Santa Barbara County CA Archives Photo Place.....La Purisma Mission, Lompoc ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 6, 2006, 11:25 pm Source: Unavailable Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/santabarbara/photos/lapurism135gph.jpg Image file size: 36.8 Kb LA PURISIMA MISSION Lompoc, Santa Barbara County History and Description: On December 8, 1787. Fr. Fermin de Lasuen founded Mission La Concepcion Purisima de Maria Santisima, the Mission of the Most Holy Mary. This was the eleventh of the twenty-one Franciscan Missions of California. Actual construction began in 1788 at the site of the Chumash Indian village called Algsacupi. About one hundred small adobe buildings were built around a stone-walled square. Spring water was filtered through alternate layers of sand and charcoal. The water was then brought to the mission garden in pipelines made of ceramic tile. In 1812, "El Ano de Temblores", the year of the earthquakes, the Mission was destroyed. The major damage occurred December 21, when the quake destroyed the mission buildings and most of the Indian houses. The earthquake was followed by a heavy rain storm and resultant floods finished destroying the mission beyond recovery. Fr. Mariano Payeras was in charge of the Mission in 1812. He was given permission to rebuild the Mission at a new site four miles northward, across the Santa Ynez Valley, in a valley known to the Indians as "Amuu", In a few years the second La Purisima Mission was a thriving community with about a thousand Indians living nearby. The Mission was used as a training school for the Indians and the center of activity of a great ranching enterprise. In 1834, the Mission was secularized. The Mission was converted into parish churches or reduced to ranches. The Indians were released from mission supervision. In 1845, La Purisima Mission was sold for $1,100.00. When California became a state, federal courts returned the site of the Mission to the Catholic Church. By 1933, the Mission was in complete ruins from neglect and the weather. At this point, public agencies acquisitioned the Mission so a historical monument might be created. In 1934, men and youths in the Federal Government's Civilian Conservation Corps started the reconstruction and preservation of the Mission. This work was performed under the supervision of the National Park Service. Nine of the original structures have been restored and furnished authentically and ten other historic structures have been restored. The original structures followed the natural contour of the land. Construction employed native stone. The mass foundations under the adobe walls were made from sandstone broken into rough chunks 6 inches to 2 feet in size. A mud mortar was used to fill the voids between the rough chunks of sandstone. 'The footings ranged from 7 feet to 4y feet in depth. Limestone was used in the aqueducts, sills, thresholds, steps, and flagging. Adobe walls were used throughout the structures. The average adobe brick was 10y" x 21" x 4" and weighed about 60 pounds. The main walls were 4 feet 3 inches thick, partitions 2 feet. Outside walls were reduced to 3 feet 6 inches above ceiling level. Center walls were reduced to 3 feet, at same level. Beams did not bear directly on adobe but on sills or plates buried in the adobe wall. The floors were constructed from the following materials: redwood planking, tile, adobe brick, tamped sandstone and earth. Most of the wood used in construction came from the San Rafael Range, in Santa Barbara County, The sills and plates were usually made from coastal redwood. All walls were finished with plaster about 1 1/2 inches thick. There were two types of plaster used; lime plaster, and mud mortar. The lime plaster was preferred. A mechanical means was necessary to attach the lime plaster. The adobe brick wall was scored diagonally with grooves 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches deep. The grooves were then filled with lime mortar and chips of roof tiles, this forming the bonding surface. The roof tiles were produced at the mission site. The clay used in the roof tile was mined from hillsides near the Mission. Additional Comments: This is one of three drawings of structures outside San Luis Obispo County Extracted from Discovering San Luis Obispo County by Carleton M. Winslow File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/santabarbara/photos/lapurism135gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 4.8 Kb