VENTURA : Highway Bell Is Given to Museum
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The Ventura County Museum of History and Art on Friday received one of the few remaining cast-iron bells that marked El Camino Real.
Donated by Caltrans, the bell was one of hundreds to mark the road
that was created by Spanish missionaries during California’s mission era.
By 1913, 450 metal bells were installed along the 700 miles of California highways that follow the original El Camino Real, or King’s Highway.
In 1978, Caltrans began constructing the bells from concrete at its Ventura maintenance office.
There are currently 21 bells on the Ventura Freeway in Ventura County.
The cast-iron bell will be displayed with other concrete and bronze bells in the museum’s “Bells of El Camino Real” exhibit, a project by Ventura resident Max Kurillo that is now part of the museum’s permanent collection.
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