San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Santa Rosa Church, Cambria 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 23, 2006, 11:25 pm

Source:             Discovering San Luis Obispo County
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/santaros60gph.jpg
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SANTA ROSA CHURCH Cambria, California

History and Description:

The Catholic church was built in 1870 when the town of Cambria was named Santa
Rosa, hence the name, Santa Rosa Catholic Church.  Records of the construction
are unavailable. The original information pertaining to the plans, workers,
costs of materials, etc., were kept at the San Miguel Mission which burned down
and destroyed such records.

The construction of this church is extremely detailed considering the time
period in which it was built and its location.  When large buildings were
erected, it was customary for all of the local residents to work together on the
construction.  This type of construction usually ended up being rough and
simple, however, the church is not representative of this type of construction.
Another unusual fact about the church is that it is made of wood. Most churches
were made of adobe at this time.  The wood used was Monterey pine.  Since wood
rots easily, it is amazing the church is still standing one hundred years later.

At a glance, the siding appears to be lap-siding. A closer examination reveals
that the siding is actually 2' x 10' routed out to resemble lap-siding. The
windows are double-hung with glazing consisting of 12 colored panes of glass.
Over the door is an arch window, also composed of colored glass.  The doors are
a work of precise craftsmanship, detailed with the intricate design of wood
mouldings. Another detail exhibiting the construction of the era is the
foundation.  It is composed of stone footings with ribbon fascia running the
perimeter of the building.  The roof was originally covered with wood shingles,
and later replaced with asphalt shingles.

Sources.
History of San Luis Obispo. Myron Angel
Mr. Paul Squibb, Cambria
Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/santaros60gph.txt

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