Site of Junípero Serra's Cross

Site of Junípero Serra's Cross is a California Historical Landmark in Ventura County.

Ventura · location approximate

Directions to the area ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

The first cross on the hill known as "La Loma de la Cruz," or the Hill of the Cross, was erected by Junípero Serra, who officiated at the founding of the Mission San Buenaventura on March 31, 1782. This was the ninth and last mission founded by Father Serra in California.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1888 · Southern California (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1890 · The counties of Southern California (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1901 · Composite: California and Nevada. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1904 · Ventura, California (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1926 · Map Showing State Highway System (California), 1926. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Southern California, 1888, covering the location of Site of Junípero Serra's Cross, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Southern California, 1888, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

Site of Junípero Serra's Cross

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby