The Wooden Bells of Mission San Buenaventura

While the intrigue and romance of bells have, for centuries, captured the imagination of people from all walks of life, the bells found in the museum of the mission in Ventura are so unique and so mysterious as to almost defy reason. Since early in the 1900s they have quietly resided there, inspiring awe and wonder in those who viewed them. For these bells are like no others, they are beautifully, masterfully hand carved from wood. With no recorded history to inform us, no memories among the living to guide us, no apparent logical reason for their being, they seem to be waiting for some to uncover their secret.The pages of this story contain a wealth of detail, historical fact, interpretation and imaginative speculation in the attempt to answer these questions.