Craftsmen and Craftswomen

Craftsmen and Craftswomen of the California Mission Frontier tells the story of the skilled workers, such as stonecutters, leather workers, weavers, and cobblers, who were so vital to the mission communities. Early craftspeople learned a trade or skill from masters within a guild. As mission communities grew, skilled manufacturers, builders, and doctors were often recruited from other places. These people then trained the people living in the communities to perform these important tasks. We see the evolution of technology in the mission communities and the way it affected the daily life of the people who lived there.