Welcome to Spring Break, Libi's California Adventure style! We decided to use part of our week off to enjoy some of the CHLs in Central California as well as visit some spots from Heather's childhood.
As we drove north along the 101/1 we came to our first site, Gaviota Pass (CHL 248).
On Christmas Day 1846 residents and
soldiers from Santa Barbara laid here in wait for Lt. Col. John C. Fremont. Fremont and his battalion got wind of the
plot and with the help of Benjamin Foxen and his son William they entered the
area from the San Marcos Pass and captured Santa Barbara without
bloodshed. Three weeks after this event,
California was ceded to the United States.
Benjamin Foxen
was from England, became a naval officer, and then worked in the tallow and
hide trade industry. Eventually he
started his own business and sailed his ship, Goleta, up and down the California coast. You may recognize the name Goleta—it is
now the town where UCSB is located, named after his ship. He was married to Elmaria Osuna at the Santa
Barbara Mission. Remember the name Foxen-- it will come up again soon!
This is where the 11th
mission was established by Padre Fermin de Lasuen on December 8, 1787.
I've been to La Purisima several times and never seen this-- it is absolutely worth the short drive to see! Libi was also thrilled to find poppies scattered among the buildings.
After the original mission was
destroyed, Father Mariano Paevras requested that he be given land four miles
northwest to re-build. This location was
better in that is was a milder climate, closer to the El Camino Real, and there
was a better water supply. The rebuilt
mission became a home to about 1000 Chumash converts, a school, training
center, and a ranching enterprise (at one point they had over 20,000 head of
cattle!)
In 1834 the secularization of the
missions led to the dismantling of La Purisima.
The mission buildings were sold to private citizens and used for various
businesses. The buildings fell into
disrepair and in 1933 the mission land and buildings were given by the Union
Oil Company to the state. In 1934
preservation began and now La Purisima is the only example of a complete mission
in California.
Inside the missions it is always so dark, but my amazing camera does a pretty good job using the ambient light to take our photos.
As I said previously, this is my favorite mission-- so enjoy a photo of me and Libi in the same spot separated by about 28 years.
Libi is a fan of any place with lots of animals-- especially friendly horses!
Beetle: "Steve, Steve! Where are you, Steve."
Upon seeing the lifeless body of his friend: "Steeeeeveeeee!!!!!!"
They even reenacted the sad event, as you can see below! I love my thespians!
This well is significant for the method
in which it was drilled. The Union Oil
Company began drilling here on September 26, 1905 and completed the well on
April 30, 1906. I’m not an engineer so I
will just quote the state here: “this is
the first oil well in which a water shutoff was attained by pumping cement
through the tubing and back of the casing.”
The well was 2,507 feel deep and produced oil for over 45 years!
This was the 19th of the 21
missions established in California.
Founded in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, construction was finally
completed in 1817, due to the earthquake badly damaging the buildings in
1812.
These transient men traveled along the
railroads and unpaved roads trying to survive.
Fr. Buckler restored the seminary building to give them shelter, food,
and a blanket in exchange for their labor.
Built by
Frederick and Romona Foxen Wickenden in 1875, this structure shows the transition
between mission style architecture and the frame churches of the more modern
era.
His seemed to be befitting of a man who helped save lives during the transfer of power from Mexico to the United States.
Nipomo is a
Chumash word meaning “at the foot of the hills”—and Rancho Nipomo was just
that, a huge area from the current town of Arroyo Grande to the Santa Maria
River. The Chumash people were also
recruited to help the Dana family, who were given the lands by Mexico in
1837. They cleared the land for farming
and helped build an adobe for the family.
The Dana family were traders, and pretty successful ones at that!
Another
interesting fact about Nipomo is that it was here that Dorothea Lange captured
one of the most famous images in all of United States History, Migrant
Mother. In February 1936 Lange drove
into a pea picker’s camp here while she was working as a photographer for the
Resettlement Administration (which later became the Farm Security
Association). She actually drove past
the camp, but after twenty miles she returned and entered the camp. Once inside she took 6 photos of the woman
and her family. We know very little
about the mother, but this image is one that most folks have seen in a textbook
at one point in their school career.
Pierre
Hyppolite Dallidet was a Frenchman who settled in San Luis Obispo in 1853. He built the adobe in 1856—which has only had
two owners, Pierre and his son Paul Dallidet.
They gave it to San Luis Obispo County in 1953 and it remains today an
example of early life, with many of the family’s belongings on display.
Pierre was a
vintner and when he built the adobe, he built it half a floor up to accommodate
his wine cellar. It is worth noting that
he began the first commercial winery on the Central Coast. Pierre and his wife Asension had nine
children together—and each of them has a fascinating story. You can read up on the whole family here.
Ah Louis,
also known as On Wong, was a Chinese immigrant who established the first
Chinese store in the county of San Luis Obispo.
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