A new church, constructed with 5-to-6-foot-thick (1.5 to 1.8 m) walls and great pine beams brought from nearby Figueroa Mountain, was dedicated on July 4, 1817.

[12] He oversaw the building of a grist mill for Mission San Gabriel, and he prepared timbers for the construction of the first church in Los Angeles.

Chapman was baptized at Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in 1822, and that same year married Guadalupe Ortega of Santa Barbara, with whom he had five children.

Two separate Chumash accounts, written in the early 1900s, state that around the time the tribesman was beaten a Spanish page overheard Santa Inés priests talking about having the natives of the mission killed the next summer when they arrived.

Highwayman Jack Powers briefly took over Mission Santa Inés and the adjacent Rancho San Marcos in 1853, intending to rustle the cattle belonging to rancher Nicolas A. Den.

It was through the efforts of Father Alexander Buckler in 1904 that reconstruction of the mission was undertaken, though major restoration was not possible until 1947 when the Hearst Foundation donated money to pay for the project.

The Alta California mission system was founded by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order to evangelize the Native Americans.

Archaeobotanical analysis displayed that the agricultural efforts at Santa Inés are specifically responsible for integrating pea, squash, potato, cabbage, olive, grape, pear, apricot, hemp, peach, carrot, etc.

Researchers discovered that the population decline was focused by the unique conditions of the Alta California missions: very tight, overcrowded living arrangements which fostered the spread of diseases.

[16][17][18] The Santa Ines Mission is one of the oldest surviving structures in the state of California and requires constant efforts to repair and restore.

Efforts in the past have included restoration of buildings that are made out of adobe (dried mud) to ensure structural stability.