Location near Yuma, Arizona | Founding date October 1780 | |
Name as founded La Misión Puerto de Purísima Concepción English translation The Mission Port of Purest Conception Patron The Immaculate Conception Founding priest(s) Fathers Juan Barreneche and Francisco Garcés | ||
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción was founded near what is now Yuma, Arizona, U.S.A. on the California side of the Colorado River, in October, 1780, by Father Francisco Garcés. The settlement was not part of the California mission chain, but was administered as a part of the Arizona missions. The Mission site and nearby pueblo were inadequately supported, and Spanish colonists seized the best lands, destroyed the Indians' crops, and generally igonored the rights of the local natives. In retaliation the Quechan (Yuma) Indians and their allies attacked and destroyed the installation and the neighboring Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer over a three-day period, from July 17–19, 1781.
Today, only a historical marker identifies the site. The marker is located on Picacho Road in Fort Yuma, California, one mile south of Winterhaven Road.