Stories of early California, through the eyes of women

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum has been putting on a slew of events to remember the women who helped make the Central Coast region what it is today. In Testimonios: Early California Through the Eyes of Women, authors Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz transcribed, translated and edited thirteen firsthand accounts from women growing up in the early 1800s, when California was still part of Spain and Mexico. They share the story of a Mexican orphan who found her way to Santa Barbara and became one of the first female landowners in California.