
Luis
Obispo
de
Tolosa
Mission
is
still
the
center
of
the
busy
downtown
area.
The
mission
functions
as
a
parish
church
for
the
city
of
San
Luis
Obispo
and
although
many
changes
have
come
to
the
mission,
it
remains
the
center
of
town.