History of Saint Barbara

Because Saint Barbara is identified by her famous stone tower with the three windows constructed at her request, she is regarded as the patron saint of architects, builders, and stone masons. For a resort such as Santa Barbara, renowned for its architectural past and present, and graced by miles of magnificent hand-cut stone walls, the symbol of Saint Barbara is wonderfully fitting.

Because Saint Barbara's tower overlooked the ocean where she could watch the changing tides and observe the movements of the moon and stars, Saint Barbara has also been the patron saint of sailors. making her an appropriate patron for a seaside city with more than a century of commercial fishing and recreational boating.

Saint Barbara Protectress

Saint Barbara has been regarded as the protectress against "sudden death" — which has traditionally been held as death by lightning, fire, flood, and earthquake. Although Santa Barbara has been frequented by these natural disasters, remarkably few deaths have been ascribed to our major fires, floods, and earthquakes.

When gunpowder was invented, Saint Barbara was called upon as intercessor to protect artillery men from sudden death. For this reason, the section of battleships which hold the weapons are referred to as the "santa barbara" or the "saint barbara" in the western world. Intriguingly, no major military encounters were ever fought in Santa Barbara, although it was one of the four military fortresses of Alta California. Fremont and the Americans took over the city without firing a shot!

Santa Barbara is unique among California cities in that its patron saint is regularly portrayed in community pageants for over one hundred years. Annually a representative from the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Reina Del Mar Parlor 126, an organization dedicated to the preservation of California history, selects a member to portray the Saint Barbara at various Old Spanish Days Fiesta activities. Saint Barbara makes appearances at La Fiesta Pequeña and Las Noches de Ronda as well as rides in El Desfile Histórico on a float sponsored by the Native Daughters Reina del Mar Parlor 126 since 1926.