California missions spotlight: Why La Purísima Concepción became the site of a deadly uprising

La Purísima Concepción, Lompoc

11th mission

1787

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Unlike most California missions, La Purísima is surrounded by open countryside and is owned by the state, not the Catholic Church. Once spanning 300,000 acres, La Purísima Mission State Historic Park now has 1,928 acres and 25 miles of trails. Visitors can explore 37 restored and furnished rooms, see a collection of live farm animals and encounter living history presentations by volunteers in period costumes. While you’re roaming the placid scene, keep in mind there was big trouble here in 1824 when neophytes took over La Purísima after reports that one had been flogged at nearby Santa Inés Mission. The Spanish had to send 109 soldiers from Monterey to retake control, a battle in which 16 Native Americans and one Spanish soldier were killed. The mission church no longer celebrates Mass. The site became a state park in 1935 and has more than 200,000 visitors yearly. Much of its reconstruction was done in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Nearby: Lompoc’s hills are full of wineries, and its downtown Wine Ghetto, formerly an industrial park, has largely been overtaken by tasting rooms (www.lompoctrail.com/map.pdf). For an outdoorsier adventure, head 21 miles southwest to isolated Jalama Beach County Park, where you’ll find a great burger stand, campground and miles of undeveloped coastline.

Info: 2295 Purísima Road, Lompoc; (805) 733-3713, www.lapurisimamission.org. Driving distance from Los Angeles City Hall: 155 miles northwest.

From the archives:

In 1935, Josefa Malo de Janssens wrote in The Times of her childhood at La Purísima after the missions had been secularized and her father purchased the site.

In 1986, The Times reported on the living history programs at Purísima.

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