Mission Santa Barbara

A Little History
Fondly and affectionately referred to as the "Queen of Missions"! Over 220 years old, the mission was the 10th mission built by Spanish Franciscans in the 1700's. The present church was built and dedicated in 1820. Prior to that three adobe churches were built, the last one falling to an earthquake. 

Our Very Cool Experience

Mission Santa Barbara was so much more than I ever expected! We arrived and were immediately taken to the garden area, and when I say garden, I mean a real fruit and vegetable producing garden. All of the plants in the garden were all “introduced plants” that were brought in to California. We were divided into groups and sent in three different directions.

We were introduced to some prickly pear cactus and all of the many things they used them for. Of course we were all amazed at one thing in particular! Sometimes the cactus gets this white stuff on it. It is actually left behind by beetles (one guide told their group it was beetle poop?) Many cactus owners wash it off, but it has some value! When wiped off and squished it contains a deep reddish dye. It was actually used in to dye the “Redcoats” clothing.  She also told us that the Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks was actually colored from this when it first came out, but after complaints they have now switched to a red dye.  Hmmm….organic to chemical now?

My group toured the garden and learned about the different fruit bearing trees and some of the vegetables grown. Best part of this was that we actually got to taste some of these! We had Ana apple slices which have no core and when cut looks like a star inside, mini bananas (ABSOLUTELY the BEST), orange slices, popcorn (picked from the corn patch and popped for us!), zucchini muffins that one of the ladies had made, and guava jam.

Our next stop was on a little hill over the garden where we were introduced to many different plants including some herbs. I have to admit, it smelled very good here! Apparently the bees thought so too because they were out in number as well! Our guide, and her sweet granddaughter who was helping, displayed a type of reed that was picked and woven together to make houses. We laughed as she told us that when the house got dirty they could just burn it down because it only took them a day to build the cone shaped structure! She also discussed the use of the abalone shells. We each got to pick one to take with us. They are very beautiful!

My group’s last stop was with a guide named Abby. She was quite a character! She took us back through the garden where we learned about plants and seeding. On our trip through we each picked a stalk of wheat and then some learned how to use a rock to free the seeds and separate them from the chaff. The seeds where then ground into a rough flour. 

This area next to the mission was inhabited by the Chumash Indians. They know through carbon dating that these Indians existed as long ago as 12, 000 years!

We then began our tour of the actual working mission. We had to walk quietly to our first stop, as we were passing by the Friars living quarters. The gardens in the mission were absolutely beautiful! There were stunning, vibrant flowers, and interesting cactus.

One of the most interesting places was the actual church. Designed very symmetrically, if there was a door on one side there was another across from it and same with pictures and designs. It only varied in a few places and those meant they were not original to the building.  There is actually a crypt under the church. Those whose remains are within are listed on some panels on the floor that cover the entrance.  The first Bishop of California, Fray Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, did not want to be placed in the crypt or in one of the vaults. He has a special place in the wall at the front right of the altar. Since this is a working mission, they hold services regularly. 

Remember the book, Island of the Blue Dolphins? This was a story of about a young girl who was stranded on an island off the California coast. It is based on the true story of Juana Maria, an Indian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island.  The mission is where Juana Maria's remains were brought.  They have a plaque in honor of this.

The cemetery was beautiful and had a Mission Fig tree in the middle that was hundreds of years old. It was absolutely beautiful. They have actually remodeled their vaults recently. We saw what the old ones originally looked like and then saw the new ones.

We then toured the museum and saw artifacts. One really interesting piece was a stool made from a whale’s vertebrate. These Indians were not whale hunters but if one washed up on shore they knew what to do with it!

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