Port Hueneme is a city of 25,000 residents surrounded on three sides by the City of Oxnard, with the Pacific Ocean as its western front. Port Huenemeas identity and character have endured valiantly despite the outside influences of the much larger city, a sometimes violent ocean, and the worldas greatest armada. The U.S. Navy arrived in an enormous way at Port Hueneme during World War II to take command of the only deep-water port between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The servicemen stayed during the Korean War, maintaining an abiding relationship with the community. And still, the town itself has the strength of longevity, being three decades older than Oxnard and with a pioneering legacy of farmers, fishermen, merchants, and families. They survived, repeating the requisite spelling and pronunciation (aY-nee-meea) of their cityas name, which is Chumash Indian for ahalfwaya or aresting placea between Point Mugu and the estuary of the Santa Clara River.
The Southern California city of Oxnard has its roots in agriculture. From the original dry-farming crops to labor-intensive sugar beets and most recently strawberries, each crop brought a new group of people to Ventura Countys largest city, located 60 miles north of Los Angeles. Many chapters of Oxnards enduring history have been captured on postcards and distributed to family and friends around the world. Arcadia Publishings Postcard History series allows these images to come home and tell the story once again.
In the early 1890s, farmers Albert Maulhardt and John Edward Borchard discovered Ventura County's favorable conditions for a highly profitable new cash crop: the sugar beet. Not long after inviting sugar mogul Henry T. Oxnard to the area, construction began on a $2 million sugar factory capable of processing two thousand tons of beets daily. The facility brought jobs, wealth and the Southern Pacific rail line. It became one of the country's largest producers of sugar, and just like that, a town was born. Despite the industry's demise, the city of Oxnard still owes its name to the man who delivered prosperity. A fifth-generation descendant, local author and historian Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt details the rise and fall of a powerful enterprise and the entrepreneurial laborers who helped create a city.
Baseball on the West Coast dates back to 1847, when the New York Volunteer Regiment stationed in Santa Barbara batted around a cowhide-covered ball with a stick made from a mesquite branch. By 1873, "Venturans" were playing baseball at Seaside Park. The first local player to reach the major leagues was Charley Hall, who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 1906, followed by Fred Snodgrass, who brought along his New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox to Ventura County in 1913. The county has produced a major-league Most Valuable Player in Terry Pendleton, who won the honor in 1991 as the leader of the Atlanta Braves, and a No. 1 overall draft pick in Delmon Young, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003. The county has also served as the home for minor-league teams affiliated with the Yankees, Braves, and Blue Jays.
In 1926, animal attendant Louis Goebel bought five lots at $10 apiece as a home for his seven African lions along old Ventura Boulevard in a remote, sparsely populated portion of Ventura County just over the Los Angeles County line--where the city of Thousand Oaks eventually grew. Not surprisingly, the big predators became a roadside attraction. By 1929, Goebel added exotic birds and other animals. Premier woman tiger trainer Mabel Stark arrived as Goebel's Lion Farm accrued regional fame, and Capt. Frank Phillips trained Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's famous Leo the Lion after the name changed to World Jungle Compound. The park maintained Hollywood ties, renting animals and hosting scenes for dozens of movies and television shows. Jungleland became the zoo's lasting moniker after name and ownership changes. The enthusiastic opening of Disneyland in 1955 on the other side of Los Angeles inspired big plans for the Ventura County attraction, including a monorail. These plans fizzled, however, and Goebel resumed ownership in 1961. The park closed eight years later, and 1,800 animals were sold at auction. After four decades, the distinctive Conejo Valley lion roars were silenced.
The amorphous Conejo Valley today encompasses the southeastern portion of Ventura County in and around Thousand Oaks, including Newbury Park and Lake Sherwood, near where the I-101 exits Los Angeles County at Westlake Village on its way west and north. Human history in the Conejo Valley dates back to the hunting and gathering days of the Chumash Native Americans. The short Spanish and Mexican periods added a few adobe buildings, erected for respites taken by vaqueros and later cattle rustlers on these rolling grasslands north of the coastal Santa Monica Mountains. In the 19th century, a grand hotel was constructed, and a stage route was established. Grain farmers tried to tame the thirsty hills of the Conejo Valley before the arrival of scenic neighborhoods and malls after World War II.
The roots of Oxnard history begin on the fertile plain of western Ventura County. A century after the Native Chumash were interrupted by the Spanish Mission system, the rancho period that followed was slow to develop on the Oxnard Plain. By the late 19th century, groups of newcomers from Europe, Latin America, and the post-Civil War states began settling on the agricultural terrain. After experimenting with various dry crops, the introduction of the cash crop of sugar beets brought about the next wave of emigration from Asia, as well as a steady flow of emigrants from the Latin countries. As Oxnard has grown, so has its diverse population and the contributions from the many residents who have made this area their home for generations. Legendary Locals of Oxnard offers a glimpse of some of these individuals.
The Southern California city of Oxnard has its roots in agriculture. From the original dry-farming crops to labor-intensive sugar beets and most recently strawberries, each crop brought a new group of people to Ventura Countys largest city, located 60 miles north of Los Angeles. Many chapters of Oxnards enduring history have been captured on postcards and distributed to family and friends around the world. Arcadia Publishings Postcard History series allows these images to come home and tell the story once again.
The amorphous Conejo Valley today encompasses the southeastern portion of Ventura County in and around Thousand Oaks, including Newbury Park and Lake Sherwood, near where the I-101 exits Los Angeles County at Westlake Village on its way west and north. Human history in the Conejo Valley dates back to the hunting and gathering days of the Chumash Native Americans. The short Spanish and Mexican periods added a few adobe buildings, erected for respites taken by vaqueros and later cattle rustlers on these rolling grasslands north of the coastal Santa Monica Mountains. In the 19th century, a grand hotel was constructed, and a stage route was established. Grain farmers tried to tame the thirsty hills of the Conejo Valley before the arrival of scenic neighborhoods and malls after World War II.
In the early 1890s, farmers Albert Maulhardt and John Edward Borchard discovered Ventura County's favorable conditions for a highly profitable new cash crop: the sugar beet. Not long after inviting sugar mogul Henry T. Oxnard to the area, construction began on a $2 million sugar factory capable of processing two thousand tons of beets daily. The facility brought jobs, wealth and the Southern Pacific rail line. It became one of the country's largest producers of sugar, and just like that, a town was born. Despite the industry's demise, the city of Oxnard still owes its name to the man who delivered prosperity. A fifth-generation descendant, local author and historian Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt details the rise and fall of a powerful enterprise and the entrepreneurial laborers who helped create a city.
The roots of Oxnard history begin on the fertile plain of western Ventura County. A century after the Native Chumash were interrupted by the Spanish Mission system, the rancho period that followed was slow to develop on the Oxnard Plain. By the late 19th century, groups of newcomers from Europe, Latin America, and the post-Civil War states began settling on the agricultural terrain. After experimenting with various dry crops, the introduction of the cash crop of sugar beets brought about the next wave of emigration from Asia, as well as a steady flow of emigrants from the Latin countries. As Oxnard has grown, so has its diverse population and the contributions from the many residents who have made this area their home for generations. Legendary Locals of Oxnard offers a glimpse of some of these individuals.
Baseball on the West Coast dates back to 1847, when the New York Volunteer Regiment stationed in Santa Barbara batted around a cowhide-covered ball with a stick made from a mesquite branch. By 1873, "Venturans" were playing baseball at Seaside Park. The first local player to reach the major leagues was Charley Hall, who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 1906, followed by Fred Snodgrass, who brought along his New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox to Ventura County in 1913. The county has produced a major-league Most Valuable Player in Terry Pendleton, who won the honor in 1991 as the leader of the Atlanta Braves, and a No. 1 overall draft pick in Delmon Young, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003. The county has also served as the home for minor-league teams affiliated with the Yankees, Braves, and Blue Jays.
Contains captioned, archival photographs that provide insights into the history of Thousand Oaks, California, focusing on the life of Louis Goebel and the origins of Jungleland, which Goebel began as an animal training center for Hollywood in 1926.
Port Hueneme is a city of 25,000 residents surrounded on three sides by the City of Oxnard, with the Pacific Ocean as its western front. Port Huenemeas identity and character have endured valiantly despite the outside influences of the much larger city, a sometimes violent ocean, and the worldas greatest armada. The U.S. Navy arrived in an enormous way at Port Hueneme during World War II to take command of the only deep-water port between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The servicemen stayed during the Korean War, maintaining an abiding relationship with the community. And still, the town itself has the strength of longevity, being three decades older than Oxnard and with a pioneering legacy of farmers, fishermen, merchants, and families. They survived, repeating the requisite spelling and pronunciation (aY-nee-meea) of their cityas name, which is Chumash Indian for ahalfwaya or aresting placea between Point Mugu and the estuary of the Santa Clara River.
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