History of Everyday Life at the Presidio

	Kitchen & Food Items
	The first European settlers at the Presidio found themselves using foodstuffs they brought with them on their overland journey from Mission San Buenaventura and the natural resources that surrounded them in the coastal paradise of Santa Barbara. In the beginning food was prepared over open hearths in utilitarian vessels. As the permanent settlement began to take shape in the mid-1780's, the crop base included wheat, beans, and corn. The very first requisition from the Presidio included an order of forty manos and metates from Mexico. The daily meal was also supplemented with beef, lamb, and chicken as well as the local fish, wildfowl, and deer. Traditionally Spanish and Mexican meat dishes were served in shallow bowls or shouldered plates in the form of soups and stew. In order to utilize all the nutrition that a butchered animal provided, bones were cracked open and the marrow-rich fragments were simmered in a pot. Dishes were enhanced by the use of Mexican staples such as chiles, rice, and beans occasionally with more exotic foods such as dried shrimp and oysters. Other ingredients ordered for the Presidio kitchens included anise, oregano, rosemary, honey, olives, almonds, raisins, quince, dried and candied fruit, cocoa, and chocolate. Beverages regularly consumed by the Presidio garrison included chocolate and coffee or for those who preferred something more spirited, sherry, wine, aguardiete (brandy), and Mezcal. Food preparation evolved from the open fire to outdoor adobe hornos(ovens) and braseros (stoves). Imported cooking implements such as comales (griddles), ollas (pots), cazuelas (skillets), and jarros (pans) were used to prepare a variety of meals served in ceramic vessels manufactured in the pottery district of Puebla, Mexico. Wares imported from Puebla varied from the more common Galera wares to the Puebla blue-on white, and Aranama tradition Majolicas. Locally produced earthenware vessels crafted by Chumash artisans were also used after the founding of Mission Santa Barbara in 1786.

	Transportation & Storage
	Although transportation by ship was tediously slow in the 18th century, it provided the only relatively dependable means for importing manufactured goods to the Presidio. In general, supply ships such as the frigates Princesaand Favorita arrived only once or twice a year with goods from San Blas, Mexico. Food and cooking implements, textiles, tools, weapons, and building materials were brought ashore for the Presidio garrison while crews from the ships collected firewood and water to replenish the stocks on board. Material packed in barrels, kegs, boxes, crates, bundles, bags, baskets, and jars were transported from the anchorage to the Presidio via carretas (ox carts) and pack mules. The ships also brought equipment to outfit the Presidio's horses and mules such as saddles, saddle blankets, saddle trees, halter's, spurs, stirrups, bits, mule-bits, lassos, and reins. Oxen and the traditional cart (carreta) were extremely instrumental in the development of the Presidio as they hauled thousands of tons of sandstone to the site for the construction of wall foundations.

	Industrial & Agricultural Artifacts
	This category of artifacts includes items used by craftsmen in the various industrial shops located within the walls of the Presidio as well as the tools and supplies for the Presidio's agricultural fields. Cartwright chisels were purchased for making the wooden wheels of the carretas. Axes, adzes, and nails were requested for the carpenters. The blacksmith was furnished with a forge, bellows, a hammer, tongs for the forge, files, iron plate, iron rods, and iron bars. A shoemaker's awl and saddle-making irons were ordered for the leather workers and candlewick was requisitioned for the candle makers. Agricultural implements at the Presidio included machetes for clearing brush, iron plow points and picks for tilling the soil, and sickles for harvesting. In addition to the corn and wheat being grown and harvested by the garrison, seeds were also ordered for vegetable gardens that could be planted in the yards of the residences. Scales, balances, and measuring rods were used to equitably allocate food and other supplies to the soldiers and their families.

	Military Related Items
	Approval for the founding of a fourth presidio in Alta California was given in a letter dated September 3, 1778, to Governor Neve in Monterey from Teodoro de Croix, Commanding General of the Interior Provences of New Spain. The orders called for the construction of a presidio with a garrison of a lieutenant, a sergeant, two corporals, and twenty-six soldiers in the center of the Channel of Santa Barbara. Numerous military regulations or reglamentos prescribed the way in which presidios were to be built. They describe the number of rooms, the thickness of the walls, the material for the roofs, etc. Regulations also dictated the pay scale of officers, soldiers, and Native American laborers. In addition to building and staffing the Presidio, the soldiers of the Santa Barbara garrison were responsible for supplying guards to protect the mission and missionaries at San Buenaventura and eventually at Santa Barbara and La Purisima. Military related artifacts include clothing items such as uniforms, military hardware, and instructions. In addition to cueras (leather jackets), hats, breeches, and boots were requested as well as accoutrements such as gold braid and epaulets. Weapons such as muskets, pistols, knives, swords, and lances were purchased, along with accessories such as gunflints, bullets, buckshot, bullet molds, cartridge pouches, and gunpowder. Books such as the Manual of the Army, Military Regulations, and Regulation Manual, were requisitioned for the Santa Barbara company as well as maps, flags, and a war drum. Currency in the form of pesos and reales were ordered to meet the payroll of the officers and enlisted men.

	Religion
	Roman Catholicism was very important to Spanish Colonists throughout the New World. Many personal religious items were ordered for the Presidio including missals, catechisms, prayer books, songbooks, rosaries, and religious medals. Numerous items were requested for the celebration of mass such as an iron mold for communion wafers, crystal and silver cruets, a silver tray, chalices, barrels of wine, and an aspergillum (a wand used to sprinkle holy water). Vestments purchased for the padre to were during the celebration of the Eucharist include albs, a suplice (tunic or coat), and chasubles (hooded vestments). Furnishings requested specifically for the chapel include one blessed stone alter, alter cloths, a tabernacle, a brass crucifix, an incense burner, candlestick holders, bronze chandeliers, and two gilded lecterns. Statues of Saint Barbara, Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony, and Our Lady of Carmel with Child were acquired for the niches while paintings and colored prints of various saints and the Virgin Mary adorned the walls.

	Architecture & Furnishings
	The model for constructing El Presidio Real de Santa Barbara was set forth in Governor Felipe de Neve's Regulations for Governing the Province of California. In it, details such as the heights and thickness of the adobe walls, specifications for ceilings, floors, and roofs, and the general layout of a quadrangle were carefully outlined. Construction of the permanent adobe quadrangle started after completion of the presidio aquaduct that carried water from Pedregoso (Mission) Creek to the vacinity of the front gate. A reliable source of water was a prerequisite for drinking, cooking, and bathing but also served as a critical ingredient for making adobe bricks, mortar, and plaster. Building materials also included fired brick and tile, hand-hewn wood beams, door and window frames, rawhide, and a limited amount of metal. Furniture was infrequently ordered, with most houses containing only woven mats for sleeping and chests for storage. With no local source of iron ore, virtually all iron was imported from San Blas, Mexico. Iron hinges, latches, locks, padlocks, keys, spikes, nails and tack were frequently requested for the construction and maintenance of Presidio buildings. Bars and rods of iron were also ordered for the company blacksmith to forge into hardware as needed. In the evenings, the interiors of the adobe residences were lit with candles and tinplate lanterns. Other furnishings requested consisted of materials for rugs, at least one clock, a sundial, and several dozen mirrors.

	Clothing Related Artifacts and Personal Items
	Clothing related items represent the largest category of items sought by the Presidio garrison. Articles such as shirts, scarves, breeches, coats, jackets, waistcoats, stockings, shoes, boots, caps and hats were ordered for the soldiers and shawls, petticoats, garters, stockings, shoes and hats were purchased for the women. These articles were ordered in various sizes and styles in various grades of wool, cotton, linen, silk, fur, and leather. Clothing was fitted with bone, brass, and gold-plated buttons while shoes, belts, and bags were fastened with brass, bronze, iron and silver buckles. In addition to manufactured clothing, textiles from ports all over the world were ordered in prodigious amounts. Flannel was specifically requested from England and France. Muslin and several grades of printed cloth fabrics were ordered, including a multi-colored fabric printed in Barcelona, Spain. Many varieties and grades of silk were requisitioned including Chinese silk imported from Canton and Peking. The request for such large quantities of fabric and thread suggests that many clothing items were tailored here at the Presidio. Lace was ordered from the La Mancha region of Spain, the Lorraine region of France, and the Flanders region of Northern Europe. Ribbons of assorted colors were requisitioned from factories in Seville and Granada, Spain and Genoa and Naples, Italy. Chamber pots, soap, wash basins, brushes, combs and razors were ordered for the personal hygiene of the residents. Cigars, cigarettes, flasks, spittoons, dolls, spinning tops, guitar, mandolin, and violin strings, writing leads, writing pens, quills, ink, and paper were requested for the personal enjoyment of the soldiers and their families.