El Camino Real, the King’s Highway, was begun in 1769 by the Franciscans under Fr. Junipero Serra. Missions were placed where large populations of Indians lived and where the soil was fertile enough to support settlement, and over time they were established northward from San Diego to Sonoma. When the Sonoma Mission was completed, the pathway connecting the missions became an actual route known as El Camino Real, the King’s Highway. The idea of placing bells along the route in front of each mission arose in 1906, and by 1913 the goal of 450 bells had been reached. The highway, the bells, and the missions are part of California heritage, and a bell stands on the historic land where Camarillo Ranch now sits, part of the original Rancho Calleguas, one of the last Mexican land grants.