San Miguel Chapel Site

San Miguel Chapel Site is an archaeological location in Ventura containing stone foundations and water channel fragments from the early mission period. Excavations have revealed multiple layers showing how this place was used and rebuilt over generations.

Mission San Buenaventura was founded here in the early 1800s as part of Spanish colonial expansion. The location later served as the seat of the county's first government and judicial buildings.

The site shows how Spanish missionaries and local Chumash people shared and shaped the same space over time. Visitors can see in the remains how two worlds intersected here.

The site is open to the public with informational signs explaining what you are looking at. Visit in good daylight to properly see the stone remains and modern art installations throughout the grounds.

Hidden beneath the chapel layers are the foundations of an early jail, courthouse, and hospital from the county's first years. These buried structures reveal how quickly the site shifted from religious to administrative purposes.