Q 01/05

Which nickname is often given to Mission Santa Barbara, the tenth in California's chain of 21?

A) Queen of the Missions

B) King of the Missions

C) Jewel of the Missions

D) Mother of the Missions

Answer · why

A) Queen of the Missions

Queen of the Missions has a royal partner down the coast: San Luis Rey, the largest of the chain, is nicknamed the King of the Missions.

Q 02/05

Which feature, finished in 1831, makes Mission Santa Barbara's church unique among all the California missions?

A) A star-shaped front window

B) A dome over the altar

C) Two matching bell towers

D) A freestanding bell wall

Answer · why

C) Two matching bell towers

Two matching bell towers appear on no other California mission; the stone church was completed in 1820 with only one, and its twin was added in 1831.

Q 03/05

Which prize-winning children's novel was inspired by Juana Maria, the Lone Woman buried at Mission Santa Barbara?

A) The Witch of Blackbird Pond

B) Island of the Blue Dolphins

C) Julie of the Wolves

D) My Side of the Mountain

Answer · why

B) Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins retells her 18 years alone off the California coast; she died just seven weeks after reaching the mainland in 1853.

Q 04/05

Which US president returned Mission Santa Barbara to the Catholic Church in 1865?

A) Andrew Johnson

B) Ulysses S. Grant

C) James Buchanan

D) Abraham Lincoln

Answer · why

D) Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln restored the mission to the Church on March 18, 1865, less than a month before his assassination; the friars received Santa Barbara's ...

Q 05/05

Which 1812 disaster destroyed Mission Santa Barbara's third church and led to the stone church standing today?

A) An earthquake

B) A wildfire

C) A flash flood

D) A lightning strike

Answer · why

A) An earthquake

An earthquake on December 21, 1812 wrecked the adobe chapel, and the padres chose to rebuild on a grander scale in stone, finishing the work by 1820.