USA > California > Santa Barbara County > Santa Barbara > The early days of Santa Barbara, California, from the first discoveries by Europeans to December, 1846 > Part 4
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The plan adopted at the presidio of constructing buildings of adobe about an open square, was followed at the Mission; and during the second and third years, the sides of the quadrangle facing the ocean and the
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EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
southwest were finished. Shortly aferwards, the re- maining two sides were finished, the northeast side oc- cupying the present site of the Mission church. The additional buildings consisted principally of larger apartments for the priests, and better accommodations for the unmarried women and girls. It was also found necessary to add more storehouses; in some of which were kept the grain and general provisions; and in others were kept the fuel, the agricultural implements, and the alforjas and harness of the pack animals. After these buildings were finished, there was added a large weaving room where the Indian women were instructed in the art of weaving.
As it was intended that the buildings should be per- manent, the foundations of all of them were made of stone cemented with mortar; and the walls of the build- ings were of adobe plastered with mortar, which rend- ered them less suseptible to the influence of the weath- er. The lime used was from calcareous deposits, found near by; and was burnt in kilns, some of which may still be found in the canyon beyond the mission. Many changes in the buildings, however, were made from time to time to render them more permanent and con- venient. In the second year, the manufacture of tiles began, and the thatched roofs were recovered with them. The rafters, originally used, were of sycamore and poplar, which grew in abundance near at hand; but a few years later they rotted, and were replaced by rafters of pine. These were obtained with great diffi- culty and labor, as most of them were brought by the Indians from the mountains beyond the Santa Ynez river.
In 1795, the part of the square facing the presidio was improved by the addition of a corridor, running the whole length of the front, the tile roof of which was supported by pillars of brick and mortar. Some atten- tion was then given to the appearance of the inner court
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which is now called the Mission Garden. It was one hundred and forty feet square, and within its seclusion the padres spent a great part of their time, during the hours of recreation and light labor. Three years later, in 1800, they built a corridor which extended around three of its sides. The flooring was paved with red square tiles; and the roof, which was supported on col- umns of brick and mortar, was also covered with tiles.
The Mission buildings now began to assume an ap- pearance of importance; yet all of them were but one story high, and an adobe church occupied the site of the present stone church. The work of construction which had begun under most favorable auspices continued from year to year with but little interruption; and after the completion of the dwelling houses, many larger storehouses also were built for the grain and corn which were harvested in the fertile valleys to the west of the Mission.
In 1789, there were over three hundred Indians at the Mission, all of whom were required to regularly at- tend church services. Although the number of other buildings was increased with the growing population ; yet it was undesirable to have more than one church; and when the first church, after being enlarged, was found to be too small, it was torn down and a new one erected. It was located a short distance from the south corner of the Mission quadrangle; and a part of the stone foundation, which has been removed to the level of the ground, may still be seen about fifty feet to the south of the large stone fountain, near the terminus of the present car line. In construction this church was similar to the first, but was much larger, having a length of ninety feet and a breadth of fifteen feet.
But even the new church was soon found to be inade- quate to the increasing numbers of converts, and in 1793 the third church was begun on the site of the present Mission church and completed in the following year.
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Although of adobe, it was far more pretentious than the former one. It was about twenty-seven feet in width and one hundred and thirty feet in depth, not including the sacristy, which was twenty-seven feet by fifteen feet. In front of the church was a pavement made of flat tiles similar to those in front of the present church; the walls were plastered with mortar, and the roof was covered with tiles. Within, were six chapels, in each were hung large oil paintings, which had been brought from Spain.
Could we look back and see the Mission buildings as they were at the end of the first decade, we should see an interesting picture, the result of ten years of hard toil; although a picture quite different in completeness from what it was twenty years later. We should see, surrounding a square, rows of low buildings all one story in height and with a depth of nearly twenty feet. Their sides were whitened and the roofs were covered with red tiles. On the ocean side was a corridor cov- ered with a roof of tiles; and the light that streamed in at the outer windows of the rooms, which were but one tier in depth, passed through the windows on the other side to the corridor that surrounded the inner court. At one corner of this square was located the church.
The square was the nucleus of the Mission settlement, and at the end of the first decade comprised nearly all the buildings. Beyond its protecting walls were only a few storehouses and outhouses where work was done. But scattered here and there on the higher bank and even beyond the creek below, were the rude huts of the Indians who had not yet been entirely subdued.
The work that had been accomplished during the first decade ending in December, 1796, might be summar- ized as follows :
December 4, 1786 Founding of the Mission of Santa Barbara.
1787: The first church and first buildings about the
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square were built. The number of the Indians at the Mission was one hundred and eighty-three.
1788: Tiles were manufactured; granaries were built; and the church was enlarged. The number of Indians was three hundred and seven.
1789: The second church and more granaries were built. The number of Indians was four hundred and twenty-five.
1790: Two dwelling houses for the priests were built, and one of the sides of the square, which consisted of a large house one hundred and seventy-five feet in length by eighteen feet in depth, and contained a kitchen, din- ing room, assembly hall, and storeroom, was completed. A large granary was also built. The number of Indians was four hundred and seven.
1791: A guard house, carpenter shop, and other out houses were built.
1792: Large corrals were built. The number of Ind- ians was five hundred.
1793: The third church was commenced.
1794: The third church was finished, and a granary and weavery were built.
1795 : The work of replacing the rafters of the houses about the square was begun.
1796: The work on the rafters was finished, and a corridor was built on the side of the square facing the presidio. The number of Indians at the Mission was now six hundred and forty-six.
SECOND DECADE
During the second decade in the Mission history, be- ginning with the year 1797, the buildings began to ac- quire such proportions and completeness as character- ized their best days. The most important events that occurred during this period were the construction of rows of buildings about the second or inner square; the construction of large granaries ; the building of the Ind-
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ian village; the planting of orchards; the building of tanneries; and the construction of the first reservoir.
The growing needs of the settlement required the erection of more buildings; and in 1797, the second square was marked out, adjacent to the first square and on its northwest side. The new square, when finished, was about the same size as the first square with which it was connected and was similar to it in appearance. While the new square was used for the Indians em- ployed in domestic work at the Mission, the old square was thereafter reserved for the exclusive use of the padres. Three granaries, each seventy-five feet in length; a leather shop; a blacksmith shop; a house for poultry; and general storehouses, were built about the sides of the new square.
Although some of the grain was stored in the build- ings about the inner square, yet it became necessary to build other storehouses; and two years later another granary, twenty feet in breadth and one hundred and thirty feet in length, was built. Such large storehouses became necessary as large amounts of grain were now raised. During the first year of its existence, the Mis- sion of Santa Barbara was dependent upon the neigh- boring Missions for provisions, but as soon as the most necessary buildings had been erected the padres began cultivating the land. At first most of the grain was raised in the fertile valleys between the Arroyo Pedre- gosa and the Arroyo del Burro, but later the Mission had many ranches extending from the Rincon to Gaviota. The low bottom lands were used for raising the corn and grain, while the rolling hills were gener- ally reserved for the flocks and herds. From San Buenaventura the padres brought horses, mules, cattle, and sheep ; all of which increased rapidly, and in a few years were numbered by the tens of thousands.
The inherited traits and disposition of the Indian render him unsuitable for occupations associated with
THE MISSION
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THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA AS IT PROBABLY APPEARED IN 1798
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EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
close confinement; but in watching and herding cattle and in farming lands, the natives proved serviceable to the padres. Still in order to inculcate the ways of civil- ization, the padres gradually allotted them services of a more trying nature. The men were employed in mak- ing tiles and working in the tanneries; and the women were taught to weave the wool and to make blankcts and cloth. The latter, which was of a better quality than most of the cloth produced in Mexico, was then made into garments for which there was a great demand; as it was required at the Mission that all of the Indians should be decently clad, while upon the first arrival of the padres, they lived almost entirely without any cloth- ing.
There were now about eight hundred Indians living in scattered huts in the vicinity of the Mission. As they were beginning to feel the enervating influences of civi- lization, it was desirable that they should have comfort- able homes and the safety of the padres required that homes should be so located that the actions of the Indians could be observed and restrained in case of an outbreak. It was also necessary in order to successfully Christianize them and inculcate the principles of civil- ization that they should be under the constant restraint of the padres. Accordingly, in the year 1798, a piece of land about three hundred and fifty feet in breadth by seven hundred feet in length, on the southwest side of the Mission, and extending across the present Garden street was set apart for the exclusive use of the Indians, and during the next eight years, approximately two hundred and fifty houses were erected within this space.
The principal houses were built in three rows of three tiers in depth; and as the rows and tiers were separated by the longitudinal and cross streets, there were accordingly nine separate blocks of houses. The longitudinal streets had a breadth of sixty feet and the cross streets a breadth of thirty-five feet. The houses
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1 Thrashing Floor
2 Weavery
3 Granary
4 Inner Court
5 Settling Tank
6 Upper Reservoir
7 Mill
8 Lower Reservoir
9 House for Manufacturing Pottery
10 Cow Shed
11 Vats for Tanning
12 Home of Major-Domo
13 Tannery
14 Soldiers' Quarters
15 Fountain
16 Basin for Washing Clothes
17 Part of Foundation of Second Church
18 Gardener's House
19 Indian Recreation Ground
20 Kilns
21 Aqueduct
CORAL
5
-
0
INDIAN PUEBLO
LOS OUVOS ST
8
0º
7
6
1-
GARDEN ST
ORCHARD AND
VEGETABLE GARDEN
ORCHARD
--
LAGUNA ST. ---
PADRE
ST.
NEW MISSION ST.
THE MISSION BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS AS THEY APPEARED IN 1840
MISSION ROAD
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EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
in these rows had a breadth of about twelve feet and depth of thirty-one feet, each of the principal houses consisting of two rooms. A solid wall of adobe, nine feet high and crowned with tiles, surrounded the vil- lage; and against this wall, on the inside, were built other houses only one room in depth and with a breadth of about nineteen feet.
In 1798, the first nineteen houses were built. Two years later thirty-two more were built; and each suc- ceeding year still more were added, until in 1807, two hundred and fifty-two had been erected. In 1804, a mud wall nine feet high was erected on the west side of the village, enclosing nearly an acre of ground, which was reserved for the use of the Indians. To-day, not one of the houses remains; but many of the stone foun- dations on which the houses rested could have been seen about a dozen years ago. Many square tiles were then visible half hidden under the turf; and here and there were large deposits of shells, which would indicate that shell fish was a staple article of diet at the Mission.
Although many of the Indians lived at the Mission, where they were employed, yet on account of the em- ployment of others in cultivating the fields and in herd- ing cattle, which required their being at a considerable distance from it, several rancherias were established where such Indians could live. One of the rancherias was on the Hope ranch, where the buildings of the · Indians covered a considerable area, extending on both sides of Modoc road, a few hundred yards eastward from its intersection with Hollister Avenue. This lo- cality was called the Cienegita, on account of the swampy land on the south side of the road; and on the western bank of the little creek which flows through the cieniga may still be seen some of the adobe ruins of the old buildings partly overgrown with tunas.
On account of the many Indians who lived at this rancheria an asistencia, as a small chapel under the con-
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trol of a Mission was called, was built a few rods to the north of Modoc road. It was of adobe and had a breadth of twenty-seven feet and a depth of sixty-five feet. The music of a small organ and the voices of an Indian choir added to the interest of the services, which were attended not only by the natives but also by the early settlers of the valley. Although the Indians were scattered shortly after the secularization, yet, in the year 1860, the padres obtained a patent to an acre of land in- cluding the chapel and the adjoining graveyard. Serv- ices were held at the chapel until about ten years later. The tiles were then removed; the walls began to crum- ble; and now nothing remains but a few ruins.
While the padres gave much attention to their grain fields and cattle ranches, they also cultivated various kinds of fruit trees. The apple, pear, apricot, fig, and other trees were planted in an orchard which covered about three acres of land and which was situated one hundred yards in front of the Mission. It was sur- rounded by a six-sided wall that was strengthened by heavy buttresses of masonry. Part of the wall that ex- tended along the northerly side is still in place, and hid- den beneath sage brushes may still be seen the buttress that stood at the easterly corner. The fruit trees gradu- ally died or were removed, until fifteen years ago there were only three standing. Now there is but one, which is still vigorous, though its bark is moss covered and its branches are much overgrown.
Another piece of land, of about sixteen acres in ex- tent, adjoined the Indian village, and was laid out as a vegetable garden and olive orchard. It was sur- rounded by a wall of adobe, nine feet high, and covered with tiles which protected the upper part from rain. The most southerly corner of this wall was located about fifty feet southwest of Garden street and one hundred and fifty feet northwest of Mission street. The only trace of the wall that remains is part that extended
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along the southern side. In the southern quarter of the block bounded by Garden, Padre, Santa Barbara and Los Olivos streets, the stone foundations on which the wall rested appear above ground and may be traced for a hundred feet. But though the wall has disappeared, yet many of the old olive trees still live and cast their pleasing shade within the grounds of modern resi- dences. In 1807, a house with a length of sixty feet and a depth of eighteen feet was built within this orchard, for the head gardener. It contained several apartments with a corridor in front, and was located a few rods from the south corner of the Mission buildings, near the spot where the large sycamore tree is now growing.
Passing along the Mountain Drive, half a mile be- yond the Mission bridge, one will observe, to the east of the creek, a triangular shaped piece of land which has been cleared of the oaks which once grew there. This piece of land was the principal Mission vineyard and is still cultivated by the padres. Stone aqueducts pass along two of its sides, and near the northern corner was an adobe building where the tools were kept and the vintage was taken. Another vineyard was located at La Goleta, on the western bank of San Jose Creek, and nearly a mile north of Hollister Avenuc. It consisted of seven and a half acres, and was surrounded on three sides by a willow fence and on the remaining side by the creek.
One of the principal occupations of the Indians not employed in the field was the tanning of hides, and in the year 1802, three vats were built for this purpose. They were constructed of bricks solidly joined with mortar, so as to form one solid piece of masonry, and were located two hundred and fifty feet directly east of the Mission church, where they can still be seen. In the same year was built the tannery, which had a length of sixty feet and a breadth of eighteen feet; and adjoin- ing it on the northwest side was built the house of the
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major domo, which consisted of several rooms and a corridor. This latter building was close to the present church, and occupied the site where the home of Mr. Adair now stands. When the Mission road was wid- ened, most of this building was torn down, but the ad- jacent tannery and the gardener's home were the last of the old buildings to be removed and were still standing in the year 1887.
During the first few years of the Mission's history, water for domestic and general use had been obtained with difficulty from the creek behind the Mission. But as the creek invariably dried up in the summer it was found necessary, in order to have an ample supply for the two thousand people who came to dwell at the Mis- sion, and for the tanneries and gardens, to bring the water from the perennial springs of the canyon. It was also desirable to build a reservoir which would hold a quantity of water sufficient for general purposes during summer, in case of a drouth. This task was undertaken first, and in the year 1806, a large reservoir of masonry, one hundred and twenty-five feet square and with a depth of seven feet, was built upon the hillside, about five hundred feet from the Mission. It is the reservoir which is now used by the Santa Barbara Water Com- pany for supplying the City of Santa Barbara.
THE THIRD DECADE AND LATER
In the year 1807, a large stone dam was built a mile and a half from the Mission, on the west fork of Pedre- gosa creek ; and another dam was built about three miles from the Mission, on the east fork. Both of these dams are still in existence. The one on the left fork was used both to store the water and also to direct it to the aqueduct; but it is now so overgrown with brush as to be hardly noticeable. The one on the east fork was used solely as a weir for directing the water to the aqueduct.
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EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
It is filled to the upper level with gravel; but stands as firmly to-day as when constructed a century ago.
As it was found impracticable to make clay pipe for conducting the waters from the dams to the reservoir, pieces of stone were cut and chiseled so that when in place and cemented with mortar they formed aqueducts with conduits ten inches in depth and of the same breadth. These aqueducts were built so as to follow the contours of the hills and canyons from the dams to the reservoirs and so well were they constructed that after a hundred years they remain in excellent condi- tion, excepting where they have been destroyed by man.
Subsequently a second reservoir of octagonal shape was built higher on the hill, and between it and the lower reservoir was the mill. Another aqueduct was then constructed leading from the dam, on the west fork of Mission creek, to the hill immediately north of the reservoir, whence it descended the steep slope of the hill to the upper reservoir. The latter shows signs of decay, yet displays the effective work of the early masons. A flight of stone steps leads down to the bottom where the debris of nearly a century has collected, and where a tree of fair proportions has taken root and grown sev- eral feet above the top of the reservoir. At the south- ern end is an opening, which was closed by a heavy oaken door when the water was not required to turn the water-wheel of the mill. The grooves where the door rose and descended may be plainly seen, and also the small holes in the upper part of the wall, where beams were erected, from which were suspended the pully and the rope used in raising the door. The mill is now in ruins. The threshing floor and space where the large water-wheel turned are still discernible; but the water wheel and the discs that ground the corn and wheat are gone.
One can not view the ruins without pictures of other days coming before the mind : the fertile valleys, turned
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golden brown with ripening grain; the Indians plod- ding homeward with the harvests; the water scurrying down the hill and splashing into the reservoir below; the creaking, groaning water-wheel; the slowly grind- ing discs; the Indians carrying the newly made flour to the storehouses; and watching and directing all, the brown-robed friars.
The water that was spent after passing through the mill flowed into the larger reservoir, which also re- ceived water from the lower stone aqueduct. This larger reservoir was used to store water for irrigation ; and from its south corner an aqueduct followed the gen- eral course of the road to the church, whence crossing the road it passed along the wall of masonry which is still standing at the rear of the home of Mr. Adair, as far as the tannery. From this point the water was con- ducted to the small orchard for irrigation; but the main branch of the aqueduct passed through the large orch- ard, and a few years ago traces of it appeared where it crossed Garden street two hundred feet northwest of Padre street.
A short distance west of the upper reservoir is a small building of masonry that has been erroneously spoken of as a bathhouse. This building contained a settling tank where the water used for domestic purposes at the Mission was clarified. From this building the water was conducted to the rear of the Mission buildings in a cement pipe about four inches in diameter, which crossed along the top of a solid wall of masonry, part of which may still be seen, close to the present Mission bridge. At one time a beautiful arch in this wall of masonary spanned the road that crosses the bridge; but about the year 1880, as the opening in the wall was not sufficiently large to conveniently allow the passage of some of the farm wagons that constantly travelled that way, the arch and part of the wall were removed.
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EARLY DAYS OF SANTA BARBARA
In the wall, separating the cemetery from the Mission road, was a gateway surmounted by a small stone cross. This entrance was closed with masonry many years ago, although the cross indicates where it was located. A short distance from this former entrance and at a point where the aqueduct crosses the road, stands a living monument to kindhearted Father O'Keefe, one of the most beloved of the Mission padres. In years gone by, he had observed some Indian women coming regularly to that spot and washing their clothes in the water that they took from the aqueduct. To protect them from the heat of the sun he planted four sycamores, two of which died. The Indians have long since disappeared, yet two tall sycamores remain, and in their grateful shade many a weary person has sat and rested on the seat that reaches from trunk to trunk.
In the center of the inner court is a fountain, con- structed of stone and covered with cement. It was built in the year 1808, and is plain in appearance, being de- signed more for utility than for ornamentation. In front of the entrance to the cloister is a much larger fountain that was built at a later date. It is of octagonal shape and is the handsomest of any of the Mission fountains. though it became somewhat defaced. The top of the standard which rises from the center represents a pome- granate, and beneath it is a bowl, the sides of which were delicately carved; but the lime which in the course of nearly a century has been deposited from the waters which flowed over them has largely effaced the beauty of the original outlines.
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