Browse Items (249 total)

Daniel Hill, an immigrant from Massachusetts, built this major adobe for his California-born bride, Rafaela Ortega, in 1825-26. A later owner was Captain John Wilson, whose wife, Ramona, was the mother of California Governor Romualdo Pacheco. In the…

Interior of San Miguel Arcángel Mission, San Luis Obispo, California

Jackson Cianfrone came to Santa Barbara with his Italian parents in 1923 when he was one year old. He attended local schools including Franklin kindergarten and Santa Barbara Middle and High School. He was drafted into the military where he worked…

Born May 7, 1919 at Cottage Hospital, Jayne Kelsey Wickman grew up in the Presidio neighborhood and has become a true humanitarian of Santa Barbara. She met Swede Wickman, who she would eventually marry, while vacationing in Los Prietos (Santa Ynez)…

Professor John Kemble's history class from Pomona College in the rear of the Canedo Adobe, 1956. The class was on its way north on a spring break trip with a Gold Rush theme, and stopped by the home of Elmer and Barbara Whittaker, good friends of Dr.…

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1926, Jim Mills and his family moved to Santa Barbara in March 1930. He credits his father’s courage in the decision – it was during the Depression and he had no job, just a friend to stay with…

California State Senator Gary Hart, left, and California State Assemblyman Jack O'Connell, right, on the occasion of presenting, on behalf of the State Legislature, a Joint Resolution of Commendation to the then-President of the Santa Barbara Trust…

Of Chumash and Spanish descent, Jack and his family moved from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara in 1946 for a better life. Jack recalls the invisible racial lines of both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara and how both cities have changed. Despite growing up…

The above is an interview between two longtime Santa Barbara residents Julia Forbes and Louise Ardohain. Born in Pasadena, Julia Forbes moved to Santa Barbara as a five year old in 1919. She graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1931 and went…

Born April 4, 1937 in Milwaukee, Kathi Brewster lived in the Midwest until 1961, when her husband’s General Motors job transfer took them out West to Santa Barbara. In 1963 she started taking adult education courses at Santa Barbara City…