Mission Santa Ines

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

Mission Santa Ines is a historic district on the east side of Solvang, south of California Highway 246, in Santa Barbara County. Founded in 1804 in the Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival styles, its buildings rose in stages, with most of the quadrangle finished by 1812.

Why it's listed

It was listed in the National Register in 1999, designated a National Historic Landmark, under criteria A, C and D, with national-level significance in architecture, historic aboriginal archeology, Hispanic and Native American ethnic heritage, religion and social history. It also meets Criteria Consideration A. Its significance spans 1804 to 1855, from the mission's founding to the 1855 return of the Mission Garden lands by the US Land Commission.

Physical character

Its buildings combine adobe walls under stucco with wood-frame and board-and-batten construction, set on stone foundations under roofs of ceramic tile or wood shingle. A 1911 storm toppled the bell tower; 1947-1950 restoration funded partly by the Hearst Foundation replaced it more faithfully, reinforced the church with gunite, and had Lawrence Viole restore the convento. A 1989 renovation reconstructed the convento wing, including its southern portion, to nearly its original length.

Historical context

The mission's Native American population peaked at 768 in 1816, and the Chumash Revolt began there in 1824. Mexico secularized it in 1834; Reverend Eugene O'Connell arrived in 1851 and laid the county's first asphalt floors.