Properties of historical importance in California are currently designated
as significant resources in three state registration programs: State Historical
Landmarks,
Points of Historical Interest, and the California Register of Historic
Places. Below is a list of the State Historical Landmarks for Ventura
County. This data is
provided by the Office of Historic Preservation - California Department
of Parks and Recreation and is also available in the California Historical
Landmarks Book.
NO. 113 SITE OF JUNÍPERO SERRA'S CROSS - The first
cross on the hill known as 'La Loma de la Cruz,' or the Hill of the Cross,
was erected by Junípero Serra at the founding of the Mission San Buenaventura
on March 31, 1782. This was the ninth and last mission founded by Father
Serra in California.
Location: Grant Park, at end of Ferro Dr, Ventura
NO. 114 OLD MISSION RESERVOIR - Part of the mission water
system for Mission San Buenaventura, this was the settling tank or receiving
reservoir
from which water was distributed to the church and to the few Spanish
families who lived near the mission.
Location: Eastwood Park, N of Valdez Alley, 115 E Main St, Ventura
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-75000496
NO. 114-1 SAN BUENAVENTURA MISSION AQUEDUCT - The aqueduct
at Canada Larga Road is two surviving sections of viaduct about 100 feet long and made of cobble stone and mortar. Originally, the watercourse
ran from a point on the Ventura River about 1/2 mile north of the remaining
ruins and carried
the water to holding tanks behind the San Buenaventura Mission, a total
of about 7 miles. The aqueduct was built by Chumash Indians 1805-15 to
meet the needs of the mission population and consisted of both ditches and elevated stone
masonry. The entire water system was destroyed by floods and abandoned
in 1862.
Location: 234 Canada Larga Rd, Ventura
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: VENTURA
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-75000497
NO. 115 OLIVAS ADOBE - Continuous use has preserved this
adobe, the only early two-story adobe in the Santa Clara Valley. A small
one-story adobe built in 1837 was enlarged in 1849 by Don Raimundo Olivas, a prosperous cattle
rancher.
Location: 4200 Olivas Park, Ventura
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: VENTURA
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-79000570
NO. 310
MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA - This mission, established
in 1782, was the ninth and the last to be dedicated by Father Junípero
Serra. The first chapel and church were destroyed, the present mission church
was begun in 1793 and completed in 1809.
Location: 210 E Main St at Figueroa, Ventura
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-75000496
NO. 553 RANCHO CAMULOS - On January 22, 1839, Governor
Juan Alvarado granted the 48,815-acre Rancho San Francisco to Antonio del
Valle. Jacoba Feliz filed a claim against this grant that was dismissed on
June 8, 1857. The Del Valle family chose to live on the Rancho at Camulos,
later known as the Home of Ramona.
Location: On State Hwy 126 (P.M. 30.6), 2.2 mi E of Piru
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: PIRU
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-96001137
NO. 624 WARRING PARK - On August 11, 1769, the explorers
and priests accompanying Portolá found a populous village of Piru
Indians near this point. Carrying their bowstrings loose, the Indians offered necklaces of stones,
in exchange for which Portolá presented them with beads.
Location: Warring Park, 700 block of Orchard St, Piru
NO. 659 STAGECOACH INN - Originally located some 200 yards
to the north, the Stagecoach Inn was built in 1876. Its redwood lumber
came by sea and
was freighted up the steep Conejo Grade by multiteam wagons. From 1887
to 1901, the hotel served as a regular depot for the Coast Stage Line,
which carried both passengers and mail. In 1965 it was moved to its present location.
Location: 51 S Ventu Park Rd, Newbury Park
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: NEWBURY PARK
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-75000495
NO. 727 PORTOLÁ EXPEDITION - On August 11, 1769,
the Portolá Expedition arrived at the junction of the Arroyo Mupu
and Santa Paula Creek, at a place they named the Holy Martyrs Ipolito and Cassiano. The priests
of the Mission San Buenaventura here established the Asistencia Santa Paula,
where they held services for the Mupu Indians.
Location: Santa Paula Boys Club Recreation Center, 1400 block
of Harvard Blvd, Santa Paula
NO. 756 SYCAMORE TREE - In 1846 General John C. Frémont
passed this sycamore tree on his way to sign a treaty with General Andrés
Pico to secure California for annexation to the United States. The tree has served
as a resting place, a polling place, a temporary post office, and an outdoor
chapel.
Location: On State Hwy 126 (P.M. 16.7) at Hall Rd, 4 mi E of
Santa Paula
NO. 847 VENTURA COUNTY COURTHOUSE - The courthouse was
designed in 1910 by one of the early pioneers of architecture in Southern
California-Albert C. Martin, Sr. Dedicated in July 1913, the structure
is an outstanding example of neoclassic architecture, a style prevalent
in the United States at
the turn of the century. The courthouse is an extremely well-proportioned
building, and is rich in detail and materials not likely to be found elsewhere
in the Southern
California area.
Location: 501 Poli St. at N California St, Ventura
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-71000211
NO. 979 RANCHO SIMI - This is the site of the headquarters
of the Spanish Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y
Simi. The name derives from 'Shimiji,' the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish.
At 113,000 acres, Rancho Simi was one of the state's largest land grants.
Two prominent Spanish and Mexican family names are connected with the Rancho: Santiago
Pico who first received the grant, and José de la Guerra who purchased
the Rancho in
1842. Two rooms of original adobe remain, part of the Strathearn home
built in 1892-93.
Location: Robert P Strathearn Historical Park, 137 Strathearn
Place, Simi Valley
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: SIMI VALLEY W
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-78000825
NO. 996 UNION OIL COMPANY BUILDING - The Santa Paula Hardware
Company Building, more commonly referred to as the Union Oil Company
Building, is significant for its historical importance as the birthplace
of the Union Oil Company on October 17,1890. The building continued to
serve as a field
division office after the main headquarters moved to Los Angeles in
1900. In 1950 the Union Oil Museum was established and in 1990, for its
Centennial
Celebration, the building was restored to its original appearance and
reopened as a new state-of-the-art oil museum.
Location: 1003 E Main St, Santa Paula
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-86002619
