Situated near the city of Lompoc sits the most completely restored of California’s twenty one missions, Mission La Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisma. The eleventh of the missions, founded on December 8, 1787 by Father Fermin de Lasuen, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The mission was one of three, along with San Buenaventura and Santa Barbara which were built to link the missions in the south to those farther north, to solidify the Spanish presence along the Santa Barbara Channel, and to keep the indigenous tribes in the area under Spanish control.
The original mission was situated south of the town of Lompoc, near what is now 508 South F Street. The site was well chosen, and soon after its founding the Mission was prospering. By 1804, the mission reached its highest number of neophytes, 1520. This was not to last. By 1812, a series of drought years and epidemics of measles, smallpox, and other diseases decimated the indigenous population. It was reported by the friars at the mission that the neophyte population had fallen to 999 and that the mission had several years of inadequate harvests. Then the earthquake of 1812 struck. The mission was severely damaged, torrential rains and flooding made the mission site uninhabitable. After trying to continue in rudimentary structures made of “poles and grass”, the mission padres decided to rebuild the mission at its present location about four miles northwest of the original site.
The padres petitioned the government to build and on March 30, 1813, permission was given to build a replacement mission on its current site. By 1821, the mission was largely completed with the exception of a mill that was added in 1827. By the death of Padre Mariano Payeras in 1823, who had led the mission since 1804, the mission had over ten thousand head of cattle, ten thousand sheep, over fourteen hundred horses, over three hundred mules, one hundred ten hogs, and thirty three goats. While the mission had a remarkable recovery from drought and natural disaster, the path had not been easy.
Beginning with the relocation of the mission in 1812, funding had not been forthcoming from the government in Mexico City. The Hidalgo Revolt had thrown the government into chaos and the missions and civil government in Alta California were left to their own devices. The civil and military officers began to require contributions from the missions in both goods and labor to meet the expenses of governing the province. The next setback was the Earthquake of 1812 which necessitated the relocation and rebuilding of the mission. Third was the death of Father Payeras, whose administrative skills helped the mission thrive, in the face of hardship and last, there was the Revolt of 1824, in which the indigenous people at Santa Ines revolted after a Chumash was severely beaten by a soldier. The Chumash set fire to the mission, partially destroying it. The Chumash at La Purisima forced the mission’s soldiers to surrender and took over the mission for a period of thirty days until they were forced to surrender after a three hour battle in which sixteen Chumash and one soldier were killed.
The Revolt of 1824 severely weakened Mission La Purisima’s ability to sustain itself. By 1832 only 322 Chumash remained at the mission and there were fewer that 14,000 head of livestock. Th annual report of 1832 would be the last one made for Mission La Purisima. In 1835, the mission was secularized and the last two resident padres were ordered to Mission Santa Ines. The mission became the property of the Government of Mexico and in six months the value of the buildings and land declined by over fifty percent. Despite a decree in 1843, which restored ownership of the mission to the Franciscans, Governor Pio Pico sold the remains of the mission, valued at nearly $62,000 in 1835, to John Temple of Los Angeles at auction for a mere $1,110.
In 1851, after California became a state, the Bishop Alemany of Monterey sued to have the property returned to the church. The suit was successful and the land was awarded to the Church. President Grant signed the patent on January 24, 1874. Mission La Purisima would remain church property for another nine years. In 1883, the Diocese of Monterey sold all of the mission property, with the exception of the church and cemetery and the former mission property was bought and sold several times as the mission buildings crumbled. In 1903, Union Oil of California acquired the mission and in 1915, deeded the property to the Landmarks Club of Southern California on condition that they raise $1500 to begin restoration. The Landmarks Club failed to do so and title reverted back to Union Oil.
In 1933, the land and remains of the mission were deeded to Santa Barbara County and then the deed was transferred to the state. In 1934, a Civilian Conservation Corps cam was established on site and with the National Park Service and restoration of the mission began in earnest. Using existing records and artifacts, the mission was restored as accurately as possible. The restored mission was dedicated on December 7, 1941 and became part of the Mission La Purisima State Historic Park. It remains the only fully restored mission in California. In 2009, a new visitor’s center was built with displays highlighting the Chumash, mission life and the restoration.
GETTING THERE: From 414 Mason Street: Get on I-80 West and continue onto US 101 South. Stay on US 101 South. Take exit 166 and turn right onto East Union Valley Parkway. After 1.5 miles, turn left onto CA 135 South/Orcutt Expressway. Continue onto CA 1 South. After 3.2 miles, take the ramp onto CA-1 South toward Lompoc/Vandenberg AFB. When you arrive at Vandenberg, turn left to stay n CA-1 toward Lompoc. Bear left onto La Purisima Road. The park entrance will be on your left. The trip is 298 miles and takes approximately five hours. The park’s address is 2295 Purisima Road, Lompoc, CA 93436.
The park is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Days. The Visitor’s Center is open 10:00 to 4:00 Tuesday through Sunday and 11:00 to 4:00 on Mondays. The park’s phone number is: (805) 733-3713. Day use fees are $6.00 for parking and there is a discounted fee of $5.00 for those 62 and over. There are many places to stay and eat in Lompoc and the surrounding towns and cities.
