The Santa Barbara Mission
(Source: The Library of Congress)
The present
church was completed in 1820. An extensive watering system
brought water from an upstream dam to the mission. It provided
water to the mission reservoirs, kitchen, laundry, flour mill,
hospital and fields for irrigating crops.
Even after secularization the mission remained church property
and was maintained by the church. Parts of the church were
damaged in a 1925 earthquake and were restored. The mission
continues to operate today as a seminary and contains the
archives of the Franciscan Order.
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