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Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
ph (805) 965-0093
fax (805) 568-1999
PO Box 388,
Santa Barbara,
CA 93102 |
Santa Inés Mission Mills
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Sketch of the Santa Inés Mission Fulling Mill |
While continuing to rebuild and extend the Mission Santa Inés complex, Padre Francisco Xavier de la Concepción Uría, in 1819, selected a site about a half mile from the church along the banks of Alamo Pintado Creek, for the construction of a grist mill. It was a massive work, consisting of two connected reservoirs built into the slope of a hill with a mill structure at the lower end. The water was supplied by a small zanja (conduit) snaking along the edge of the Santa Ynez River terrace for more than two miles. The mill itself was of ancient design - a horizontal wheel powered by a water jet that turned a stone attached to its axle. Crude, but appropriate to the water supply and the amount of grain to be ground. However, the key to his plans, a fulling mill to take advantage of the endless supply of wool, something the padres had been talking about since the 1790s, required a miracle.
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| Mills Sketch |
Uría’s prayers were answered in the person of the Yankee craftsman, Joseph Chapman. Captured in Monterey in late 1818 during the raid of the Argentine privateer, Hippolyte de Bouchard, Chapman earned parole when Governor Solá discovered his mechanical prowess. To Uría’s delight, Chapman arrived at Santa Inés in December 1820, and within minutes, sketched out an ingenious plan for a fulling mill. Chapman supervised the construction of a typical New England overshot wheel, the power from which pounded and turned woolen cloth at the same time it was being washed by a steady stream of fresh water. Uría was now prepared to show the genius of European civilization to the natives and improve the economic status of the missions.
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| Original grist millstone |
Whether he had much of a chance to do so is doubtful. In 1823-24, the Chumash revolt stopped progress and badly damaged the Mission buildings. Uría was immediately transferred to Santa Barbara and, later, Soledad. Work with the natives slowed. Inevitably secularization overtook Mission Santa Inés, and property was divided in 1836 under orders from Governor Mariano Chico. Apparently the mill property was separated from the Mission at that point, for there is no mention of it when Mission property was restored to the Franciscan order.
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Santa Inés Mission Mills Today |
Thus the mill structures have stood for more than a century and a half, and through a combination of good luck and, especially in recent times, respectful owners, the entire complex has come down to us intact, except, of course, for the ravages of time. The last previous owners, Ellen and Harry Knill, comprehending the immense value to history and understanding what it represents, not only took care to preserve the site, but sponsored archaeological studies and roofed the mill buildings before transferring title to the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Santa Inés Mission Mills are currently not open to the public. A guided tour of the Mills may be arranged by appointment only. For more information please contact the Trust at (805) 965-0093.
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