Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S.
state of California (Southern California). It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a
reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the
most affluent places in the country. It is ranked as one of the 100 highest-income
counties in the country and as the sixth wealthiest county in
California by per capita income. This is partly because it is part
of the Tech Coast Area, and has a large presence in technology
corporations like telecommunications, healthcare, development, and
especially biotech corporations, most of
which are located in the Conejo
Valley. As of December 2008, the median home price is $355,000.[1]
As of the 2000 census,
the county had a population of 753,197. A more current California
Department of Finance estimate places the population at 813,052. The county
seat is the city of Ventura (formally known as San Buenaventura). Ventura
County's largest city is Oxnard, with a population of about 200,000.
History
Prior to the arrival of Europeans in California,
the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans.
Spanish period
In October 1542, the expedition led by Juan Rodr?guez Cabrillo anchored in
an inlet near Point Mugu; its members were
the first Europeans to arrive in the area that would become Ventura
County.[2]
Active occupation of California by Spain began in 1769. Gaspar de Portol? led a military expedition by land
from San Diego to Monterey, passing through Ventura
County in August of that year. A priest with the expedition, Father Juan Crespi, kept a journal of the trip and
noted that the area was ideal for a mission to be established and it was
a "good site to which nothing is lacking".[3] Also on this expedition was Father Jun?pero Serra, who later founded a mission on this site.
On March 31, 1782, the Mission San Buenaventura was
founded by Father Serra[4],
named after Saint Bonaventure, one
of the early intellectual founders of the Franciscan Order. The town that grew up
around the mission is named San Buenaventura, which came to be known as Ventura.
In the 1790s, the Spanish Governor
of California began granting land concesssions to Spanish
Californians, often retiring soldiers. These concesssions were known as ranchos and consisted of thousands of
acres of land that were used primarily as ranch land for livestock. In
Ventura County, Rancho Simi was granted in 1795 and Rancho El Conejo in 1802.
Mexican period
In 1822, California was notified of Mexico's independence from Spain and the Governor of
California, the Junta, the military in Monterey and the priests and
neophytes at Mission San Buenaventura swore allegiance to Mexico on
April 11, 1822. California land that had been vested in the King of
Spain was now owned by the nation of Mexico.
By the 1830s, Mission San Buenaventura was in a decline with fewer
neophytes joining the mission. The number of cattle owned by the mission
dropped from first to fifteenth ranking in the California Missions.[5] The missions were secularized by the Mexican government in 1834. The Mexican governors began granting land rights to Mexican Californians, often retiring
soldiers. By 1846, there were 19 rancho grants in Ventura County.[6] In 1836, Mission San Buenaventura was transferred from the Church to a
secular administrator. The natives who had been working at the mission
gradually left to work on the ranchos. By 1839, only 300 Indians were
left at the Mission and it slipped into neglect.[7]
Several outhouses were discovered in July 2007 dating back to the
1800s. They have proved to be a treasure trove for archaeologists who
braved the lingering smell in the dirt to uncover some 19th-century
artifacts.
American period
Ventura City Hall in Old Town Ventura
The Mexican?American War began in 1846 but
its effect was not felt in Ventura County until 1847. In January of that
year, Captain John C. Frémont led the California Battalion into San
Buenaventura finding that the Europeans had fled leaving only the
Indians in the Mission. The Fremont and the Battalion continued south to
sign the Treaty of Cahuenga with General Andrés
Pico. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
formally transferred California to the United States in 1848.[8]
By 1849, a constitution had been adopted for the California
territory. The new Legislature met and divided the pending state into 27
counties. At the time, the area that would become Ventura County was
the southern part of Santa Barbara County.[9]
The 1860s brought many changes to the area. A drought caused many of
the ranchos to experience financial difficulties and most were divided,
sub-divided and sold. Large sections of land were bought by eastern
capitalists based on favorable reports of petroleum deposits. A United
States Post Office was opened at Mission San Buenaventura in 1861. On
April 1, 1866, the town of San Buenaventura was incorporated becoming
the first officially recognized town in Ventura County.[10]
On January 1, 1873, Ventura County was officially split from Santa
Barbara County, bringing a flurry of change. That same year, a
courthouse and wharf were built in San Buenaventura. A bank was opened
and the first public library was created. The school system grew, with
the first high school opening in 1890.[11]
Other towns were starting in the county. A plan for Port Hueneme was recorded in 1874, and Santa Paula's plan was recorded in 1875. The
community of Nordhoff (later renamed Ojai) was started in 1874.[12] Piru, Fillmore and Montalvo
were established in 1887.[13] 1892 saw Simi (later Simi Valley), Somis, Saticoy and Moorpark. Oxnard was a late-comer, not being established until
1898.[14]
The Southern Pacific
Railroad laid tracks through San Buenaventura in 1887. For
convenience in printing their timetables, Southern Pacific shortened San
Buenaventura to Ventura. The Post Office soon followed suit. While the
city remains officially known as San Buenaventura, it is more commonly
referred to as Ventura.[15]
Oil has been known in Ventura County since before the arrival of the
Europeans, as the native Chumash people used tar from natural seeps as a
sealant and waterproofing for baskets and canoes. In the 1860s, several
attempts were made to harvest the petroleum products under Ventura
County but none were financially successful, and the oil speculators
eventually changed from oil to land development. In 1913, oil
exploration began in earnest, with Ralph Lloyd obtaining the financial
support of veteran oil man Joseph B. Dabney. Their first well, named
"Lloyd No. 1", was started on January 20, 1914. The well struck oil at
2558 feet (780 m) but was destroyed when it went wild. Other wells met a
similar fate, until 1916, when a deal was struck with the Shell Oil Company. 1916 was the year the large South Mountain Oil Field was
discovered, and other deals followed with General
Petroleum in 1917 and Associated
Oil Company in 1920. At its peak, the largest oil field in the
county, the Ventura Avenue oilfield, discovered in
1919 in the hills north of Ventura, was producing 90,000 barrels of oil a
day, with annual production of over a million and a half barrels. More
oil fields came on-line in the 1920s and 1930s, with the Rincon field, the second-largest, in 1927, and the adjacent San Miguelito in 1931.[16][17]
In the early hours of the morning of March 13, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, sending billions of gallons of water
rushing through the Santa Clarita Valley, killing 385 people,
destroying 1,240 homes and flooding 7,900 acres (32 km²) of land,
devastating farm fields and orchards.[18] This was the largest single disaster to strike Ventura County.
Modern period
Typical rush hour traffic in Ventura.
Ventura County can be separated into two major parts, East County and
West County.[citation needed] East
County consists of all cities east of the Conejo Grade,
known locally as "The Grade." East County, geographically, is the end
of the Santa Monica Mountains, in which the Conejo
Valley is located, and where there is a considerable decrease in elevation.
Communities which are considered to be in the East County are Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Lake
Sherwood, Hidden Valley, Santa Rosa Valley, Oak Park, Moorpark, and Simi
Valley.[citation needed] A
majority of these communities are in the Conejo
Valley, one of the most affluent areas in the United
States[citation needed]. West
County, which is everything west of the Conejo Grade, consists of
communities such as Camarillo, Oxnard, Somis, Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, Ventura,
Ojai, Santa Paula, and Fillmore.
West County consists of some of the first developed cities in Ventura County. Ventura County's largest
beach communities are located in West County on the coastline of the Channel Islands Harbor.
East County
Ventura County consists of a number of suburban areas. Starting in
the mid-1900s, there was a large growth in population in the East
County, moving from the San Fernando Valley in Los
Angeles and out into the Conejo and Simi Valleys, which consists of Calabasas, Hidden
Hills, Agoura Hills, Agoura, and parts of Westlake Village belonging to Los Angeles County. The other
half of the Conejo Valley, which belongs to Ventura County, consists of Lake
Sherwood, Hidden Valley, Oak Park, parts of Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park, which was formerly an
unincorporated area that is now the most westerly part of Thousand
Oaks. Many working-class white people migrated to this area during the
1960s and 1970s out of East and Central Los Angeles. As a result,
there was a large growth in population into the Conejo
Valley and into Ventura County through the US 101 corridor. Making the US 101 a full freeway in the 1960s, and the
expansions that followed, helped make commuting to Los
Angeles easier and opened the way for development westward. The
communities that have seen the most substantial development are Calabasas, Hidden
Hills, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park. Development moved
farther down the US 101 corridor and sent population rising in West
County cities as well. The largest population growth there has been in Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura. Development in the East County and along the US
101 corridor is becoming more rare today, because most of these cities
were master-planned cities, such as Thousand Oaks and Simi
Valley, and are approaching build-out. Although the area still has
plenty of open space and land, almost all of it was put aside and
mandated never to be developed as part of the master plan of each city.
Because of this, its private low-key location, its country feel, and its
close proximity to Los Angeles, the Conejo
Valley area has become a very attractive place to live. It once had
relatively inexpensive real estate, but this has changed due to sharply
rising real-estate prices. For example, real estate in Newbury Park has
increased in price by over 250% in the last 10 years. Median home
prices in the Conejo Valley, for instance, now range from $700,000 to
$2.2 million. The Conejo Valley area is one of the most affluent areas
in the country.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county
has a total area of 2,208 sq mi (5,718.7 km2), of which,
1,845 square miles (4,779 km²) is land and 363 square miles (940 km²)
(16.43%) is water. Anacapa Island of Channel Islands National Park
and San Nicolas Island are located in the county.
Most of the population of Ventura County lives in the southern
(mainland) portion of the county. The major population centers are the Oxnard
Plain and the Simi and Conejo Valleys. In local media, the county is usually split between the
eastern portion, generally associated with the San Fernando Valley, and the western portion, often
referred to as "Oxnard-Ventura."
North of Highway 126 the county is mountainous and mostly
uninhabited, and contains some of the most unspoiled, rugged and
inaccessible wilderness remaining in southern California. Most of this
land is in the Los Padres National Forest, and
includes the Chumash Wilderness in the northernmost
portion, adjacent to Kern County, as well as the
large Sespe
Wilderness and portions of both the Dick Smith Wilderness and Matilija
Wilderness (both of these protected areas straddle the line with
Santa Barbara County). All of the wilderness areas are within the
jurisdiction of Los Padres National Forest.
A common flower in the area, and the official flower of the neighboring
City of Los Angeles,
Strelitzia reginae
The highest peaks in the county include Mount
Pinos (8831', 2697 m), Frazier Mountain (8017', 2444 m), and Reyes Peak
(7525', 2294 m), all except Reyes Peak in the San Emigdio Mountains (Pinos and Frazier Mountain
are sometimes assigned to the Tehachapis). The uplands are well-timbered with coniferous forests, and receive
plentiful snow in the winter.
Mount Pinos is sacred to the Chumash Indians. It is known to them as
Iwihinmu, and was considered to be the center of the universe; being
the highest peak in the vicinity, it has a spectacular view, unimpeded
in three directions.
The Santa Clara River is the
principal waterway. Lake Casitas, an artificial reservoir, is the
largest body of water.
The county was hit by a tornado as a result of the oceanic winter
storm systems that struck the area in January of 2010.
Cities
Towns and other
communities
Adjacent counties
Transportation
infrastructure
Major highways
Unconstructed
Public transportation
Ventura County is served by Amtrak and
Metrolink trains, as well as
Greyhound Lines, Gold Coast Transit (formerly South Coast Area Transit),
and VISTA buses.
The cities of Camarillo, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks have their own small
bus systems.
Island Packers ferries connect Ventura with the five islands of Channel Islands National Park
Airports
- Santa Paula Airport is a privately owned
airport. However, it is open to the public for general aviation.
Libraries
Public Libraries: Ventura County Library - 14
locations, Oxnard Public Library, Thousand Oaks Library, Moorpark City
Library, and Blanchard Community Library (in Santa Paula)
Academic Libraries: California
State University Channel Islands, California Lutheran University,
St. Thomas Aquinas, Moorpark College, Oxnard College, and Ventura College.
Other: Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library, Ventura County Law Library
Politics
Presidential election results
| Year |
GOP |
DEM |
Others |
| 2008 |
43.4% 141,670 |
55.0% 179,320 |
1.6% 5,478 |
| 2004 |
51.2% 160,314 |
47.5% 148,859 |
1.3% 4,020 |
| 2000 |
48.2% 136,173 |
47.1% 133,258 |
4.7% 13,261 |
| 1996 |
43.5% 109,202 |
44.1% 110,772 |
12.4% 31,220 |
| 1992 |
35.5% 94,911 |
37.0% 99,011 |
27.5% 73,725 |
| 1988 |
61.6% 147,604 |
37.2% 89,065 |
1.2% 2,804 |
| 1984 |
68.7% 151,383 |
30.2% 66,550 |
1.2% 2,529 |
| 1980 |
60.3% 114,930 |
29.5% 56,311 |
10.2% 19,409 |
| 1976 |
53.2% 82,670 |
44.1% 68,529 |
2.7% 4,201 |
| 1972 |
63.2% 95,310 |
32.7% 49,307 |
4.1% 6,188 |
| 1968 |
51.4% 59,705 |
41.1% 47,794 |
7.5% 8,762 |
| 1964 |
41.0% 40,264 |
58.8% 57,805 |
0.2% 169 |
| 1960 |
49.6% 35,074 |
50.0% 35,334 |
0.5% 315 |
Unlike most other areas of Coastal California, Ventura County is relatively evenly
split between Democrats and Republicans, with a slight
majority tending to support the Republican Party in local and national
elections. While Republicans used to win a large majority of votes
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, no party has received more than 55% of
the county's vote since 1992. Prior to Barack
Obama's victory in the county in 2008, the last
Democrat to win a majority as Lyndon Johnson in 1964, though
Democrat Bill Clinton carried the county by a plurality in 1992 and 1996.
Most of the county's area, including inland areas and the cities of Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, lies in the 24th district,
which has a PVI of R +5 (meaning that based on the presidential election
results of 2000 and 2004, the district is 5% more Republican than the
nation) and is represented by Republican Elton Gallegly. Coastal regions of Ventura County along
with the cities of Oxnard and Ventura, the 23rd congressional district,
which includes has a Cook Partisan Index (CPI) rating of D +9 and is
currently represented by Democrat Lois
Capps. In the State Senate, Ventura is part of the
17th, 19th, and 23rd Senate districts, which are held by Republicans George
Runner and Tony Strickland and Democrat Fran
Pavley, respectively. In the State Assembly, Ventura is in the
35th, 37th, 38th, and 41st districts. The 35th and 41st districts are
held by Democrats Pedro Nava and Julia Brownley, respectively; the 37th and 38th districts
are held by Republicans Audra Strickland and Cameron
Smyth, respectively.
Current county supervisors
are Steve Bennett, Linda Parks, Kathy Long, Peter Foy (Chair), and John
C. Zaragoza. Bob Brooks is the sheriff of the Ventura County Sheriff's
Department. Bob Roper is the chief of the Ventura County Fire Department.
Republicans have historically held the registration advantage, but on
March 3, 2008, Democratic registration surpassed Republican
registration.[19] The cities of Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks all
have voter rolls with Republican pluralities. The remaining cities and
towns in the county have a Democratic plurality or majority on the voter
rolls, while the unincorporated areas are split almost evenly between
the parties.Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1900 |
14,367 |
|
? |
| 1910 |
18,347 |
|
27.7% |
| 1920 |
28,724 |
|
56.6% |
| 1930 |
54,976 |
|
91.4% |
| 1940 |
69,685 |
|
26.8% |
| 1950 |
114,647 |
|
64.5% |
| 1960 |
199,138 |
|
73.7% |
| 1970 |
376,430 |
|
89.0% |
| 1980 |
529,174 |
|
40.6% |
| 1990 |
669,016 |
|
26.4% |
| 2000 |
753,197 |
|
12.6% |
| Est. 2006 |
799,720 |
|
6.2% |
As of the census[20] of 2000, there were 753,197 people, 243,234 households, and 182,911
families living in the county. The population density was 408 people per square mile
(158/km²). There were 251,712 housing units at an average density of 136
per square mile (53/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.93% White, 5.35%
Asian, 1.95%
Black or African American,
0.94% Native American,
0.22% Pacific Islander,
17.68% from other races,
and 3.93% from two or more races. About one third (33.42%) of the
population is Hispanic or Latino of
any race. 9.8% were of German, 7.7% English and 7.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 67.1% spoke English, 26.2% Spanish and 1.5% Tagalog as their first language.
There were 243,234 households, of which 39.7% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married
couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households
were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the
average family size was 3.46.
In the county the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age
of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64,
and 10.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every
100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $59,666, and the
median income for a family was $65,285. Males had a median income of
$45,310, versus $32,216 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,600. About 6.4% of
families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age
18 and 6.3% of those aged 65 or over.
According to an updated 2005 US Census, median
household income was $66,859, while the mean was $85,032. Per capita income was up to $29,634, making it the 6th
wealthiest county in California.
Environment
In 2010, the County of Ventura completed a solar energy system 492
kilowatts DC in size, on several County buildings. The systems were
financed using a solar Power Purchase Agreement, which required no
upfront cash from the County. The systems are owned, maintained, and
operated by Solar Power Partners and its investors, and were designed
and constructed by Solar Power, Inc. The County pays for the
solar-generated electricity generated by the system, offsetting a
portion of its utility costs.
Entertainment
On July 23, 1982 actor Vic
Morrow and two children actors (My-Ca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Ye
Chen) were filming a helicopter scene for Twilight Zone: The Movie in the
area of Indian Dunes in Ventura County when the helicopter lost control
and crashed on top of them. Morrow and Le were decapitated and Chen was
fatally crushed.
In 2009, the popular VH1 television show Tool Academy was filmed in
Ventura County.
Also, in 2000 the movie Swordfish filmed the final bank scene on
Ventura's E. Main St. The building they used is the white building on
the corner. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=nicholbys+Ventura+CA&sll=34.265869,-119.275488&sspn=0.000505,0.000857&ie=UTF8&hq=nicholbys&hnear=Ventura,+CA&ll=34.280823,-119.294599&spn=0,359.998286&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=34.28083,-119.294643&panoid=yiWpTAHwc7O0IfCuJKGFrg&cbp=13,223.03,,0,-2.18
Notes
- ^ "Southern California?s median home
price drops below $300,000". Los Angeles Times. 2008-12-17. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-homes17-2008dec17,0,2443063.story. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ Murphy, p 3-4.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 6.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 8.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 11.
- ^ Ventura County Spanish and Mexican Land Grants
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 12.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 12?3.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 15.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 16?7.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 22?3.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 23?4.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 25?7.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 27.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 25.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 27?29.
- ^ California Oil and Gas Fields, Volumes I, II and III. Vol. I
(1998), Vol. II (1992), Vol. III (1982). California Department of
Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), p.
573.
- ^ A Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California, 31.
- ^ Democrats take lead in county
registration : Local News : Ventura County Star
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
See also
References
- Murphy, Arnold L. (1979). A
Comprehensive Story of Ventura County, California. Oxnard,
California: M & N.
External links
- Official county website
- Ventura County Star, largest Ventura County
daily news organization, Scripps chain newspaper
- The Ojai and Ventura VIEW, only true locally
owned alternative press, a monthly newspaper
- VC Reporter, a weekly chain newsmagazine with a
pro-urban developer bias, owned by southland publications corp. based
in Pasadena.
- Ventura County Crime Blog, Crime,
trials, and reports in Ventura County
- News from Ventura County, from the Los Angeles Times website
- Ventura County Air Pollution Control District
- Ventura County Law Library - open to the public
[show]
State of California
