Step Back in Time at La Purisima Mission

​Experience a historical journey at La Purísima Mission State Historic Park, where 4th grade classrooms can explore the history of California missions and the challenges faced by the Chumash people under Spanish rule.

Located on the ancestral lands of the Chumash people at a place they call 'Amuwu'. La Purisima Mission is the 11th California Spanish colonial mission and was the site of the 1824 revolt, the largest Indigenous revolt on the west coast of North America.

When the Spanish established the missions, they introduced European building techniques, trades, livestock such as sheep and cattle, and crops like wheat, corn, grapes, and beans. The mission industry prospered relying on the exploited labor of the Chumash people to build the mission, manage livestock herds, grow crops, and produce trade goods. In addition, the introduced agricultural practices of large grazing animal herds and the growing of non-native crops created an environmental crisis caused by overgrazing of native meadows, water pollution, and an invasion of non-native plants. The effects of these practices are still present today.

Additionally, the spread of diseases brought in by the Spanish and their livestock had devastating effects on the Chumash community. The Chumash fought to survive the mission era in various ways through subtle acts of resistance, protests, and eventually the largest revolt against the Spanish Empire in California. Today, La Purísima stands as the most fully restored Mission in California, surrounded by nearly 2,000 acres of open space, providing a place to reflect on the history of the site.

Join us and learn about La Purisima's history of tragedy and resistance, and how Chumash today continue to preserve their culture, history, and way of life.