Entry No. 35 — the Santa Barbara file — filed under: mission cemetery

Old Mission Santa Barbara Cemetery & Mausoleum

Behind the postcard facade of the "Queen of the Missions" is a walled cemetery holding more than 4,000 Chumash dead from disease and mission-era hardship — almost all in unmarked ground — while the tombstones and mausoleums that visitors photograph belong almost entirely to non-Native settlers. It's a blunt, visible record of whose deaths the historical record chose to name.

The move: Buy the self-guided tour ticket, skip the gift shop, and walk the cemetery wall reading the mausoleum names against the blank lawn beside them — then talk about which 4,000 stories never got carved into stone.

• 📍 Mission Canyon / Upper State
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · Official site

last checked: 2026-07-20