POPULATION: 451,840

INCORPORATION DATE: 1850

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:

• District 1 – Das Williams
• District 2 – Laura Capps
• District 3 – Joan Hartmann
• District 4 – Bob Nelson
• District 5 – Steve Lavagnino

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: General Law

SANTA BARBARA. County seat, Santa Barbara. Created February 18, 1850. The Santa Barbara Channel received its name from Sebastian Vizcaino when he sailed over the channel waters in 1602. In 1782, Padre Junipero Serra dedicated a site near the channel for a presidio and on December 4, 1786, he founded the nearby Mission Santa Barbara (Saint Barbara). The county derives its name from the mission.