Europeans first saw the bay near where the tenth mission was to be
established when Juan Cabrillo’s two tiny caravelles anchored in its waters in
1542. Sixty years later, the
Spanish Viceroy of New Spain appointed Sebastian Vizcaino in charge of locating
safe harbors along Alta California’s coast. When Vizcaino reached the bay that Cabrillo had sailed into,
he entered the name “Santa Barbara” on his sailing chart. Gaspar Portola and Franciscan
missionaries rode into the area in 1769 and immediately determined that it
would be an ideal location for a mission.
By 1782, Father Serra had
founded nine missions and was anxious to begin a tenth. The new mission was to be located at
Santa Barbara. However, the
politics of the time were working against him. After having established a presidio and chapel, he was told
that the mission would have to wait.
Alta California’s Governor, Felipe de Neve caused the delay. He was
concerned that the Franciscan’s economic power was growing with each new
mission, so he delayed his approval. The governor also convinced the viceroy,
his immediate boss, to withhold the funds. Father Serra died in Monterey two
years later. It was his successor, Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, who
finally established the mission on December 4, 1786. It took nine years before
the first quadrangle and a temporary church were built. The mission was named
for the Great Martyr, Saint Barbara, who as legend has it was beheaded by her
father for being a Christian.
A second quadrangle was
built next to the first, along with a succession of larger churches. The last
one, which had six side chapels, was the most elaborate. That church was completely
destroyed in a series of earthquakes in 1812. Then in
1815, construction began on the majestic church that stands today. Its interior
uses imitation marble to form a neoclassical look. The mission's facade is
adapted from a design of a Greek temple. The plans called for twin Spanish bell
towers, but at first only one was built. It may seem odd to mix Greek and
Spanish architectural design elements, but in this case they do work together
beautifully. Building the arches was a remarkable feat of construction by the
Chumash Indians, who under the direction of Father Antonio Ripoll built the
mission. For five years they quarried native sandstone, creating walls that
were as much as 5-1/2 feet thick. A second bell tower was added in 1833, making
it the only mission with two of them.
In the early years of the
1800s, the great days of the missions were slowly drawing to a close. They had
weathered the plundering of pirates, natural disasters and Indian uprisings. Mexico
had gained its independence and the missions were about to be secularized,
which was a devastating blow to them. Santa Barbara escaped the exploitation
suffered by other missions, due largely
because Narcisco Duran, presidente of the missions and Francisco Garcia Diego,
first bishop of California chose Santa Barbara as their headquarters. It is the
only California mission never to have been abandoned. It has had continuous use
since 1786.
In 1925, an earthquake,
once again destroyed the church. Restoration began immediately. The
"new" church was faithful to the original design. Twenty-three years
later, the building materials were not holding up well because of some sort of
chemical reaction. Concrete and reinforced steel was added, giving the
structure added strength. What we see today is true to how the majestic church
appeared in its glory days.
The mission continues to serve
the community as a parish church. The Franciscan Province of Santa Barbara owns
it, and the local parish rents the church from them. Members of the Franciscan
order live at the mission and care for it.
Note: Juana Maria, the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island portrayed
in Scott O'Dell's, Island of the Blue
Dolphin was buried in the mission cemetery in 1853.
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