The revered history of the Mount Calvary Monastery property adjacent to the Santa Barbara Mission, began as lands of the native Chumash population over ten thousand years ago.  The area that became the future Mission holdings was used by the Chumash for production of materials for farming and household goods, picking this spot for its utility adjacent to the year-round creek now known as Mission Creek.  It is suggested that the traditional seasonal Chumash large grass homes were built and re-built in this same area too.  The Chumash lived continuously here for thousands of years up to the construction of the Mission and beyond.