OLDEST - building on the West Coast of US
Posted by: 
sbcamper
N 39° 56.237 W 122° 03.163
10S E 580934 N 4421225
Santa Maria de Ovila was relocated from Spain and rebuilt in Northern Calif. as New Clairvaux. The Spanish government closed all religious orders in 1835. In 1931,
Waymark Code: WMHA7D
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/13/2013
Views: 6
William Randolph Hearst, bought the Sacred Stones [8,400] and shipped them in 11 ships to San Francisco. His intent may have been a residence at McCloud, CA or a museum in Golden Gate Park. World War II prevented that. It was eventually gifted to the city of San Francisco. In 1955 Father Thomas X Davis asked for the stones to be given to his monastery at Vina. With many donations and a grant from the Hearst Foundation in 1980, they were moved to Tehama County. Terms of the grant required that the church be open to the public. The monks were from a Cisterian / Benedictine order that takes vows of silence. The building is Cisterian Gothic. It was built from 1190 - 1220.
Additional stones were matched from Texas limestone. Forty percent of the 800 year old blocks were usable. There are information boards that detail the history and several websites.
There is no charge to visit. The monks do support themselves with a winery and tasting room. There is a lot of history attached to the winery which durig prohibition was the LARGEST in the world. The monks came from Kentucky after the war. (possibly 1950's) The town of Vina is south of Red Bluff and north of Chico. The local post office serves 320 and no deliveries. The monastery and church sit on 500 acres of vineyard, walnut trees, grain. So it is LARGE this way also.
Type of documentation of superlative status: www.Newclairvaux.com & www.newclairvauxvineyard.com
Location of coordinates: between the information walk and the church
Web Site: [Web Link]
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