Santa Barbara's First Bells

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XXXVII. No, 2

Summer iggi

'»

s Hirst

iiS

FRPJ^T COVBI{: This bronze bell cast in Zacatecas,Mexico, in iy8i is the most Likely candidate to be an orimnal Santa Barbara Presidio bell.

William B. Dewey photo. From the collection ofthe author.

-1

■

f<^

The watercolor by James Madison Alden is one ofthe few good views ofthe Santa Barbara Presidio chajoel. Mote the pair ofhells infront ofthe chapel. Courtesy Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Lilyrary.

This issue ofNOTIClAS offers an historical detective story. Life any good detective story the amount and nature ofthe evidence answers questions but also presents a number ofchallenges. John Woodward has pursued the story ofSanta Barbara’sfirst bellsfor over zo years. Flis conclusionsfollow. All photos are from the collection of Santa Barbara Flistorical Society s Qledhill Library unless otherwise noted.

IVlichad Redmon, Editor

© 1991 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 Single copies $4.00

John C. Woodward,a Santa Barbara attorney in private practice, has long been active in local history organizations. He served on the city’s Historic Landmarks Committee for eight years,including three as its chairman. He is currently president ofSanta Barbara Heritage and serves on the Historical Society s Board ofTrustees.

rhe Search for Santa Barbara’s Lost Bells

“t all began when I first saw the small, faded watercolor. While I was researching at Mission Santa Barbara - -in the fall of 1969, Father Maynard ].

Geiger showed me the only detailed pic ture of the Santa Barbara Presidio chapel known to survive.' It shows a simple, un pretentious building standing amid adobe ruins. Just in front of the chapel, two bells are suspended from a crossbeam sup ported by posts.^ With a knowing smile that betrayed his passion for early California history.

Father Maynard told me how Santa Bar bara began with the founding of the pre sidio in 1782, and how the chapel in the picture was the city’s true birthplace. As he spoke, my eye was drawn along the well-worn footpath in the foreground to the two bells. If the chapel was so impor tant to Santa Barbara’s history, I thought, then surely the bells must also be very important, symbolizing our city’s beginnings much as the Liberty Bell sym bolizes the birth of our country.

"Whatever happened to the bells?” I wondered out loud. "Do they still exist? ”

bhn C. Woodward

"Nobody knows," Father Maynard re plied with an impish twinkle in his eye that I was to come to know so well.

"Maybe that’s something you can find out.”

And so began my quest to find Santa Barbara’s first bells.

Bells were ever-present in Spanish California, often accompanying the first hardy souls to claim and settle each new territory. Ceremonies to establish mis sions, presidios or pueblos sometimes in cluded one or more campanas brought along for the church to be built. When, for example. Mission San Antonio de Pa dua was founded by Padre Junipero Serra in 1771, a bell was hung from a stout oak tree and rung with great zeal for the oc casion by Serra himself.^ What is now the city of Santa Bar bara began with the founding of the fourth and last Spanish presidio in Alta California on April 21, 1782. Padre Serra conducted a simple religious ceremony at the site before an assembled company of soldiers, their families and attendants.

Most of what is known of the occasion is from descriptions written by Serra, but unfortunately they are silent as to the presence of bells.'*

21

NOTICIAS

22

?

^ f?

irn~\r

1^

rr, c ■^’

yCJL€^4it^

i.

^Cl. C k

a*. cUr^

.= ^

c

I

c

[

^9t^L(/iX) d^(/a*i^i2iy Jbo^x^a/iLai. ^

s

K

c

c

c

‘l

c S

c

c

i22v.

fiUC€t*- .

1

C

●i

c

t

f7 n n 17 1

M

I

i

i$<avc4C '

Qital’a^ <i

h^

Vtr-Vu— c

t

C-y.

T»T—● [ill U * CechcuileMt-

T-T

< I

T_f

? ^uZix)

^ICuajcU^

1

\, Ua.'

/

K

' I

[3 ,JXu**tJta^

TTiis diagram of the Santa Barbara Presidio indicates the location ofa campana just inside the main sate and of a correcica or "little tower" near the chapel. Edward Vischer Papers ("77/37 c) The Bancroft Library, University ofCalifornia, Ba-k^ley.

Having established Mission San Bue naventura a few weeks earlier, it was the

would have been logiscically difficult, at best.

second major event in an expedition led

The expedition had been planned for

by Governor Felipe de Neve and Lt. Jose

years in advance. On July 19, 1779, Neve

Francisco de Ortega, first comandante of

had requisitioned equipment and supplies

the new presidio. The expedition had started from Mission San Gabriel, travel

needed to establish the presidio and mis

ing overland to San Buenaventura and

sions along the Santa Barbara Channel.

Included on the list was "one medium bell

then along the coast to Santa Barbara, a

to call for mass, the rosary, rations, and

distance of about 100 miles.^ Hauling of

to sound quarters for the watch at night.”

bells (each weighing several hundred

He had anticipated then that heavier arti

pounds) by pack mule over that distance

cles would require shipment by sea.® If not

THE LOST BELLS

brought overland with the expedition, the bell Neve had ordered may have been de livered by the supply ships Frinczsa and Favorita when they arrived at Santa Bar bara in August 1782 with provisions for the new presidio—four months after the founding ceremony/ While bells are necessary to the func tions of a Catholic church, their role in the secular lives of people living in an early California military outpost and pueblo like Santa Barbara was equally significant. Daily life revolved around the bells of the presidio. In addition to their religious duties, they regulated work schedules, welcomed the arrival of prom inent visitors, celebrated festive occa sions and signaled alarms.® The sound of bells was a unifying force and provided a sense of security in an isolated and po tentially hostile land.

Despite their importance, historical information about Santa Barbara’s first bells while they were at the presidio is surprisingly scant. A map of the presidio quadrangle, drawn by then comandante Felipe de Goycoechea and dated Septem ber 16,1788. does not note the presence of bells, nor does it indicate that the chapel had a bell tower.^ When bells arrived and how many there were is not known with certainty. Fortunately, however, enough documentation has survived to retrace much of their history over the past two centuries.

A later map of the presidio, dated 1820, denotes a campana located just in side the main gate on the opposite side of the central plaza from the chapel, sug gesting that it was used to sound alarms.

Again, no bells are noted at the chapel as of that date.‘° But by the end of the dec ade the chapel apparently had at least two bells, because they were mentioned

by Alfred Robinson when he described

23

his visit to Santa Barbara in 1829; "As they arose the chapel bells in the Presidio indicated the hour for mass ”" The most prominent structure in the Santa Barbara Presidio was its chapel, located near what is now the intersection of Santa Barbara and Canon Perdido Streets. As the spiritual center of a large ly Catholic community, it was the most important building in Santa Barbara as the town grew from a frontier garrison into a pueblo, under first Spanish and later Mexican rule. For almost threequarters of a century, the chapel served as the town’s only house of worship, the mission church being a mile away and 12 thus outside the town’s boundaries.

It is not known whether the presidio chapel had a bell tower or campanario, as did many churches and chapels of the time.’® Early drawings of the presidio were few and usually done from a dis tance, showing almost nothing definitive of the chapel. The 1820 map, like the 1788 map drawn by Goycoechea. does not show a bell tower, but the word torrecita (meaning "little tower") is written within the rectangle denoting the chapel, possibly hinting of a bell tower nearby.

The picture of the presidio chapel that Father Maynard showed me was not painted until June 1855. seventy-three years after the presidio was founded and just before the chapel was abandoned.

The watercolor was done by James Madi son Alden, who depicted a small adobe ruin near the southerly corner of the building behind the pair of bells hanging from a crossbeam. Perhaps he intended to show the remnants of a bell tower, but no evidence has yet been found to con firm that one ever existed. The chapel it self appears mostly intact, although somewhat deteriorated. Footprints on the path leading to the arched doorway of

NOTICIAS

24

rows and was the predecessor of the present Catholic church in Santa Barbara of the

Church, where they were needed to concinue religious services.’® An 1856 invent ory of goods at the church lists 2. Campanas medianas (two medium bells), most likely the same bells depicted in the Alden painting. They also appear to be of medium size when scaled against other 17 features in the picture.

Although the old presidio chapel was used as a school for a short time after the

same name. According to a contemporary newspaper account, the move was celebrat ed with a joyous procession from the old church to the new, complete with music, gun salutes and the ringing of bells.’® The presidio bells and other furnish ings were probably moved at about the same time to Our Lady of Sorrows

congregation moved, it was abandoned and fell into ruin following the Fort Tejon earthquake in 1857, which damaged the building and rendered it unsafe.’® Our Lady of Sorrows Church served as the town’s place of worship for a full dec ade. Then, on the afternoon of August 23.

1865, tragedy struck. A fire, possibly start-

the chapel suggest that the building was still in active use. (See insidefivnt cover.)

On July 29,1855, less than two months after Alden painted his picture of the presi dio chapel, its congregation moved to a new church building on the southeast comer of State and Figueroa Streets, The new paro chial church was named Our Lady of Sor

For almost ao ymrs, the second OurLady ofSorrows Church at the comer ofState ana Figueroa Streets was without oell towers. For much ofthis period, bells were hungfrom aframe in the yardjust east ofthe church.

THE LOST BELLS

25

ed by the sun's rays focusing through a win dow. destroyed the church. Miraculously, many of the religious items in the building were spared, including the relics of Saint 19 Vibiana which were preserved in wax.

Eleven years before, in 1854, the Fran ciscans had established the Apostolic College of Our Lady of Sorrows on the former Nicholas Den property across the street from the parochial church, on the northeast corner of the same intersection of State and Figueroa Streets. But only two years later, the college was moved to the mission at the urging of Bishop Ta20 deo Amat, C.M. After the fire in 1865. it was decided to move across Figueroa Street and re build Our Lady of Sorrows Church on the former college property, adjacent to the present day La Arcada Building. A much larger edifice, built of adobe, was com pleted within a year and served the par ish until it was severely damaged in the earthquake of 1925.^' Inventories of both Mission Santa

Rey. Jaimt Vila s^ed as pastor at Our Lady ofSorrowsfor 48 years.

Barbara and the Apostolic College of Our Lady of Sorrows show that several of the

pended from crossbeams.*^ It was 15 feet high—about one and a half stories—and was sturdy enough to hold four bells with a total weight of more than half a ton. It survived the ravages of earthquakes, storms and termites until 1904, when the bells were removed from the church.^ A

mission’s bells were moved to the college when it was founded in 1854. These bells did not return to the mission when the

plaque in the courtyard of La Arcada Building now marks the spot where the frame of bells once stood.

college moved there in 1856, but were combined with those from the presidio chapel, probably when the church was 22 rebuilt on the former college property.

Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows from 1857 to his death in 1895 was Spanishborn Reverend Jaime Vila. Father James, as he was affectionately called, was genu 23 inely beloved by his parishoners.

Throughout his 38-year pastorate, he kept intact at the church many of the 24 religious relics from the presidio chapel.

Sometime before 1872, Reverend Vila

More than a dozen different photo graphic views of the frame with its bells are still extant. They show the bells from almost every angle, at varying dis tances and at different times. Some are

had a large wooden frame erected in the churchyard from which bells were sus-

photographs, if any, originally came from the presidio? Since no document positively

clear enough to read the dates and in scriptions on each bell, making it possi ble to distinguish one bell from another.

Most of the photographs show four bells hanging on the frame, some show only three, and a few show a fifth bell on the ground nearby. The puzzle that con fronted me was; Which of the bells in the

NOTICIAS

26

try ,y.oA3?=-tfiNft.-\’-

●

^'->~ i^<c'*-*

●■'● A..

■ J

* Jl'

■

● .«f^'

>v

●! 'il-

>

The. wooden bellframe at Our Lady ofSorrows, ca. i88os. TheZacatecas bells hang at upper left (undated), lower left (lyzz/iygz) and lower right (iy8i), respectively. At upper right is one ofthe lygy mission bells, ana on the ground, an 18^6 mission bell.

»

,

-1-.

THE LOST BELLS

f\eturned From A/\iLton Academy in l\\oss., 1980, now at HistoricaL A^useum,eventuaLLy to be dispLayed in CL Pre' sidio State Park.

27

!\eturned From CL f\etiro Jesuit f\etreat in Los ALtos, igyS, now at CL Presidio State Historic Park.

I\eturned byfrank C>ishop FamiLy, 1937, now at Santa 5arbara A\ission.

Santa Barbara’s Oldest Bells ALL three bcLLs above were cast in Zacatecas,/V\exico, and were in the coLLection oF Our Lady oFSorrows’ beLLs which were dis pLayed and photographed during the Latter haLF oF the 19th century. Apy oF the three couLd have been originaL Presidio or Amission beLLs, though no precise documents have yet been Found.'Che Four beLLs beLow, with Later casting dates, were in the Our Lady oF Sorrows group aLso. ALL Four were transFerred to theSanta Barbara Amission in 1904.

Jj^j^ identifying the presidio’s bells has yet been found, the question had to be answered through the use of circumstantial evidence and the process of elimination.

Bells of the Spanish and Mexican per iods in California history are as unique and distinguishable from each other as fingerprints. Each was made from a sep arate mold destroyed in the casting pro cess. It was customary for the year of manufacture to be cast on the side of

each bell, along with other inscriptions.

Even when the general design of two bells is similar, the variables of size, in scription, dace, ornamentation and im perfections always make one bell per ceptibly different from another.

Written records as well as photo graphs establish that there were seven bells in the collection at Our Lady of Sorrows during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Only five are shown

28

NOTICIAS

in any of che photographs. The remain ing two are known to have been there, also, since their removal in 1904 from the church to Mission Santa Barbara is well documented.^ It might be supposed that these two bells were the “working” bells of the church—perhaps installed out of sight in towers for daily use—and there fore they would not appear in photo graphs with the others.

Four of the seven bells can be readily eliminated from consideration as Santa Barbara's first bells. Two are dated 1797 and two 1836—too late to have been at the presidio from its founding in 1782. All four are fairly large, probably larger than those shown in Alden’s painting. Large bells would have been more suitable for the massive bell towers of Mission Santa Barbara than for the relatively small chapel at the presidio. Mission records indicate that a bell of approximately the same size as one of the 1797 bells was ob tained for the mission in 1798, strongly suggesting that at least one of the two 28 1797 bells was originally there.

Nothing about the other three bells at Our Lady of Sorrows would preclude any of them from having been among the original bells at the presidio. All are ap proximately the same medium size and appear to be similar in design to other bells cast in Zacatecas, Mexico. “Char acteristically, Zacatecas bells are shaped with a squared lip, ornamented with a diamond cross, and inscribed with modi fied Roman letters, each with a capital »2d being on a separate raised block.

These three bells can be seen hanging from the wooden frame in most of the old photographs, along with the larger of the two 1797 bells. One is dated 1781, the date of the second is unclear due to a casting imperfection (either 1722 or 1792), the third bears no date at all. The 1781

One of the two 1781 Zacatecas bells at Tviission. San Buenaventura, ca. 1903Note the large wooden headstock used, as a counterweight to the bell. Courtesy Ven tura County/Museum ofHistory ana Art.

bell is of immediate interest because it was cast in the year before the Santa Barbara Presidio was founded.

More significantly, this bell is almost identical in size and design with two oth er Zacatecas bells also dated 1781 and still at Mission San Buenaventura. Only the inscriptions naming the saints to whom the bells are dedicated differ. Since Mis sion San Buenaventura was founded on the same expedition as the Santa Barbara Presidio, the similarity of these bells is quite important. Probably all three were cast in Zacatecas at the same time espe cially for the 1782 expedition.

Although it had been planned that Mission Santa Barbara would be esta blished immediately after the presidio, it was not founded until four years later on December 4, 1786. Apparently, Governor Neve made the decision to delay shortly after the founding of the presidio. It might be surmised that one of the three 1781 bells was originally intended for each

THE LOST BELLS

29

of che institutions to be established along the Santa Barbara Channel, especially since all three bells are approximately the same size and the practice at the time was to furnish each new mission with 32

bells of varying sizes.

The pair of bells at San Buenaventura was the subject of official correspondence in 1791; “In the Mission of San Buena ventura are two bells that belong to San ta Barbara that the fathers do not wish to return saying that they do not have any others.

Several interpretations may be drawn from this statement, one of which is that at least one of the two San Buenaventura bells was retained

of the world,^^ but it was kept in its crate at his ranch for many years. Following his death in 1905, the bell came into the possession of one of his sons, Frank 39

Bishop.

Finally, in 1937 it was donated to Mission Santa Barbara by Frank Bishop, apparently on the assumption that the bell had originally come from the mis sion. It was presented in a ceremony on the mission’s steps at the opening of that year’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta. This undated bell dedicated to the martyred saint after whom the presidio, mission

there in 1782 to await the founding of Mission Santa Barbara, but had not been sent to Santa Barbara as of 1791. Unfor tunately, like so many of the questions surrounding early California bells, lack of adequate documentation frustrates the ef fort to definitely resolve the issue.

In any event, both the date of the 1781 bell at Our Lady of Sorrows and the con nection with its sister bells at Mission San Buenaventura make it the most like ly to be an original bell from the Santa Barbara Presidio.

The undated bell, inscribed “SANTA BARBARA,” was the first to leave the collection at Out Lady of Sorrows Church.

Thomas B. Bishop an attorney and prominent Goleta Valley rancher, re ceived it as a gift from the church as a mark of gratitude and esteem for a gener 3^ ous service rendered.

Exactly when it was given to Bishop is not dear. A photo graph of the bells at the church published in 1892 shows the bell still among the four on the frame, but another photograph published in 1903 shows only three bells re 36 maining, the undated bell is gone.

Bishop added the undated bell to his collection of bells gathered from all parts

The undated bell given to Thomas B. Bishop today hangs in the west tower ofthe Santa Barbara Mission. William B. Dewey photo.

From the collection ofthe author. and city of Santa Barbara were all named, still hangs today in the west tower of the “Queen of the Missions.”

Whether it originally hung at the mission or at the presidio is an open question. In the first annual report of the mission, written at the end of 1787, two bells are mentioned, yet none of the bells at the mission now ate dated earlier than 1797.'’^ Perhaps the undated bell is one of

NOTICIAS

30

,

.

Imi 'ittIHi

*T i \

td¥i

the original bells of Mission Santa Barba ra from its founding in 1786. However, in the absence of further evidence, it is equally probable that it was originally used at the presidio.

Within a year after Reverend Vila’s death in 1895, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Polydor J. Stockman replaced him as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows. Under his pastorate numerous changes were instituted, including construction of the Armory Hall, estab lishment of the first parochial school in the parish, and remodeling of the church 42

building.

The second Our Lady of Sorrows Church, built after the 1865 fire destroyed the first, was apparently intended to have bell towers, but as of 1884 they were still not completed.'*^ Shortly after the turn of the century. Reverend Stockman acquired new bells for the church. Wood en towers on the facade of the building facing Figueroa Street were constructed in 1904 to house them.'” Three large bells

%

In igo^, wooden bell towers were V axided to Our LadyofSoT' rows. Thus began the

di

the six old bells still at the church.

were purchased, all cast at the McShane Bell Foundry Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Two were dated the same year they were installed: 1904. The third bears the date 1886 and was bought from the City of Los Angeles where it had been used as a fire alarm. This trio of bells still serves the parish from the present Our Lady of Sorrows Church at Anacapa and Sola Streets, With the addition of the new bells to the church in 1904, Reverend Stockman decided that the six old bells remaining at Our Lady of Sorrows were no longer needed and should be disposed of by melt ing them down for scrap metal. But according to a newspaper story at the time Two ofthe old bells which have hung in the garden ofthe parochial Epman Catholic Church for many years have been sold,and hereafter the different services of the church will be marked by the ringing

31

THE LOST BELLS ofnew bells, more musical perhaps than the originals, but devoid ofthe history and sentiment which surrounds the ancient chimes. The old bells have recently been secured by JAr. Nathan Bentzfor two wealthy Easterners ofFall I{iver,TAass., and Farmington, Conn. These two gentle men have farms at the places mentioned andfor some time past have been looking for old bells to ornament their country places. While in Santa Barbara a few months ago they left an order with TAr. Bentz i-O secure a pair ofold church bells, ifpossible, after searching unsttccessjully 47 in Southern California.

The sale of the two old bells caused quite a stir in the local community, as re ported in a later newspaper account: When it was learned that the bell had been sold, people were righteously indignant.

An appeal was made to the Bishop. He re plied that he could not break the contract, but he assured them that the remaining bells should not be taken from the town.

To make assurance doubly sure,friends of the old mission bought thefour remaining bells and had them hung in these longvacant arches. Two are dated lygy and 46 two 18^6.

The four bells transferred to the mis sion in 1904 are the same four eliminated earlier from consideration as possible original presidio bells. Both 1797 bells and one of the 1836 bells were cracked. In 1953. when the entire facade of the mis sion was rebuilt, these three bells were shipped to Holland to be recast, along with three other damaged bells. The six recasts, replicas of the originals but with out the cracks, were installed in the re constructed bell towers in December of

recasts of the other three bells brought from Our Lady of Sorrows in 1904 still hang in the towers of Mission Santa Barbara.

All seven of the bells in the collection at Our Lady of Sorrows appear to be ac counted for at this point: the undated bell was given to Thomas B. Bishop in the 1890s, four were moved to the mission in 1904, and the remaining two were sold to Easterners in the same year. The bells sold by Reverend Stockman were the two Zacatecas bells remaining after the third was taken by Bishop, one dated 1781 and the other dated 1722 or 1792.

But the latter bell mysteriously re enters the picture. In 1922 it was seen and photographed in a barn or garage on the grounds of Our Lady of Sorrows by a writer visiting Santa Barbara to research so the history of early California bells.

After the earthquake of 1925 virtually destroyed the church, a new Our Lady of Sorrows Church—the third—was con structed at the cornet of Anacapa and Sola Streets. It was completed in 1928 and still serves as the principal Catholic church in downtown Santa Barbara. The contractor for the new edifice was J. Frank Barrett of San Francisco. Barrett was also in charge of building the Rossi Memorial Chapel at El Retito San Inigo Jesuit Retreat House in Los Altos. Cali fornia. The two buildings were under construction at about the same time.^* During one of his visits to Santa Bar bara, Barrett discovered the 1722/1792 bell still in the garage on church proper ty. Needing a bell of that size for the tower of the new chapel .at El Retiro, he arranged with Rev. John C. Grisez, S.J., then pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, for the bell to be moved to Los Altos. It was

49

that year, joining the other older bells.

The original undamaged 1836 bell and the

installed in the Rossi Memorial Chapel 52 in 1929.

32

NOTICIAS

Almost 40 years later, a small group in Santa Barbara known as the Presidio

and crew had been hired to exchange the bells from the outside. A cheer of relief

Volunteers became actively involved in historical research and archeology relat ing to the Santa Barbara Presidio. Inquir ies made by the group in 1968 to explore the possibility of returning the bell to Santa Barbara proved fruitless, and the 53 matter was dropped.

But efforts to retrieve the bell were re

went up from onlookers when finally the historic old bell was safely lowered to the ground. Before its replacement was hoisted to the top of the tower. Re verend Foree assembled the clergy and staff of El Retiro and conducted a sim

vived in the late 1970s by Jeremy D. Hass and other volunteers interested in the pre sidio project. Through the help and coop eration of Rev. Martin L. Brewer, S.J., pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, and Rev. Donald C. Foree, S.J., director of El Reciro San Inigo Jesuit Retreat House, the fa thers at El Retiro agreed in 1978 chat the bell rightfully belonged in Santa Barbara 54 and graciously consented to its return.

Before the actual transfer could be

Upon the bell’s return to Santa Barba ra, a thick coat of silver paint covering the old bell was carefully removed, ex posing the aged bronze patina preserved beneath. The bell weighs 215 pounds and is 21 inches high. The clapper is a mod ern replacement of the original, and is too small in proportion to the bell. An inscription on the side reads, "LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION ORA PRO

made, however, a replacement bell "had to be provided. A new bronze bell, similar in size and design to the 1722/1792 bell, was obtained from Mexico with the assis tance of Santa Barbara architect Frank D. Robinson. It weighs 244 pounds and is decorated with a simple cross. The date of its casting, "ENERO 1, 1978” is in scribed on its side. The cost of the new bell was paid by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit corporation which operates El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park under a concession agreement with the State of California, As soon as the bell from Mexico ar rived, I drove to Los Altos with a sense of excited anticipation at the prospect of retrieving one of Santa Barbara’s lost bells. The exchange took place in the 35foot tower of Rossi Memorial Chapel on a beautiful sunny day, June 7, 1978.

Since the old bell could not be lowered from inside the tower, a 50-foot crane

ple but moving ceremony to bless the new bell.

NOBIS ANO DE 17?2, which trans-

The author and Rey. Martin L. Brewer, S.J., examine the bell upon its returnfrom Los Al tos. Note the squared Lip, characteristic of bells cast in Zacatecas. I^ay Borges photo, from the collection ofthe author.

33

THE LOST BELLS

I?

A crane lifts the replacement bell to its new home in the Kpssi Memorial Chapel at EL E^dro San Inigo Jesuit Entreat House From the coUecdon ofthe author.

lates: "The Immaculate Conception Pray for Us Year of 17?2.”

A small part of the third numeral in the date on the bell is missing (probably due to imperfect casting), leaving it sub ject to interpretation as either a "2 or a '‘9". Although one writer has interpreted the date to be 1722, 1792 is equally plausi-

ble.55 The ambiguity complicates the prob lem of tracing the bell’s history. If the bell was cast in 1722—sixty years before the presidio was founded—it would be one of the oldest in California. When the ex peditions of 1769 to establish the first missions in Alta California were provi sioned, a number of bells from old Jesuit missions in Baja California were collected and sent north, rather than having new bells cast for the venture.“ It has been theorized chat the El Retiro bell may have been one of them.^ In chat event, it

could be an original presidio bell, but it is equally likely that it might be one of the mission’s original bells.

If, on the other hand, the date of the bell is actually 1792, it could not have been an original bell at either the presidio or the mission, since it was not cast until several years after they were founded. It could have been brought to either place at some later time, however. All that is really known of the bell’s early history is that it played an important role in the daily life of the town during the nine teenth century when it was at Our Lady of Sorrows.

The bell was returned from El Retiro in Los Altos for exhibit in El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, which is being developed under a long term plan to reconstruct some of the pre sidio buildings. The chapel has been repli cated without a bell tower because of the

34

NOTICIAS

A casting imperfection raises the intriguing question: Is the dace of the bell 1722 or 1792? From che collection of the author.

lack of conclusive evidence chat one ever existed. A permanent exhibit for che bell has not yet been built, but ic has been dis played occasionally for special events.

Returning co che two bells sold co Easterners by Reverend Stockman in 1904, che tantalizing question of their face remains. As che decades passed, che memory of their removal from Santa Barbara faded. In spite of their historical importance, no record of who acquired them or what became of them found its

My search for che answers cook me co libraries, archives and museums chroughouc che scace and in ocher pares of che councry. The breakchrough came in June of 1970 when correspondence received from Massachusetts provided vital miss 59 ing pieces co che puzzle.

A prominent Fall River textile manu facturer, Spencer Borden, had delivered a religious speech on December 23, 1904, and subsequently had it published in a booklet. The subject of che address was a bell chat he had purchased from Rever end Stockman in Santa Barbara earlier 60

in che year. It was dated 1781.

The speech is a rambling discourse mixing California, American and world

Mrs. Spencer Borden rings the 1781 bell purchased in Santa Barbara in 1004. The tower the Bordens builtfor the bell on their Fall Fj-ver estate was a replica ofthe tower at the San Antonio de rala Asistencia (seen at nght). From the collection of the author. Pala photo, SBHS.

way into local publications. They were simply forgotten by the community.

Like any good detective story, each new piece of information I came across seemed to raise more questions chan an swers: If che 1722/1792 bell was one of che two sold by Stockman, how did ic re appear in Santa Barbara only to be taken co Los Altos in 1928? What happened co the ocher bell sold, che one dated 1781 and possibly brought co Santa Barbara for che presidio?

As local historian Walker A. Tomp kins wondered in 1961: It would be interesting to know ifthe two ancient bells which traveled Bastfrom Santa Barbara are still in existence today.Are they callingfarmhands infrom thefarfields ofMassachusetts and Connecticut? ^

● N ..I 1 ● ● I

THE LOST BELLS

history with religious supposition, and contains numerous factual errors. Borden conjectured that the six bells he saw at Our Lady of Sorrows had all come from Mission La Purisima Concepcion, but he offered no corroboration whatever, so it is difficult to give his presumption any cre dence.®’ Borden related details of how he ac quired the 1781 bell in a concluding note.

He also told of constructing a bell tower at his Fall River estate "Interlachen to hold his bell. The tower was a replica of the campanario at the Asistencia of San Antonio de Pala in San Diego County, which he had seen during his trip to Southern California.®^ Borden added one modern touch to his bell tower: an elec tric clock connected to the bell to ring 63 the hours.

No mention is made in Borden’s talk of the second bell supposedly sold by Stockman. Inquiries to several institu tions in or near Farmington, Connecti cut, turned up no trace of a bell arriving there in 1904. But subsequent research un covered a newspaper article containing

35

the name of the intended purchaser: Al 64 fred Pope of Farmington, Connecticut.

Pope and Borden were relatives, and the families of both men traveled togeth er to California in 1904. Borden—and therefore probably Pope—was aware of the objections raised by the people of Santa Barbara to the sale of the bells, as he mentioned them in his speech; It is interesting to /(now that so much ob' jection was made to the old bell leaving California, by the citizens and. Mayor of Santa Barbara,as well as by the Society ofthe Native Sons ofthe Qolden West, that Right Rev. T.]. Conaty, Bishop of Los Angeles, in deciding that the bell must come in the interest ofa contract fairly entered into between Father Stock' man and the purchaser, also decided that the sale ofno more bells should be permit65 ted,so removing themfrom his diocese.

Perhaps because of all the protests.

Pope decided to cancel the purchase and leave his bell in Santa Barbara, but this remains unclear, Borden wrote that "the remaining

36

NOTICIAS

five bells...have been caken to the Mis sion at Santa Barbara, and committed to the care of the Franciscan brothers for safe keeping.”^® Since only four bells were moved to the mission at that time, the fifth bell Borden referred to was probably the 1722/1792 bell left by Pope, which re mained at Our Lady of Sorrows and later went to El Retiro. A newspaper article published about four years later mentions the sale of only one bell—to Spencer Borden.®^ In any event, all seven of the bells known to have been at the church are accounted for, which further supports the premise that the second bell was nev er taken by Alfred Pope.

The bells at Our Lady of Sorrows ap parently received some measure of nation al attention, as reported in a later newspa per account; "One of these was takeq to the World’s Fair; one perhaps the same, was sold (by Father Stockman, it is said,) to Spencer Borden of Fall River, Massa¬

I) 68

chusetts, for his country estate.

The fabulous Louisiana Purchase Ex position—or St. Louis World’s Fair, as it is popularly known — opened in the spring of 1904 at about the same time the bells at Our Lady of Sorrows were being dispersed. Each state had it’s own pavi lion, many designed to reflect some char acteristic feature of the state represented.

It was very appropriate, therefore, that California should reproduce at the St. Louis Exposition one ofherfamous mis sions,and that ofSanta Barbara,founded in iy86, was selected as most typically representative. . . Only the mainfacade, with a small part ofthe arcaded cloisters, is shown, as to have included the whole would have extended the structure to an inconvenient length, without serving a corresponding purpose. In other respects, it is an exact replica,even to the hanging 69 ofthe bells in the terraced towers.

The California Pavilion at the igo^ St. Louis World’s Fair reproduced thefacade ofthe Santa Barbara Mission, complete uAth bells. From the collection ofthe author.

THE LOST BELLS

Although bells In the towers can plainly be seen in photographs of the California pavilion, research has yet to produce any descriptive record of the bells themselves or where they came from, A local committee prepared an ex hibit at the fair to represent Santa Bar bara County, which was considered sec ond only to that of Los Angeles among 70 all the county exhibits from California.

With so much Santa Barbara influence at the California pavilion, it is not im probable that one of the bells from Our Lady of Sorrows was indeed taken to the World’s Fair for exhibition. If not the 1781 bell purchased by Borden, perhaps the 1722/1792 bell that Pope had intended to buy was sent instead to St. Louis and then returned to Santa Barbara at the conclusion of the Exposition.

Following the death of Spencer Bord en in the 1920s, the 1781 bell was given in memory of a grandson, Ames Borden, to Milton Academy, a private preparato ry school in Milton, Massachusetts. It was installed in the tower of the Flarrison Otis Apthorp Chapel on the campus and dedicated there on December 8,1929.^' After the 1722/1792 bell was returned from El Retiro in 1978, informal inquiries to Milton Academy were made to explore the possibility of retrieving the 1781 bell.

Milton offered to sell the bell, but in Oc tober 1979, the offer was turned down by a board member of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation who said that the purchase price was beyond the 72 means of the group.

A year later, in October 1980, when 1 first learned that an offer had been made and rejected, I revived efforts to recover the bell, with the help of other interested individuals. Through the cooperation of Robert Haydock, Jr., president of the Milton Academy Board of Trustees, and

37 the invaluable assistance of Miss Frederi ca Dibblee Poett of Santa Barbara and Mrs. Leonard B. Colt, granddaughter of Spencer Borden, negotiations for pur chase of the bell from Milton Academy were successfully completed shortly thereafter.

I flew to Boston and arrived at Milton Academy on November 7, 1980. It was a chilly autumn day and I quickly found ivy-covered Apthorp Chapel, guarding one end of the campus green like a medie val stone castle. The bell was relatively easy to remove with the assistance of school staff. We slowly lowered it by hand, step by step, down a winding in terior stairway.

The departure of the 1781 bell did not leave the chapel’s bell tower empty. A larger bell dated 1920 rested on the floor at the top of the tower, probably the original bell installed in the chapel when it was constructed. It appeared to have been unused for many years, but lacked only a rope attached to its bell-wheel to make it functional again. Lettering on the side indicated that it had been cast at the same foundry as the new bells ac quired for Our Lady of Sorrows Church in 1904: the McShane Bell Foundry Company in Baltimore, Maryland.

Not wanting to risk shipping the his toric bell across country by conventional means, I was able to persuade the airline company to allow the carefully crated bell to make the trip back to California as excess baggage.” It never left my sight except when it was in the aircraft’s hold. Finally bringing the last of Santa Barbara’s '‘lost” bells back to the city culminated a true modern-day adventure and brought about a deep sense of person al satisfaction for all involved.

The bell weighs 230 pounds and is 23 inches high. Its inscription reads: "SAN

38

NOTICIAS

che restored Arlington Theatre and in the return to the city of an historical mural dating from the 1920s.

During the city's Bicentennial cele bration in 1981-1982, the bell was exhib ited at several locations in Santa Barba

Apthorp Chapel at T^iLton Academy was the homefor the iy8i Zacatecas bellfrom 1929 until 1980. From the collection ofthe author.

PASCUAL BAILON 1781,” indicating che name of che saint to whom the bell was dedicated and che year it was cast.

San Pascual Bailon was a humble Span ish friar of che sixteenth century noted 73 for his healing miracles.

As in che case of che 1722/1792 bell, che original clapper of che 1781 bell was missing. A replica has since been fabri cated of iron, che metal from which clappers for most early California bells were made. In all ocher respects che bell is in excellent condition, showing only signs of normal wear after more chan 200 years of continuous use.

Under an agreement with Milton Academy, 1 took possession of che bell in crust with che understanding chat owner ship would pass to a nonprofit organiza tion or governmental entity for eventual exhibit in El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park.^^ Santa Barbara Her itage, a nonprofit cultural organization, undercook che project of raising che funds needed to acquire che bell and arranging its public exhibition. The group’s activi ties include architectural history tours, historical publications and recovery of important cultural artifacts to Santa Barbara. Heritage has assisted in che ac quisition of a movie palace pipe organ for

ra. For the first time in 77 years, the people of Santa Barbara saw and heard che historic bell again—ringing out from a special float in che Old Spanish Days Fiesta Parade on August 6, 1981. A bell cower, patterned after che one built by Spencer Borden in Fall River, was sec in a pastoral scene of trees, flowers and ferns. Emblazoned on che sides in 300 dozen red carnations and yellow mari golds was "Santa Barbara’s Heritage."

Thousands along the parade route cheered joyously each time che bell was rung.

Generously sponsored by Bruce Corwin and the Metropolitan Theatre Corpora tion, che float won the parade’s first place trophy.

The bell was temporarily exhibited at che Santa Barbara Public Library and che Santa Barbara County Courthouse and was eventually moved to che Santa Bar bara Historical Society Museum where it has been displayed for several years. It will ultimately be placed on permanent exhibit in El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, as planned from che outset. Ownership of che bell is currently being transferred to che State, but che bell will remain at che museum until an ap propriate exhibit is developed at che park.

With che return of che 1781 bell from Massachusetts, all three of che Zacatecas bells in the collection at Our Lady of Sorrows Church are safely home. The question of which, if any, of these bells was originally brought to che presidio cannot be answered definitively until a reliable document positively identifying

39

THE LOST BELLS

the presidio’s bells is discovered. The final pieces of che puzzle are yec to be found.

Because of its dace and its connection with che bells at Mission San Buenaven tura, the 1781 bell is che one most likely to have been che first brought to Santa Barbara. If so, it is surely che city’s most treasured historical artifact.

On a recent visit to the Santa Barba ra Mission Archive-Library, I glanced in the Archivist’s office and saw the little watercolor of che presidio chapel still hanging on the wall. I smiled and remem bered chat day in 1969 when Father May nard started me on my quest. The search had been successful, but he died in 1977 before che lost bells were returned to San ta Barbara. I know he would have been pleased~che symbols of our city’s birch had at last come home.

Thousandssaw and heard the 1781 bellfor thefirst time during the 1981 Fiestaparade. Henry L. Fechtman photo,from the collection ofthe author.

1f

●^

NOTES 1. Fr. Maynard J. Geiger, O.F.M., was a noted histo rian of the California missions and Archivist at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library un til his death in 19772. The painting was done by James Madison Aldcn in 1855; sec Franz Steazel,James Madison Alden: Yanhee Artist ofthe Pacific Coast,1854-1860(Ft. Worth; Amon Carter Museum, 1975), p. 47.

3. Maynard J. Geiger(trans. and anno.), Pali'sLife ofjunipero Serraf^dshingion, D.C.; Academy of American Franciscan History, 1955), p- no.

4. Anconinc Tibcsar (ed.), VMtings ofjunipox)Serra, 4 vols.(Washington,D.C; Academy of Ameri can Franciscan History, 1966), IV: 124-141, 3843895. Hubert H- Bancroft, History ofCalifornia,7 vols.

(San Francisco; History Co., 1886-1890), 1:3723776. Neve to Croix, Monterey,July 19,1779, Archive General de la Nacion, Mexico City, Mexico; Provincias Intcrnas, 121. Translated by Geral dine V. Sahyun.

7. Geraldine V. Sahyun (trans.) and Richard S. Whitehead (cd.). The Voyage ofthe Frigate Princesa to Southern California in 1782(Santa Barba ra; Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library, 1982), pp.63-70,156.

8. Edith B. Webb, Indian Life at the Old Missions (Los Angeles: Warren F. Lewis, 1952), pp, 31369, Richard S. Whitehead, "Alta California's Four Fortresses," Southern California Quarteriy LXV, no. 1(Spring 1983); 84-85, 89, 10. Ibid., p. 87.

11. Alfred Robinson,Life in California, 2nd cd, rev.

(San Francisco; William Doxey, 1891), p. 276.

12. Walter A. Hawley, The Early Days ofSanta Barbara, California(New York; n.p., 1910), p.

3,713. Brian M. Fagan (comp.). The Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara: Archeolo^ of the Chapel Site (Santa Barbara; Calif. Dept, of Parks and Recre ation, 1976), pp. 14-19.

14. "Historic Presidio Map Found,” Santa Barbara News-Press, April 21,1982.

15. Santa Barbara Qazelle, Aug. 2,1855.

16. Hawley,Early Days ofSanta Barbara, p. 38; Juan Caballcria y Collell, History ofthe City ofSanta Barbara, California from Its Discovery to Our Own Days, trans. Edmund Burke (Santa Barba ra; F. de P. Gutierrez, 1892), p. 93.

17. Gonzalez Rubio, "Inventario de la Iglesia Parroquial de Sta. Barbara, 1856," Santa Barbara Mis sion Archive-Library.

18. Jesse D. Mason, History ofSanta Barbara and Ventura Counties, California (Oakland: Thompson & West, 1883), p. 325.

19. Charles E. Huse, Sketch ofthe History and Re sources ofSanta Barbara City and County, Cali fornia(Santa Barbara; Office of the Daily Press, 1876), p. 25; Charles C. Conroy, "Los Angeles Builds Its Cathedral,” Tidings, Apr. 27, 1951; Kurt Baer, The Treasures ofMission Santa Ines (Fresno; Academy of California Church Histo ry, 1956), p. 263.

20. ^phyrin Engelhardt, Santa Barbara Mission (San Francisco; James H. Barry Co., 1923), pp.

335-348; Maynard J. Geiger, Barbara 1782-1965(Santa Barbara; Heritage Print ers, 1965), pp. 153-157-162-163.

40

NOTICIAS

21. Los Angeles Semi-WeehLy News, May 31, 1867; Maynard J. Geiger, T^issionBeUsofSankiBarkC' m:ThdrHistoryandUpmance(n.p., 1955), p- 922. Geiger, NIission Bells ofSanta Barbara, pp. 7, 9.

23. Santa Barbara Daily Independent, Occ. 21,1895; SantaBarbaraMomingl^s,Oct. 22,1895.

24. Caballeria y CoIlcII, History ofSanta Barbara, p.

65.

25. The earliest found reference to the frame of bells is in E. N. Wood, Quide to Santa Barbara, Town and Country (Santa Barbara; Wood & Sefton, 1872), p. 16.

26. Geiger, Mission Bells ofSanta Barbara, pp. 9-10.

77. Ibid 28. Ibid., p. 4; Ward B. Holt, “The Bells of Saint Bar bara,” Westways, Sept., 1951, p. 24.

29. L. Elsinore Springer, ThatVanishingSound(Ntvj York; Crown Publishers, 1976), p. 2.

30. Marie T. Walsh, The Mission Bells ofCalifornia (San Francisco; Harr Wagner Pub. Co., 1934), pp. 71^2-. Francis J. Weber, A History ofSan Buenaventura Mission (San Buenaventura; San Buenaventura Mission, 1977), pp. 20-21.

31. Geiger, Palou’sUfeofSerra.p. 230.

32. Webb,Indian Life at the OldMissions, pp. 31-32.

33. "Que en la Mision dc Sn. Buenaventura hay dos campanas que pertinencen a la Sta. Barbara. Que los padres no li quienen devolvcr diciencio que no tienen otras.” Pages to Romeu, Apr. 26, 1791, Provincial State Papers, Missions and Coloniza tion, X:i7i, Bancroft Library.

34. SaniaBarbaraNews-Press, Aug.19,1937.

35. Charles H. Shinn, "Mission Bells,” Overland Monthly XEX 0an. 1892); 13.

36. Margaret Fenn Maurer, "Old Santa Barbara and Its Mission,” SuTiset Maga^yne, 11 0une 1903); 184.

37. SantaBarbaraNews-Press, Aug. 19,1937.

38. Interview with Ben Hartman(former superinten dent of Bishop ranch), July 3,1970.

39. Interview with James H. Bishop II(grandson of Thomas B. Bishop), July 30,1970.

40. Geiger, Mission Bells of^nta Barbara, p. 17; SanlaBarbaraNews-Press, Aug.19 & 20,1937.

41. Geiger, MissionBeiisofSantaBarbara,pp. 2,4.

42. Santa Barbara Sunday Daily News-Moming Press, Feb. 24,1935.

43. Santa Barbara Weekly Independent, Mar. 1,1884.

44. Santa Barbara Morning Pi^s, Apr. 22,1904; San ta Barbara Independent, April 22,1904.

45. Walsh, Mission Bells ofCalifornia, p. 82; Santa Barbara Independent,June 28,1904.

46. Geiger, MissionBelIsqfSantaBarbara,pp. 9-10. ^7.Santa Barbara iTudependent, May 11,1904.

48. M. C. Frederick, "Bells of Santa Barbara,” Los Angeles Times, n.d. (ca. 1908), Mary Bowman Scrapbook Collections, I; 187-188, Los Angeles Public Library. This article, containing vital data found nowhere else, was located by Ms.Joan Ru-

man Perkal, whose research assistance in the Los Angeles area is gratcfuUy acknowledged.

49. SantaBarbaraNewS'Prtss, Mar. 27,1953; Geiger.

MissionBellsofSantaBarbara,pp. 17-21.

50. Alice Harriman, "Bells of El Camino Real"(un published manuscript, Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library, 1925), p. 187.

5i. Sally N. Candiano,"A Bell for El Retiro”(unpub lished manuscript, El Retire San Inigo Jesuit Re treat House Library, Los Altos, 1968), pp. 11-13.

52. Ibid-i \K^dlsh,MissionBellsofCalifomia, p. 82.

53. Tom OBricn,"Prospects Dim for Bell’s Return,” Santa Barbara Neius-Press,]axi. 19,1969.

54. "Old Bell Back in Santa Barbara,” Santa Barbara News-Press,]une 25,1976.

55. Vanish, MissionBclis ofCalifornia,pp. 27,81-82.

56. Herbert E. Bolton (ed. and trans.), HistoricalMc' moirs of New California by Francisco Palou, O.FNI., 4 vok.(Berkeley; University of Califor nia Press, 1926), I; 53-56.

57. N/alsh, MissionBeUscfCaLfomia,p.82.

58. Walker A. Tompkins, “Old Mission Bells Once Rang from Site of La Arcada Building Patio.”

SantaBarbaraNcwS'Press, May 28,1961.

59. Fall River Public Library to the author, June 22.

1970; Fall River Historical Society to the au thor,June 24, 1970.

60. Spencer Borden, ABellandItsStory (Fall River, Mass.; Spencer Borden, 1905).

61. Ibid., p. 27.

62. Ibid., p. 36.

63. Frederick, "Bells of Santa Barbara.”

64. "Church Bells Sent East,” Z-os Angeles Daily Times, May 13,1904.

65. Borden, ABeliandltsSlory, p. 36.

S6. Ibid.

67. Frederick, “Bells of Santa Barbara.”

68. Ibid 69. J. W. BucI, Louisiana and the Fair (St. Louis; World's Progress Publishing Co., 1904), VI: 235870. H. C.Dimock, “Santa Barbara's Exhibit Second Best at Big Fair,” Santa Barbara Independent, Apr. 30.1904.

71. Fall River Historical Society to the author, June 24,1970.

72. Haydock, Jr., to Colt, Sept. 3,1980, Gledhill Li brary, Santa Barbara Historical Society Mu seum. Rejection of the offer was also confirmed in a telephone conversation between Mr. Haydock and the author on Oct. 21,1980.

73. Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater,(eds.), Butler’s Lives ofthe Saints, 4 vols.(New York; P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1956), II; 333-33774. Haydock,Jr., to Woodward, Nov.6,1980, Gled hill Library, Santa Barbara Historical Society Museum.

75. Marilyn McMahon, “Historic Artifact Returns to City," SantaBarbaraNews-PTess,]uly26.1981.

SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mrs. Jean Goodrich . . .

Mr. David W.Gledhill

President

Mr. David F. Myrick .

. . First Vice President Second Vice President

Mrs. Susan B. Simpson Mr. Michael Rodrigue

Secretary Treasurer

Mrs. Helene Beaver

Mr. J. James Hollister. Ill

Mrs. Jean Callanan Mr. Leland Crawford

Dr. C. Seybert tCinsell Mrs. Delfina R. Mott

Mr. Oswald J, Da Ros

Mr. Donn Tognazzini Mr. William G. Troiano, Jr.

Mr. C. John Douglas, III Mr. Michael Galvin

Mrs. Julie Villa Mr. John C. Woodward Mr. William F. Luton, Jr., Executive Director LIFE MEMBERS

Mr. Stephen A. Acronico Mr. and Mrs. William B. Azbell Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Beaver

Mr. Richard C. Harpham Mrs. Natalie B. Clark-Harpham Mr. and Mrs. Glenn D. Hillebrand Mr. Eric P. HvolboU

Mr. and Mrs. Danily Bell Mr. Marvin J. Branch Dr. and Mrs. Ashleigh Brilliant Mr. H. R. de la Cuesta Burkhart Mrs. Virginia Castagnola-Hunter Mr. and Mrs. Pierre P. Claeyssens Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cleek Mrs. M. C. Conkey Mrs. Florence Corder-Witter Mr. J. V. Crawford Mr. Richard G. Croft, Jr. Marla Daily Mrs. R. E. Danielson. Jr.

Dr. C. Seybert Kinsell Mr. and Mrs. William F. Luton, Jr. Mrs. Jane Rich Mueller Mr. Spencer L. Murfey,Jr. Mr. William W. Murfey Mr. David F. Myrick Mr. and Mrs. Godwin J. Pelissero Miss Frederica D. Poett Mrs. Rena Redmon Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ridley-Tree Mrs. Alma R. Ritchie Mr. and Mrs. Wade Rubottom

Mr. and Mrs. Oswald J. Da Ros Mrs. Albert de L'Arbre Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Fish

Mrs. Russell A. Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Forbes

Mrs. Melville Sahyun Mr. Peter J. Samuelson Mrs. Nina Sandrich

Mrs. Helen W.Foyer Master John Galvin Mr. Michael Galvin

Mr. and Mrs. J. Terry Schwartz Mrs. David Shoudy Mr. Walter G. Silva

Miss Sally Gane Mr. and Mrs. Keith Gledhill

Mr. and Mrs. Burke H. Simpson Mr. Ivano Paolo Vit

Mr. and Mrs. John C. Woodward BENEFACTORS: Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Northern Trust of California, Jon Douglas Company and Two Anonymous

Categories of membersh^; Life/Benefactor, $5,000 or more; President's Circle. $1,000; Patron, $500; Associate, $250; Sustaining, $ioo; Supporting. $50; Regular, $30.

Contributions to the Society are tax-exempt.

Museum & Library; 136 East De la Guerra St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101 ● Telephone: 805/966-1601

Non-Profic Organization U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara California Permit No.534

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine of the Santa Barbara Historical Society P.O. Box 578 Santa Barbara, California 93102-0578

Address Correction Requested Forwarding Postage Guaranteed

CONTENTS: Pg. 21: Santa Barbara's First Bells