Mission Santa Barbara facts for kids
The capilla (chapel) at Mission Santa Barbara.
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| Location | 2201 Laguna St. Santa Barbara, California 93105 |
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| Name as founded | La Misión de La Señora Bárbara, Virgen y Mártir |
| English translation | The Mission of the Lady Bárbara, Virgin and Martyr |
| Patron | Saint Barbara of Greece |
| Nickname(s) | "Queen of the Missions" |
| Founding date | December 4, 1786 |
| Founding priest(s) | Father Fermín Lasuén |
| Built | 1820, 1925 (repair) |
| Architect | Ripoll, Father Antonio |
| Architectural style(s) | Colonial, Other, Spanish colonial |
| Founding Order | Tenth mission |
| Headquarters of the Alta California Mission System | 1833–1846 |
| Military district | Second |
| Native tribe(s) Spanish name(s) |
Chumash Barbareño, Canaliño |
| Native place name(s) | Xana'yan |
| Baptisms | 5,556 |
| Marriages | 1,486 |
| Burials | 3,936 |
| Secularized | 1834 |
| Returned to the Church | 1865 |
| Governing body | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles |
| Current use | Parish Church |
| Designated | October 15, 1966 |
| Reference no. | 66000237 |
| Designated | October 9, 1960 |
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| Website | |
| http://www.santabarbaramission.org | |
Mission Santa Barbara (Spanish: Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a famous Spanish mission located in Santa Barbara, California. It is often called the 'Queen of the Missions'. Father Fermín Lasuén started it for the Franciscan order on December 4, 1786. This date is the feast day of Saint Barbara, who the mission is named after. It was the tenth of 21 missions built in what was then called Alta California.
Like other California missions, Mission Santa Barbara was built to help Spain control its land in California. Spain wanted to protect its territory from other countries. To do this, they tried to teach local Native American tribes, like the Chumash people, Spanish ways of life and the Christian faith. This meant they were expected to convert to Catholicism and join the Spanish economy.
For the local Chumash people, life changed a lot. The mission brought many animals, which affected their traditional hunting and gathering. Also, new diseases from Europe spread, and military force was sometimes used. Because of these challenges, many Chumash people felt they had little choice but to join the mission system. Their lives there were often controlled by the priests, and they could not leave without permission.
The city of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County are both named after the mission. The name comes from the legend of Saint Barbara. She was a girl who followed the Christian faith.
The mission sits on a hill between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. Father Fermín Lasuén chose this spot. He became the head of the California missions after Father Junípero Serra passed away. Mission Santa Barbara is one of only two missions that have always been led by Franciscan Friars since they were founded. Today, it serves as a parish church for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Contents
Mission History and Building
Building the Mission Chapels
In its early years, the missionaries built three different chapels. Each new chapel was bigger than the last. The first chapel, built in 1787, was a simple log structure with a grass roof. It measured about 39 feet by 14 feet.
In 1789, they built a second chapel. This one was made of adobe bricks and had roof tiles. It was larger, measuring about 83 feet by 17 feet. Then, in 1793–94, they replaced it with a third adobe chapel. This one was even bigger, at 125 feet by 26 feet.
However, a strong earthquake hit Santa Barbara on December 21, 1812. This earthquake destroyed the third chapel.
Rebuilding and Repairs
Work on the fourth mission building began in 1815 and was mostly finished by 1820. Historians believe a master stonemason named José Antonio Ramiez likely guided the work. Canalino people did most of the labor.
Another earthquake in 1925 badly damaged the mission's towers. But the strong walls, supported by buttresses, stayed standing. Restoration work started the next year. By 1927, the church was rebuilt to look just like its original design. They used the same materials for the walls, columns, and arches.
Later, it was found that the church's concrete foundation was crumbling. This caused the towers to crack. So, from 1950 to 1953, the front of the church and its towers were taken down and rebuilt again. They were made to look exactly like the original ones. The inside of the church has not changed much since 1820.
Mission Infrastructure and Water System
Some of the mission's original buildings and systems still exist today. These were mostly built by the Chumash people under Franciscan rule. These ruins are on the property next to the mission, now called Mission Historical Park. The city bought this land in 1928.
These ruins include vats for tanning leather, a pottery kiln, and a guard house. There was also a large water system. This system used aqueducts, a filtration system, and two reservoirs. It even had a water-powered gristmill for grinding grain.
The larger reservoir was built in 1806 by damming Mission Canyon. This reservoir continued to provide water for the city until 1993. The original fountain and lavadero (a washing area) are also still intact near the mission's entrance.
Life at the Mission
Chumash People and the Mission
Mission Santa Barbara was part of Spain's plan to protect its land in California. The mission aimed to make local Native Americans into Spanish citizens. This meant converting them to Catholicism and making them part of the Spanish economy.
The main economic activity at the missions was raising animals. They produced things like animal hides and tallow (animal fat). The Santa Barbara Mission had a large herd, with over 14,000 animals between 1806 and 1810. Many Chumash workers were needed to care for these animals and do other mission tasks.
At the same time, these large herds made it harder for the Chumash to hunt and gather food as they traditionally did. European diseases also caused many Chumash people to get sick and die. Because of these difficulties, the Chumash often had little choice but to join the mission. Once baptized, they were not allowed to leave without permission from the priests.
Defending the Mission
In 1818, two ships from Argentina, led by a French privateer named Hipólito Bouchard, came to the coast. They threatened the town of Santa Barbara. The priests, led by Father Antonio Ripoll, prepared for an attack.
They armed and trained 180 of the Chumash people living at the mission. These trained Chumash formed an infantry unit of 100 archers and 50 people with machetes. There was also a cavalry unit of 30 lancers (people with spears). Father Ripoll called this group the "Compañía de Urbanos Realistas de Santa Bárbara."
With their help, the soldiers from the Presidio (a Spanish fort) faced Bouchard. Bouchard's ships then sailed away without attacking the town.
Chumash Population Changes and Revolt
In 1803, the mission had its highest number of Chumash residents, with 1,792 people living in 234 adobe huts around the mission. However, the Chumash population at the mission began to decline. By 1820, it was 1,132, and three years later, it dropped to 962.
During the Chumash revolt of 1824, the mission was briefly taken over and looted by the Chumash. The soldiers stationed there were disarmed. After a fight with troops from the Presidio, most of the Chumash left the mission. Many went over the Santa Ynez Mountains, while fifty others fled to Santa Cruz Island in their traditional plank canoes.
For a few months, the mission had very few Chumash people. Then, an agreement was made for their return. Father Presidente Vicente Francisco de Sarría and Father Antonio Ripoll helped arrange a pardon. A military group, led by Captain Pablo de la Portilla, went to find the Chumash who had fled.
After a long march, Captain de la Portilla's group found the Chumash near Lake Tulares in June 1824. They negotiated for about six days for the Chumash to surrender. Most of those captured, including women, children, and elders, were marched back to the Santa Barbara Mission. This journey was difficult, and some elderly and sick people died along the way. By June 28, about 816 out of 1,000 Chumash had returned to the mission.
The number of Chumash living at the mission continued to decrease. From 1836 to 1839, it went from 481 to 246. By 1854, records show that "only a few Indians were about the area of the mission." While there are no clear records from the Franciscans explaining this decline, all California missions saw more deaths than births. Modern historians believe this was due to poor treatment, overwork, not enough food, violence, and disease.
Mission After Spanish Rule
Changes After Secularization
In 1833, the Mexican government passed a law to take control of the missions from the church. This was called the Secularization Act. After this, Father Presidente Narciso Durán moved the mission headquarters to Santa Barbara. This meant Mission Santa Barbara became the storage place for about 3,000 original documents from all the California missions.
In 1840, Alta California and Baja California were separated from the Diocese of Sonora. They formed a new Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno made Mission Santa Barbara his main church, or cathedra. This made the mission chapel the pro-cathedral (a temporary main church) until 1849.
Later, under Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi, the chapel again served as a pro-cathedral from 1853 to 1876. This is why Mission Santa Barbara is the only California mission with two matching bell towers. At that time, only a cathedral church was allowed to have two towers.
When President Abraham Lincoln returned the missions to the Catholic Church in 1865, there was a disagreement. The mission's leader, Friar José González Rubio, and Bishop Amat argued about who should own the mission: the Franciscans or the diocese. Bishop Amat refused to give the deed to the Franciscans. However, in 1925, Bishop John J. Cantwell finally gave the deed to the Franciscans.
Education at the Mission
As a center for the Franciscans, the mission was important for education in the late 1800s and early 1900s. From 1854 to 1885, it was an apostolic college. From 1869 to 1877, it also taught people who were not becoming priests. This made it Santa Barbara's first higher education institution.
In 1896, a high school seminary program was started. This program became a separate school, Saint Anthony's Seminary, in 1901. In 1929, the college program moved to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. It became San Luis Rey College from 1950 to 1968. Later, it moved to Berkeley, California, and is now called the Franciscan School of Theology (FST).
Mission Today
Location and Surroundings
The city of Santa Barbara first grew between the mission and the harbor, near El Presidio Reál de Santa Bárbara (the "Royal Spanish Fort"). This was about a mile southeast of the mission. As the city grew, it spread across the coastal area.
Today, homes surround the mission. There are also public parks nearby, like Mission Historical Park and Rocky Nook Park. A few public buildings, such as the Natural History Museum, are also in the area.
Current Uses and Activities
Mission Santa Barbara now has a gift shop, a museum, a Franciscan Friary (where friars live), and a retreat house. The mission grounds are a popular place for tourists to visit. The Franciscan Province of Santa Barbara owns the mission. The local parish church rents the church building from the Franciscans.
For many years, Father Virgil Cordano was the pastor of St. Barbara's Parish, which is located on the mission grounds. He passed away in 2008. Since 2017, the mission has also been a training center for new Franciscan Friars from English-speaking countries.
Archive and Library
The mission is also home to the Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library. This library collects and keeps historical and cultural materials. These materials are about Franciscan history, the missions, and the communities they interacted with. This includes areas like Colonial New Spain, Northwestern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States.
The library's collections date back to the 1760s, when Fray Junipero Serra planned the missions in Alta California. Important collections include the Junipero Serra Collection (1713–1947), the California Mission Documents (1640–1853), and the Apostolic College collection (1853–1885). The library also has many early California writings, maps, and images. It also has materials about the Tohono O'oodham Indians of Arizona.
The library has been a center for studying mission history for over a century. It is a separate, non-profit educational and research place. It is not part of Mission Santa Barbara itself, but it is located within the mission complex. Some Franciscans serve on its board, along with scholars and community members. A lay academic scholar directs the institution.
Music Tradition
Mission Santa Barbara has the oldest continuous tradition of choral singing among all the California Missions. It is also the oldest such tradition of any institution in California. Two choirs, the California Mission Schola and the Cappella Barbara, perform for the weekly Catholic services. The mission's archives hold one of the largest collections of colonial Franciscan music manuscripts known today. These are carefully protected and many have not yet been studied by experts.
Gallery
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Frontal view of the Santa Barbara mission.
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The Mission's lavandería was built by the Chumash Indians around 1806.
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Rose garden in Mission Park.
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Mission Santa Barbara cemetery. Over 4000 Chumash Indians were buried here. Tombstones and mausoleums designate non-Indians.
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Interior of chapel.
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Front of the Mission.
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Cross on lawn of Mission Santa Barbara.
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Mission Santa Barbara bell, 1904.
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See also
- Spanish missions in California
- List of Spanish missions in California
- List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
- List of cathedrals in the United States
- USNS Mission Santa Barbara (AO-131) – a Mission Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.
- History of Santa Barbara, California
- California Historical Landmarks in Santa Barbara County, California
