Santa Barbara County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of January 2006 is 421,625. The county seat is Santa Barbara.
History
Santa Barbara County was formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. The Santa Barbara County area, including the Northern Channel Islands, was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago. For thousands of years, the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans, complex hunter-gatherers who lived along the coast and in interior valleys leaving rock art in many locations including Painted Cave.
