The Cross silhouetted against an orange and blue sunset sky, with trees and a picnic table in shadow
Serra Cross Park
DonatePlan your event

History

The Cross on the hill

A wooden cross has marked the hill above Mission San Buenaventura since the Mission's first years. The weather took two. Firefighters saved the one that stands today.

Since 1782

Two centuries on the hill

On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782, Father Junípero Serra founded Mission San Buenaventura. He planted a wooden cross on the beach south of the present church. Soon after, a large wooden cross went up on the hill above the Mission, a landmark for travelers.

The hill has held a cross for most of the years since. The weather wore out the first, a storm took the second, and a women's club raised the third. The Cross that stands today went up in 1941, and firefighters kept it standing through the Thomas Fire. Here is the story, year by year.

Painted portrait of Father Junípero Serra in a Franciscan habit
Portrait of Father Junípero Serra

Timeline

Year by year

  1. March 31, 1782

    Serra founds the Mission

    On Easter Sunday, Father Junípero Serra founds Mission San Buenaventura and plants a wooden cross on the beach south of the present church. It is the ninth mission he founded, and his last. He stays three weeks, then leaves for Santa Barbara.

    Mission San Buenaventura church and bell tower from the street, sepia photograph
    Mission San Buenaventura, undated archival photograph

  2. Soon after

    A cross on the hill

    A large wooden cross goes up on the hill above the Mission, a landmark for travelers.

  3. 1860s

    A second cross goes up

    Worn down by the weather, the original cross is replaced.

  4. November 5, 1875

    A storm takes the cross

    The second cross blows down in a storm. The hill goes almost 40 years without one.

  5. September 9, 1912

    E.C.O. Club raises a cross

    On Admission Day, members of the E.C.O. Club, a women's service organization, raise a new wooden cross at the current site.

    Crowd in early 1900s dress gathered around the wooden Cross on the open hilltop, black and white
    Gathering at the Cross on the hilltop, undated archival photograph

  6. 1918

    The Grants give the hill

    Kenneth and Tonie Grant give 107 hillside acres to the City of San Buenaventura. It becomes Grant Park.

  7. Around 1920

    Roads reach the Cross

    The first roads to the Cross are built.

  8. March 31, 1932

    A pedestal for the Cross

    For the 150th anniversary Mass, a circular stone pedestal and a concrete path are built.

    The wooden Cross on a stone base with low stone walls and cactus on the bare hilltop, black and white
    The Cross and its stone base, undated archival photograph

  9. 1941

    The city raises today's Cross

    The city replaces the 1912 cross with the one that stands today.

  10. Spring 2003

    A lawsuit threatens the Cross

    A lawsuit is threatened on separation of church and state grounds: a government owning a religious landmark.

  11. Summer 2003

    The Conservancy buys the Cross

    The City Council votes to sell the Cross and an acre around it to the highest bidder. Serra Cross Conservancy receives donations from community members and is the highest bidder, taking ownership of the Cross.

  12. January 2010

    Stoneworkers build the ramparts

    Stoneworkers from around the world build the ramparts in ten days. A family from Japan that has built castle walls for eight generations leads the work. The walls are dry-stone from an Ojai quarry: no mortar, held by gravity. A hand-carved stone sphere sits on one rampart.

    Carved stone sphere on the rampart with the Cross, a sailboat, the ocean and the Channel Islands
    The hand-carved stone sphere on the rampart, with the Cross and the Channel Islands

  13. December 5, 2017

    Firefighters save the Cross

    The Thomas Fire burns much of the park. Firefighters save the Cross.

    The charred Cross against a hazy sky with the sun behind the crossbeam, black and white
    The Cross after the Thomas Fire, December 2017

  14. After the fire

    Replanting the hill

    Pete Dufau of Dufau Landscape in Ventura donates and installs part of the new landscaping. Volunteers keep replanting.

    Volunteers in orange vests digging and spreading mulch on the burned hillside
    Volunteers replanting the hillside after the fire

The stonework

In January 2010, stoneworkers from around the world built the ramparts in ten days. A family from Japan that has built castle walls for eight generations led the work. The walls are dry-stone from an Ojai quarry: no mortar, held by gravity alone. The Stone Foundation brought rock knockers from several states to learn the method. A hand-carved stone sphere sits on one rampart.

Read about the stonework
Corner of a dry-stone rampart of fitted sandstone and granite blocks, with a block wall at left
Dry-stone rampart corner above the lower terrace

Give

Keep the park cared for

Every gift replants what the Thomas Fire took and keeps the park open to everyone, all year.

Give to the park

Serra Cross Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Tax ID 20-8615264.