Once covering almost 470 square miles, La Purisima Mission is located in the Santa Barbara County city of Lompoc. Established in December 1787 by Father Presidente Fermin de Lasuén, the La Purisima Mission was the 11th Franciscan mission founded in California. An earthquake in 1812 severely damaged the buildings of the mission. Father Mariano Payeras was given permission to rebuild the mission four miles northwest in the Canyon of the Watercrest.
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain, control of the California mission was given to the civil powers. La Purisima became privately owned, and the buildings were not properly maintained. The Union Oil Company gave a section of the old mission property to the state of California in 1933, and the National Park service oversaw the restoration of the mission's buildings. Today, 10 of the original structures are completely restored. The mission is considered to be the most fully refurbished mission in California.
La Purisima Mission State Park
2295 Purisima Road
Lompoc, CA 93436
805-733-3713
lapurisimamission.org
In 1942, in response to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, 10 internment camps were erected in the U.S. to house Japanese Americans. One of these camps, Manzanar, is located in Southern California's Owen Valley on 6,200 acres that was leased by the U.S. Army in 1942.
Manzanar was patrolled by military police and was surrounded by barbed wire, guard towers and searchlights. Ten thousand people lived in Manzanar by September 1942, with eight people sharing a 20-by-25 foot room. Between March 1942 and November 1945, 11,070 Japanese Americans came through Manzanar. On March 3, 1992, Manzanar become a National Historic Site.
Manzanar National Historic Site
P.O. Box 426
Independence, CA 93526
760-878-2194 ext. 2710
www.nps.gov/manz
Located on property once owned by Henry E. Huntington, The Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens, also known as The Huntington, was established in 1919. Today The Huntington welcomes more than 500,000 visitors yearly.
The Huntington library has more than six million items, some of which are reserved for the research needs of qualified scholars. In addition to a Gutenberg Bible and early editions of Shakespeare's works, the library contains materials that follow the development of the American West.
The Huntington Art Gallery is housed in the former residence of Henry Huntington and his wife Arabella. There are three permanent art galleries at the Huntington. There is also a gallery with changing exhibits. The American Art Collection includes work from the 1690s to the 1950s.
The Huntington
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
626-405-2100
huntington.org
