Serra Cross

The Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Junípero Serra on March 30, 1782. According to E. M. Sheridan's "History of Cross On Hill", written in 1928, the erection of a cross at a highly visible point was "the first act of the Mission Fathers", seeking to establish a guide-post to those coming to the Mission by land or sea.[1] According to Sheridan's account, Father Serra himself erected and blessed the cross on what was thereafter called "La Loma de la Cruz".[1] According to the traditional story, the cross was erected even before the Mission itself was built.[2]

However, some contend that the story about Father Serra personally erecting the cross in 1782 is not factual.[3] In his 1930 history, "San Buenaventura: The Mission by the Sea", Father Zephyrin Engelhardt rejected the traditional story:

"The first Cross was planted there, so the settlers will say, by Fr. Junipero Serra, the founder of Mission San Buenaventura. However, that is an error. When Fr. Serra started the Mission, he planted and blessed the Cross on the spot where the altar of the church would be located. Such was the rule for all occasions. He was not then in physical condition to climb to the top of the hill, nor is there any record of the raising of the Cross on the mount. Fr. Palou would surely have noted the incident."[4]

Engelhardt was unable to ascertain precisely when the first cross was raised on the hill.[4]

The first cross became decayed and collapsed, reportedly in the early 1860s.[1] Shortly thereafter, the cross was rebuilt under the supervision of Father John Campala, also known as Padre Juan, who was then the presiding priest at the Mission San Buenaventura. The second cross collapsed in a windstorm on November 2, 1875. An article published four days later in the Ventura Free Press noted: "Fallen—the wooden cross, which stood on the summit of the hill back of town, after having stood the storms of a decade, succumbed to the elements on Tuesday night and fell. A cross placed on the same spot when the Mission was founded, and the emblem of Christianity has always been replaced whenever it fell."[1]

For more than 35 years after Father John Campala's cross collapsed, no cross was erected at the site.[1] After the 1875 storm, Ventura de Arnaz, then approximately 16 years old, climbed the hill with her father to survey the damage. The girl retrieved the headpiece from the cross, the portion bearing the inscription "INRI",[5] and retained it as a souvenir. Arnaz later donated the headpiece to the Ventura Pioneer Museum, predecessor to The Museum of Ventura County.[1][6] According to Sheridan's account, the headpiece discovered by Arnaz had been attached to the cross with wooden pegs and was a remnant of the original cross erected by Father Serra in 1782.[1] The headpiece remains "one of the prized possessions" of The Museum of Ventura County.[7]

In 1912, a movement to rebuild the cross on the hill was led by Myrtle Francis, head of the Landmarks Committee, Sol N. Sheridan, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and Alice Bartlett, head of the E. C. O. Club.[8] Sheridan led a party to cut down Jeffrey pine trees in Santa Paula canyon to build the new cross, and R. E. Brakey cut the trees and hauled them back to Ventura. The logs were hewn and cured at the Peoples' Lumber Company under the supervision of Selwyn Shaw, a local builder who also designed the mount for the new cross.[1]

On September 9, 1912, the new cross was erected on the site of Father Serra's original cross.[1] The 26-foot replacement cross was dedicated in a ceremony that included a live band and speeches.[7] The Ventura Free Press described the ceremony at length on its front page and concluded: "Never has the town seen such an outpouring of people. The event was an unusual one for any community. It has never happened before, nor anything just like it, nor, is it likely to happen again within the next hundred years."[9] The ceremony began at the Mission with the ringing of the old Mission bells, including a vesper bell that had been silent for years. A procession up the hill, accompanied by Santa Barbara's St. Aloysius Band, was led by grand marshal, Francisco Camarillo, followed by the Franciscan fathers of Santa Barbara, E. C. O. Club members, Ventura County Pioneers, Native Daughters of the Golden West, city and county officials, and school children from throughout the county "carrying an immense American flag."[9] A large crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 persons gathered at the site of the cross for its dedication. Upon the raising of the cross, the Franciscans blessed it, and children from Oxnard's St. Joseph school sang. Several speeches were given, and an original poem about the cross was read by John S. McGroarty, who was later designated as California'a poet laureate.[9][10]

In 1915, residents of Ventura began an annual tradition of walking up the hill to the cross for an Easter sunrise service.[11]

In 1919, petitions were circulated seeking construction of a road to the cross through Grant Park.[12]

On April 3, 1932, a crowd of 5,000 persons gathered at the cross to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Father Serra's founding of the mission; after a procession from the Mission, an American flag was presented to the city, mass was celebrated by John Joseph Cantwell (the first archbishop of Los Angeles), choirs sang, an original poem was read by John S. McGroarty, and a speech was given by John G. Mott.[13][14] Also in 1932, the cross was illuminated for the first time. An article in the Los Angeles Times opined: "The red outline makes a striking image on the hillside."[15]

In 1941, the cross was replaced by the Alice M. Bartlett Club.[7][16]

In 1966, the cross was placed on a platform and illuminated with fluorescent lighting.[16]

In 1974, the cross site was one of the first six locations named as a City of Ventura Historic Landmark. It was designated as Ventura Historic Landmark No. 5.[17]