The Carpinteria Valley Museum of History in Carpinteria, CA | Museums and Galleries

The Chumash Indians, the area’s first inhabitants, referred to this beautiful seaside valley as Mishopshno, meaning “correspondence,” as it was a center of trade. In 1769 Spanish explorers led by Gaspar de Portola came upon a group of Chumash splitting redwood logs, hand-hewing planks and constructing large, seagoing canoes they called tomols. Fr. Crespi had christened the place San Roque, but the soldiers dubbed it La Carpinteria, or the Carpenters Shop. Spanish settlers, Mexican and Anglo-American pioneers, and immigrants from many lands followed, farming the rich soil and putting down their family roots in and around the village of Carpinteria.
Understanding and appreciating Carpinteria Valley history is an important aspect of preserving the area’s rich cultural heritage. The Carpinteria Valley Museum of History provides a fascinating glimpse into the Valley’s past. A variety of unique exhibits examine the three major cultures that have made this valley their homes: The Native American Chumash, the early Spanish and Mexican settlers, and the American and immigrant pioneers whose farms, shops, churches and schools laid the foundation of today’s city.
Museum exhibits include Chumash artifacts from the hunting and gathering culture of these industrious Native Americans; a Californio adobe rancho scene reflecting the great Mexican cattle-ranching period; and Victorian home furnishings; a farm house kitchen; farming and blacksmith implements and saddles; a one-room schoolhouse; early oil development and asphalt mining; agricultural history; the village of Summerland, and much more. In the museum’s archives a rare collection of historic photographs documents the town’s early businesses, its notable citizens, its beautiful landscapes, and the men and women who developed the farms and labored in the fertile fields.
   I nvolved in the spirit of the community, the Museum hosts special exhibits, arts & crafts faires, school tours and children’s programs, lectures, and last-Saturday-of-the-month flea markets.
Carpinteria Then and Now, a one-hour video chronicling the history of Carpinteria Valley, is now available on a new DVD entitled The Carpinteria Collection, which also has the story of the Salt Marsh Nature Park, Carpinteria Creeks, and a celebration of the city’s 40th anniversary of incorporation.