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Ventura County: Oxnard
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Oxnard, besides being known as one
of the safest cities in California, is also a one
of the most unsung and beautiful cities in Ventura
County.
So, let's take a brief look at the history of this
bustling, beach town on California's central coast.
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The earliest inhabitants of the Oxnard areas were the
Chumash Indians who lived in round, thatched houses and
were known for their well constructed plank canoes and
fine basket work.
After a number of Spanish explorations, Jose de Galvez,
utilizing powers bestowed upon him by King Charles III,
appointed Father Junipero Serra to head missions in Alta
California. Mission San Buenaventura was the half-way
point between the San Diego and Monterey missions and
was established in 1782. Pueblo life and sprawling ranchos
began to spring up around the site of the mission, and
Californio families exerted their influence until the
State of California was added to the Union in 1850.
During the mid nineteenth century,
immigrants began to pour in from the east coast
and Europe. The major industry, agriculture, produced
great crops of barley and lima beans. Achille and
Henry Levy opened an agricultural brokerage business
in 1882, and finally a bank, which encouraged and
assisted farmers. Then, in 1897, ranchers Albert
Maulhardt and Johannes Borchard believed sugar beets
would be a profitable crop for the area, and invited
Henry Oxnard to construct a local factory to process
the harvests. Oxnard and his three brothers operated
the American Beet Sugar factory in Chino, California
and encouraged by a pledge of 18,000 acres of sugar
beets from local farmers, built a factory in the
heart of the rich fields. The Southern Pacific Railroad
constructed a spur right to the factory site so
the processed beets could be shipped out.
A town quickly sprang up near the factory. Almost
overnight businesses and residences appeared around the town square, called the
"Plaza", and schools and churches emerged almost
as rapidly. The City of Oxnard was incorporated in 1903,
taking its name from the Oxnard brothers who had founded
the sugar beet factory.
The factory attracted many Chinese, Japanese and Mexican
workers to Oxnard and the sugar beet industry brought
diversification to agriculture. Major crops then included
beans, beets, and barley, and businesses in town consisted
of general merchandise, restaurants, laundries, saloons,
and banks. Oxnard built its first public library, a classically
styled, Andrew Carnegie gift, on the north-west corner
of the plaza in 1907. The building stands today as a county
historical landmark and is the only remaining structure
from the early days of the plaza.
Agriculture has remained the major industry, but Oxnard
has witnessed a steady population increase beginning in
the 1940's. The establishment of military bases at Port
Hueneme and Point Mugu during World War II, and the rise
of electronic, aerospace, and other manufacturing industries
have contributed to the growth of the city and surrounding
areas.
Now, tourism has been added to the list of industries,
with the former Colonial House being a favorite haunt
of movie stars in the 1940's and 50's.
Additional
Oxnard History Links:
Description
of Henry T. Oxnard Historic District. The Henry T. Oxnard
Historic District,located in the City of Oxnard, County
of Ventura, California, was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places on February 5, 1999. The District
is the residential neighborhood of the professional
and trades people that developed adjacent to the commercial
downtown in Oxnard during the years 1900 to 1939. The
neighborhood continued to be socially significant beyond
this timeframe as the residence of founding families,
merchants, professionals, government officials, factory
officials and trades people into the present day.
Photograph
of two story California Bungalow - Built (1912) for
Frank Friedrich; a rancher
Oxnard
Public Library
OXNARD DEMOGRAPHICS & LOCAL INFORMATION
Avg. Temp. 70/52
Avg. Rainfall 14.53 in.
Labor Force 77,590
Population 155,991
Median Age 30.5
Median Home Value $167,000
Median Household Income $41,043
Chamber of Commerce (805) 385-8860
Civic Center (805) 385-7430
Tourism Bureau (805) 385-7545
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