About San Ramon Catholic Chapel · Sisquoc, California
San Ramon Chapel is a historic Catholic chapel perched atop a hill overlooking the vineyards of the Santa Maria Valley on California's Central Coast, just south of Riverbench Winery at the entrance to Rancho Sisquoc Winery. Built in 1875 by pioneer settlers, it is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the valley and the very first property designated a historical landmark by Santa Barbara County (1967) and California Historical Landmark No. 877. Today it is operated as a private, non-profit historic chapel by the San Ramon Chapel Preservation Committee, with weekly Sunday Mass presided over by a Josephite priest from St. Louis de Montfort Church in nearby Orcutt.
- Established
- 1875
- Patron
- Saint Raymond (San Ramon)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles (historically affiliated; chapel is currently served by Josephite priests from St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Parish in Orcutt)
Why belong here
San Ramon Chapel offers a once-a-week Sunday Mass at 10:15 a.m. in one of the most beloved historic settings on California's Central Coast — a tiny 1875 redwood-frame chapel that surveys the vineyards and rolling hills of the Santa Maria Valley from its hilltop perch. It is sustained entirely by the generosity of community donors and the volunteer San Ramon Chapel Preservation Committee, so attending Mass and supporting the chapel are direct acts of stewardship of a California Historical Landmark. For families along Tepusquet Canyon and Foxen Canyon Road, it is also simply the most convenient place to worship, and visiting pilgrims come from across the region to experience the chapel's pioneer-founding story and its picturesque cemetery.
Mass times at San Ramon Catholic Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
History of San Ramon Chapel
San Ramon Chapel was built in 1875 on land donated by Frederick and Ramona Foxen Wickenden in the Sisquoc River Valley, after Frederick sold 5,000 sheep to buy the redwood lumber. Designed by Rev. J.B. McNally, it was consecrated that same year and formally dedicated 'in behalf of Saint Ramon' by Father Francisco Mora y Borrell in 1879. Through the 19th and into the early 20th century it served as the parish church for the ranching families of Garey, Tepusquet and Sisquoc, with monthly services shared between Mission Santa Inéz and Mission San Luis Obispo at Arroyo Grande. By 1908 it had become an auxiliary of St. Mary's in Santa Maria, and by 1910 only funerals were still being held there.
- First burial in the chapel cemetery: Benjamin Foxen, 1876.
- California Historical Landmark No. 877 (registered January 13, 1975).
- First historical landmark designated by Santa Barbara County (1967, under Ordinance #1716).
- Centennial Mass celebrated by Father Bertin Foxen on August 31, 1975.
Restoration and Preservation
Fearing vandalism and decay, the community launched a restoration campaign in 1958 under chairmanship of Winston Wickenden, who replaced the original wooden foundation with concrete — work reported complete in 1959. Citizens formed the San Ramon Chapel Preservation Committee, which installed lighting in 1972 and a chain-link perimeter fence in 1974. Continued volunteer-led work over the following decades added a new foundation (1983), the first electric heater (1985), Stations of the Cross (1986), a water well (1988), a new roof and glass windows (1978), and ongoing structural conservation through the 1990s and beyond.
- San Ramon Chapel Preservation Committee — 501(c)(3) non-profit, Tax ID 95-3020700.
- Funding sustained entirely by community donations and event rentals.
- In 1987 the committee offered the chapel to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which declined the transfer.
Architecture and Setting
The chapel is a small redwood-frame building with two steeples, each topped with a cross, and a third cross on the front gable — exterior forms borrowed from the California missions, executed instead in California redwood clapboard planking in a style more typical of New England church construction. It is regarded by the California Office of Historic Preservation as a unique example of using wood to create the strong, simple forms that had previously been executed in adobe, and the maximum interior occupancy is 120. The chapel sits on a hilltop overlooking the vineyards of the Santa Maria Valley, looking south past Riverbench Winery to the entrance of Rancho Sisquoc Winery.
- Architect: Rev. J.B. McNally (Diocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Ynez).
- Style: transitional mission-to-frame, California redwood clapboard.
- Maximum occupancy: 120.
Cemetery
The adjoining pioneer cemetery has been in continuous use since 1876, when Benjamin Foxen — father of Ramona Foxen Wickenden and Thomas Foxen — became its first burial. Many of the original ranching families of the Santa Maria and Sisquoc valleys are interred in the chapel grounds, and the cemetery remains open to the public daily from dawn until dusk as part of the historic site.
- First burial: Benjamin Foxen, 1876.
- Cemetery open daily from dawn to dusk.
Visiting and Rental
Visitors are welcome year-round. The chapel grounds and cemetery are open to the public daily from dawn to dusk. The chapel itself is also available for weddings and other special events through the San Ramon Chapel Preservation Committee; the Sunday 10:15 a.m. Mass is excluded from rental periods, and the building has a maximum occupancy of 120. Prospective renters are directed to the website's Calendar/Events page for live availability before booking.
- Grounds open daily, dawn to dusk.
- Chapel rental inquiries: see sanramonchapel.info Events/Calendar page.
- Max occupancy: 120; Catholic Mass held each Sunday at 10:15 a.m.
Sister Sites in the St. Louis de Montfort Family
San Ramon Chapel is one of three worship sites operated by St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Parish of Orcutt, which also runs the main parish church and St. Anthony's Church in Los Alamos. Schedules, bulletins, and Josephite priest assignments are coordinated through the parish office.
- St. Louis de Montfort Church — 1190 E. Clark Ave, Orcutt (main parish).
- St. Anthony's Church — 270 Helena St, Los Alamos.
- San Ramon Chapel — 6601 Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Maria (Sisquoc).
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Priests from Mission Santa Inéz and Mission San Luis Obispo (Arroyo Grande)1875–c.1908
Services held once a month on rotation between the two nearby missions in the chapel's first decades.
- Robert E. Easton1936
Rededicated the building after repairs and a new roof/paint.
- Father Bertin Foxen1975
Great-grandson of Benjamin Foxen; celebrated the 100th Anniversary Mass on August 31, 1975 at the state historical landmark dedication.
- Josephite priest from St. Louis de Montfort Church, Orcuttpresent
Celebrates the weekly Sunday Mass at the chapel today.