San Miguel is home to the Mission San Miguel Arcángel , founded on 25 July 1797 . Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25 , 1797 by the Franciscan order , on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area , whom the Spanish priests wanted to evangelize . It is located at 775 Mission Street , San Miguel , California , in San Luis Obispo County . The mission remains in use as a parish church to this day . After being closed to the public for six years due to the 2003 San Simeon earthquake , the church re-opened on December 22 , 2009 . Inside the church are murals by Esteban Munras . Father Presidente Fermin Francisco de Lasuen founded the mission on July 25 , 1797 , making it the sixteenth California mission . Its location between Mission San Luis Obispo and Mission San Antonio de Padua provided a stop on the trip that had previously taken two days . In 1803 , the mission reported an Indian population of 908 , while its lands grazed 809 cattle , 3,223 sheep , 342 horses and 29 mules . That year 's harvest included about 2,186 fanegas of wheat and corn ( A fanega was about 220 pounds ) . Most of the mission burned , while still being developed , in 1806 . It was rebuilt within a year . On July 15 , 1836 , the Mexican government secularized mission lands , including Mission San Miguel , and Ygnacio Coronel took charge . In 1846 , Governor Pío Pico sold the Mission for $ 600 to Petronillo Rios and William Reed . Reed used the Mission as a family residence and a store . In 1848 , Reed and his family were murdered , leaving the Mission vacant for a period of time . The Mission was a stopping place for miners coming from Los Angeles to San Francisco , and was consequently was used as a saloon , dance hall , storeroom and living quarters
2003 San Simeon earthquake
2003 San Simeon earthquake
San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County, California