Santa
Barbara Mission "The
Queen of the Missions" The Tenth Mission of the Mission
Chain Founded 4 December 1786 by Padre Fermin Francisco de
Lasuen
Naming of
Mission:
The mission is named for Saint Barbara, possibly
because it was founded her the Feast of St. Barbara, 4 December 1786
Location:
The mission is on a hill
at the end of Laguna Street and overlooks the city of Santa Barbara.
The mission site is near the Presidio in an area called "Rocky
Mound"
History:
The Santa Barbara Mission
was to have been built sooner than it was. Father Serra actually
raised a cross at the Presidio in 1782, but the Governor, Felipe de
Neve, did not allow the mission to be built. Instead he delayed
authorization until Father Serra was very ill and ready to die. Fr.
Serra died in 1784. When the mission was finally approved, Father
Lasuen chose a site at the Chumash Indian village of Tanayan
founding the mission on 4 December 1786, the feast day of St.
Barbara. The Spanish name for the area was El Pedregoso meaning
Rocky Mound. Father Antonio Paterna began the construction of the
mission in 1787. The first buildings had thatch roofs and walls of
logs. A dormitory, kitchen and storeroom of adobe brick were later
added to complete the traditional quadrangle. Additional housing for
the natives was built near the mission . Later, a second quadrangle
was begun next to the first one. During all this time of
construction, a series of larger churches was built for the mission.
The second church was made of adobe bricks and a tile roof and
completed in 1789. The third church was also made of adobe and had a
tile roof and was completed in 1794. It was the largest and had six
side chapels. The fountain was added in 1808. The mission was
destroyed on the 21 December, 1812 in an earthquake. After the
destruction, a new church was begun made of stone. Started in 1815
and completed and dedicated in 1820, this church was 161 feet long,
42 feet high and 27 feet wide. It had just one bell tower, but a
second one was added in 1831 making the San Barbara Mission unique
among all the missions. The second tower fell in 1832 and was
re-built in 1833. The rest of the mission was completed gradually
and was not finished until 1870. Once again, disaster struck on 29
June 1925 when another large earthquake damaged the mission, and
once again, restoration efforts at a cost of nearly $400,000, were
begun with work completed in 1927. The exterior of the mission was
restored in such a way that the original appearance of the mission
was kept intact. In 1950, a chemical reaction occurred in the
restoration materials. This weakened the mission structure. The face
of the church had to be redone. The twin bell towers, both 87 feet
tall, were reinforced in 1953 to strengthen them again more seismic
activity. The interior of the church has remained the same since
1820.
Education activities at
the mission began early. A high school and junior college for boys
was held at the mission by the Franciscans from 1868 to 1877. In
1896, a seminary was begun here. The School of Theology for the
Franciscan Province of St. Barbara was here until the summer of
1968.
The local Indians were the
Chumash, who adapted well to the mission life. Many trade were
taught at the mission, including agriculture and irrigation. The
Indian Dam was built in 1807 to assist in obtaining good water for
the mission. The water was diverted to the Mission via an aqueduct
which ran downhill to the mission. The ruins of this area, along
with a mill, vats and reservoir may be seen today. The water system,
built by the Indians, was very well-built, so much so that parts of
it are still used by the city of Santa Barbara today. The Chumash
learned well and were successful, so much so that the mission of
converting and teaching the Chumash here was considered complete by
the padres as early as the 1830's.
In 1834, the missions were
secularized. The Santa Barbara Mission fared much better than any of
the other missions. This was because the Franciscans were never
evicted from the mission during its history. When more northern
missions were overtaken, Father Duran, President of the mission
chain moved his office to Santa Barbara, along with California's
first Bishop. Because of the importance of these two men, the
Mexican government did not try to take over or sell the mission as
they did with the others. In 1846, both of the men died. At this
time, Pio Pico did try to sell the mission, but, at the same time,
California became a state. This prevented any sale of the property.
Services were allowed to be held all along and the mission received
its good care from the Franciscan Fathers during the entire time of
secularization. The missions and their lands were returned to the
Catholic Church in 1865 by proclamation from President Abraham
Lincoln.
Mission Santa Barbara is
the only mission to remain under the leadership of the Franciscan
Friars since the day of its founding until today. The area has
rich and varied cultural history. Many people of the area today have
their ancestry from Chumash, Mexican, Spanish, other nationalities
combined. The cultures of all these nations combined well in the
Santa Barbara area continuing to this day.
Contact the Mission:
2201 Laguna Street Santa
Barbara, CA 93105 Gift shop phone: (805) 682-4149 Phone:
(805) 682-4713
Mission Trivia:
The present stone church,
with its familiar twin bell towers, is the fourth church at the
mission
Santa Barbara is the only
mission in the California chain remaining under control of the
Franciscans without interruption from the day of its founding until
the present time
there
are over 4,000 Indians buried, including Juana Maria. She was known
as "the woman of San Nicolas Island" and for whom the book
"Island of the Blue Dolphins" was based.
The
City of Santa Barbara grew up around the Santa Barbara Mission .
One of the trees in the
garden is a lemon tree, it was brought here in the 1700's.
Santa Barbara is the only
mission with two bell towers
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last updated on 28 June 2012 at 3:18 pm
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