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Mission San Buenaventura

The ninth and last mission to be founded by Junípero Serra, Mission San Buenaventura was named after St. Bonaventure. Containing flourishing exotic gardens, the mission grew bananas, figs, sugar cane, and coconuts, as well as many other fruits and green vegetables. Nurtured by a clever irrigation system and good soils, the Mission and it’s gardens were often visited by passing ships and whalers. The Mission Fathers relied on local Chumash natives for labor and services, drawing mainland Native Americans to the Mission for work.

Originally founded in 1782, the first church burned down, and was rebuilt completely of stone by 1809, which required 15 years of work. Three years later it was nearly destroyed by the earthquake of 1812, but repaired again over a year later. After hiding from the pirate Bouchard in 1818, the inhabitants of the Mission were visited by a group of Mojave Indians that wished to trade with them. Being pagans, the soldiers forbade the Indians to trade, and locked them up. A subsequent tragic morning fight that killed twelve people resulted in a long lasting hatred of the Missions by the Mojave Indians.

Mission San Buenaventura was secularized in 1836, and was a parish church in 1842 and 1843. After being rented in 1845 by Gov. Pico and sold a year later, the mission was returned to the church in 1862. The mission’s present-day location is just east of U.S. Highway 101, in the city of Ventura.