<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> www.scu.edu/mission/ </Td> </Tr> <P> Mission Santa Clara de Asís is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in the present - day city of Santa Clara, California . The mission, the eighth in California, was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Saint Clare of Assisi, the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares . It is the namesake of both the city and county of Santa Clara, as well as Santa Clara University, which was built around the mission . This was the first California mission to be named in honor of a woman and the only one now located on a university campus . </P> <P> Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned, and today it functions as both a parish church of the Diocese of San Jose and a university chapel for Santa Clara University . </P> <P> The outpost was originally established as La Misión Santa Clara de Thamien (or Mission Santa Clara de Thamien, a reference to the Tamyen people) at the Indian village of So - co-is - u-ka (meaning "Laurelwood", located on the Guadalupe River) January 12, 1777 . There the Franciscan brothers erected a cross and shelter for worship to bring Christianity to the Ohlone and Costanoan peoples . Floods, fires, and earthquakes damaged many of the early structures and forced relocation to higher ground . The second site is known as Mission Santa Clara de Asís . A subsequent site of the mission dating from 1784 to 1819 is located several hundred yards west of the De La Cruz overpass of the Caltrain track; moreover, several Native American burial sites have been discovered near this subsequent site . The current site, home to the first college in Alta California, dates back to 1828 . </P>

Who lived in santa clara de asis mission