An active team of docents are available to
assist with local historical research
projects and to interpret the artifacts
found throughout the facility. The
Historical Society has no paid staff and
depends strictly on volunteers and private
donations to carry on the work of
preserving Lompoc’s colorful history.
The original site sits amidst private
residences which were built atop the
buried mission ruins. Visible remains
include the stone supports for the chapel
entrance and portions of cisterns,
aqueducts, foundation stones and tile
floor fragments. The property is owned
by the City of Lompoc, which also
purchased the few remaining vacant
parcels in the area to preserve what is
left of the original La Purisima Mission.
Original Location of
La Purisima Mission
End of South F Street
The Spanne Building
111 South I Street (805) 736-4567
Lompoc Valley Historical Society
Fabing-McKay-Spanne House
207 North L St. (805) 735-4626
Open Monday and Thursday Mornings
9 - 11 am (except holidays)
and the fourth Saturday of the month,
10 am - 1 pm
Special tours accommodated
by prior arrangement
Admission by voluntary donation
www.lompochistory.org
The Fabing-McKay-Spanne House was
constructed in 1875, less than a year after
the founding of the town of Lompoc. The
imposing 10 room Victorian farmhouse
was Lompoc’s first two story wooden
residence and has been designated City
of Lompoc Historical Landmark number
four.
In 1968, the Lompoc Valley Historical
Society purchased the property and fully
renovated and furnished the home in
typical Victorian style.
A Blacksmith Shop, Museum Room,
Reference Library and Carriage House
complete the facilities.
The original location of La Purisima
Mission is a State and National
Landmark. Situated at the end of South F
Street in Lompoc, its location belies the
magnitude and importance of the
eleventh
of
California’s
Spanish
missions. The mission at this location
was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812.
The large crevice in the hillside above
opened as a result of the earthquake and
tons of mud and water buried much of
what remained of the mission. The
following year, the Franciscan fathers
moved La Purisima across the river north
of present day Lompoc.
The Spanne Building is constructed of
diatomaceous bricks and it has served
many different functions since it was built
in 1892, including warehouse, mortuary,
store and print shop. It now houses the
Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce &
Visitors Bureau as well as private offices.
The mural on the side of the building was
completed in 1990 and depicts the era
when the Lompoc Valley was beneath
the sea and diatoms settled at the
bottom in great masses. Today, these
diatoms have created the diatomaceous
mining industry which has been in
existence in Lompoc for more than 100
years.
Interested in
Local
History?
Lompoc Valley Chamber of
Commerce & Visitor's Bureau
111 South I Street
P.O. Box 626
Lompoc, CA 93438-0626
Phone (805) 736-4567
(800) 240-0999 Fax (805) 737-0453
www.lompoc.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Open weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday Lobby 10 am to 2 pm
and at its peak inhabitants herded as many
as 24,000 cattle and sheep.
Today, history lives at La Purisima. The
most extensively restored mission in the
state, La Purisima hosts over 200,000
visitors each year for recreation and a
chance to explore California's heritage.
La Purisima Mission
State Historic Park
2295 Purisima Rd.
(805)733-3713
Open daily 9 am – 5 pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and
New Years Day
Admission: $6 parking fee
www.lapurisimamission.org
A dedicated group of docents, “Prelado de
los Tesoros” (Keepers of the Treasures)
provide costumed living history events,
guided tours, demonstrations and outreach
programs to bring the history of the
mission period to life.
The La Purisima Mission land holdings
once covered nearly 470 square miles.
Bordered by the Santa Maria River in the
North and the Gaviota coastline in the
South, the land was home to the Chumash
people and Spanish settlers. The mission
was best known for its hides and blankets,
The Museum is home to the Clarence
Ruth collection of Native American
artifacts. The collection consists mainly of
local Chumash items gathered during Mr.
Ruth’s surveys of northern Santa Barbara
County in the 1930’s. When you visit the
Lompoc Museum, you enter the world of
the Chumash Indians, recreated through
the objects they made and used in their
daily lives.
The downstairs gallery is known as the
Lompoc Valley Historical Society Gallery
and includes exhibits on the Mission,
Rancho and Modern period of Lompoc
history. Simulated storefronts display
artifacts that were instrumental in the daily
lives of early Lompoc settlers.
La Purisima Mission was established in
1787 as the eleventh in the chain of 21
Spanish Missions in Alta California. The
original mission was destroyed by an
earthquake in 1812 and was subsequently
moved to its present location north of
Lompoc.
After years of neglect and ruin, the Civilian
Conservation Corps began restoration
efforts in the 1930’s under President
Roosevelt’s New Deal Program. The rebuilt
mission was dedicated on December 7,
1941.
Constructed in 1911, the building is
Lompoc Historical Landmark number one
and is on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Lompoc Museum
200 South H Street (805) 736-3888
Open 1 – 5 pm Tuesday through Friday
1 – 4 pm Saturday and Sunday
Admission: $1 suggested donation
Children and members: Free
Group tours available by appointment
www.lompocmuseum.org
The Lompoc Museum, established in
1969, is located in Lompoc’s former
Carnegie Library Building.
Also included are displays about the local
flower seed and diatomaceous earth
mining industries as well as the 1923
Tragedy at Honda Naval Disaster. Photos
of early Lompoc are displayed courtesy of
the Lompoc Valley Historical Society.
The Juanita Centeno gallery, also located
downstairs
houses
temporary
and
traveling cultural, artistic and historical
exhibits.
Artesia School Museum
Chestnut Ave. and North H St.
Open the fourth Saturday
of the month, 2 - 4 pm
www.lompocmuseum.org
Artesia School was Lompoc Valley’s
first one-room country schoolhouse,
constructed in 1876. It operated as a
school from 1876 until 1961, when it
was used as storage and fell into
disrepair.
Originally located at Artesia and
Central Avenues, the school was
relocated to its present location by the
Lompoc Unified School District in
1972. It is designated as City/County
Landmark number three.
It was restored by the school district
and fully furnished with period pieces,
many of which were original to the
school through the courtesy of the
Lompoc Valley Historical Society.