The sign reads:
Mission Santa Clara
Santa Clara, the first California Mission to honor a
woman, Clare of Assisi, as its patron saint, was found-
ed nearby on the Guadalupe River on January 12, 1777.
It once had the largest indian population of any Cal-
ifornia Mission. Floods and earthquake led to succes-
sive relocations. Its fifth church was dedicated on
this site in 1825. In 1851 Santa Clara College was es-
tablished in the old Mission buildings.