VENTURA : Tale of Mission Bells to Be Told in Tour
The bells of Mission San Buenaventura tolled for about 50 years after the building was finished in 1789, calling Indians to work and prayer.
The story of the bells and those who lived within their echoes will be related Saturday during a walking tour that will include a look at the stone foundations of the barracks where Chumash Indians once lived.
Shirley Sager, Albinger Museum assistant manager who will guide the tour, said Spanish priests arrived in the area in 1782. By 1789, the mission was complete. As the priests worked on converting the Indians to Catholicism, they set up workshops in woodworking, basket-making and leather work. Indians also worked in the kitchens and as cowboys, shepherds and goat-herders in the fields.
Tour participants can try their hand at weaving or wool preparation, Sager said. They’ll also see the kind of food the mission people ate.
The tour will begin at the museum, 113 E. Main St., Ventura, at 1 p.m.
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