H4282.1601

bell on stand with sign reading El Camino Real From the History Information Station: Object: Miniature mission bell, souvenir of the California Mission Trail, El Camino Real. History: At the turn of the century promoters of California tourism emphasized the romance of the state's Mediterranean landscape, dotted with picturesque Spanish missions. For promotional purposes, mission bells became emblems of romantic nostalgia for the mission system established during Spanish settlement, about 1769. Full size versions of this little model stood along the highways from mission to mission, up and down the state. They marked the reconstructed path of El Camino Real, the old road which had linked the missions in the 18th century. Some of the markers remain today. Gift of Herbert Hamlin

Used: El Camino Real