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Mission San Buenaventura

A view of the restored chapel at Mission San Buenaventura in July, 2005.
Location	Ventura, California
Name as Founded	La Misión San Buenaventura[1]
Translation	The Mission of Saint Bonaventure
Namesake	Saint Bonaventure
Nickname(s)	"The Mission by the Sea"
Founding Date	March 31, 1782[2]
Founding Priest(s)	Father Presidente Junípero Serra
Founding Order	Ninth
Military District	Second
Native Tribe(s) Spanish Name(s)	Ventureño
Owner	Roman Catholic Church
Current Use	Parish Church / Museum
National Historic Landmark	#NPS–75000496
California Historical Landmark	#310
Web Site	http://www.sanbuenaventuramission.org

Mission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday, 1782. Named for a Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure, it was the last of the missions founded by Father Serra. Mission San Buenaventura was supposed to be founded in the year 1770, but the founding was delayed because of the low availability of the military escorts needed to establish Mission San Buenaventura. In 1793, the first church burned down. It took the neophyte workers 16 years to build the new church, which still stands today.

Mission San Buenaventura had two bells. The bells were borrowed from Mission Santa Barbara because there were no bells at the time. The bells were never returned. The bell facing north is labeled S. San Francisco 1781. The bell facing east has the inscription: San Pedro Alcantra 1781. A small swinging bell hangs in the southern arch with the lettering: Ave Maria S. Joseph.

The only bell used daily at San Buenaventura is large and crown topped with a Cross on its side. Inscribed on the bell is Ave Maria Pruysyma D Sapoyan Ano D 1825, which means "Hail Mary Most Pure. Mary of Zapopan Year of 1825."

This bell was originally cast for the church of Zapopan but was later sent to Mission San Buenaventura. Another bell, which was once the gift of the Spanish Viceroy, is inscribed Marquez de Croix Mexico November 12 1770. It is currently owned by Senora Isabel del Valle Cram.

There are also two wooden bells in the museum that measure about two feet. These were the only wooden bells in the California missions.

Some animals at San Buenaventura were cattle, horses, sheep, mules, and goats. The cattle were very important because they provided food, oil and hides. In the year of 1818, 35,274 cattle wandered over the mission lands. A little time after January 7th, 1831, the animal population decreased to a low of 4,000 cattle, 3,000 sheep, 300 horses and 60 mules. In July of 1839, Inspector-General E.P. Hartnell found 2,208 cattle, 1,670 sheep, 799 horses, 35 mules and 65 goats. The soil around Mission San Buenaventura was very good so the mission could grow many crops. San Buenaventura grew apples, grapes, bananas, pears, plums, pomegranates, figs, oranges, coconuts, beans, grain, corn and barley. In the year of 1818, 12,483 bushels of grain were harvested. Shortly after January 7th, 1831, harvests had been reduced to 1,750 bushels of wheat, 2,000 bushels of barley, 500 bushels of corn, and 400 bushels of beans. In July of 1839, Inspector-General William E.P. Hartnell found 322 fanegas of wheat, 182 fanegas of corn and 35 fanegas of peas.

A system of aqueducts was built by Chumash Indians between 1805–1815 to meet the needs of the Mission population and consisted of both ditches and elevated stone masonry. The watercourse ran from a point on the Ventura River about ½ mile north of the remaining ruins and carried the water to holding tanks behind the San Buenaventura Mission, a total of about 7 miles. The entire water distributiom system was destroyed by floods and abandoned in 1862.

In 1893, Father Cyprian Rubio "modernized" the interior of the church, painting over the original artwork; when he finished, almost nothing remained of the old church. New priests restored the church to its original style in 1957.

Today all that remains of the original Mission is the church and its garden. Services are still held in the parish church. A small museum sits at the Mission with displays of Chumash Indian artifacts and mission-era items.

• National Register of Historic Places #NPS–75000497 — Mission San Buenaventura Aqueduct
• California Historical Landmark #113 — Site of "Junípero Serra's Cross" (the first cross on the hill known as La Loma de la Cruz, or the "Hill of the Cross") can be found in Grant Park, and was erected by Junípero Serra upon the Mission's founding
• California Historical Landmark #114 — Old Mission Reservoir, part of the water system for Mission San Buenaventura (the settling tank or receiving reservoir; the site can be found in Eastwood Park)
• California Historical Landmark #114–1 — Mission San Buenaventura Aqueduct (at Canada Larga Road) consists of two surviving sections of viaduct about 100 feet long, made of cobblestone and mortar

1. ^ Leffingwell, p. 55
2. ^ Yenne, p. 88

Mission San Buenaventura circa 1900. Note the thickness of the chapel side wall and the massive buttresses supporting it.

• Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5. 
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8. 

• Spanish missions in California
• USNS Mission Buenaventura (AO-111) — the lead ship in a Class of fleet oilers built during World War II.

• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
• Official Site and History of Mission San Buenaventura
• Some Information About Mission San Buenaventura
• Information abouut Misison San Buenaventura