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Father Junipero Serra
Mission San Buenaventura (map) Founded March 31, 1782 by Father Junipero Serra. Initial building was the San Miguel Chapel (site 8). The Mission chapel (site 10) was begun in 1792 and was later abandoned for the current site.
Mission San Buenaventura was the only mission that had wooden bells. These bells were rung only during the week before Easter Sunday, when metal bells were never used. Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Roman Catholic priest Junípero Serra on March 31, 1782. It was the last mission established by Serra.
When was Mission San Buenaventura in Santa Barbara founded?
Mission San Buenaventura. Courtesy of Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library. Founded on March 31, 1782, Mission San Buenaventura is ninth in the mission chain, last to be founded during Father Serra’s lifetime and one of six he personally dedicated.
Mission San Buenaventura is located in the city of Ventura in Southern California. It is about 60 miles away from Los Angeles to the mission. If you are going to the mission in a car it will take about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there. The major city that is close to it is Los Angeles.
Why was the Santa Barbara Channel Mission built?
The mission was constructed as part of the Santa Barbara Channel section, which included missions at Santa Barbara and La Purísima, and El Presidio in Santa Barbara. The fathers, who already had three missions in the north and three in the southern part of California, feared an Indian revolt in the state’s midsection.
How many animals did the San Buenaventura Mission have?
During the mission era there were 1,107 marriages performed at San Buenaventura. In 1816 (the peak year) the mission had over 41,000 animals including 23,400 cattle, 12,144 sheep and 4,493 horses (one of the largest stables of horses in the mission chain.)