Ventura County Area Listings in the National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect America's historic and archaeological resources.

There are over 80,000 listings in the National Register in five general categories: building, structure, site, district and object.

To be considered eligible for the Register, a property must meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. This involves examining the property’s age (generally at least 50 years old), integrity and significance.

To learn more about the National Register of Historic Places and to search its database, visit www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm.

Now let's highlight Ventura County area properties listed in the Register as of November 2024. Most of these you can visit (links provided where applicable):

• Anacapa Island Archeological District (listed 9/12/1979)

• Anacapa Island Light Station (9/3/1991)

• Elizabeth Bard Memorial Hospital, 121 N. Fir St, Ventura (11/11/1977)

• Bardsdale Methodist Episcopal Church, 1418 Bardsdale Ave, Fillmore (8/28/1986)

• Berylwood (Estate of Thomas R. Bard family owned by U.S. Navy and located at U.S. Naval Station Battalion Center in Port Hueneme) (9/15/1977)

• Burro Flats Painted Cave, Bell Canyon (address restricted) (5/5/1976)

• Calleguas Creek Site, Oxnard (address restricted) (5/19/1976)

• Camarillo Ranch House (2/20/2003)

• Case Study House No. 28, 91 Inverness Road, Thousand Oaks (Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture from 1945 to 1966). (7/24/2013)

• Colony House, 137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley (9/18/1978)

• Dudley House, 4085 Telegraph Road, Ventura (5/17/1977)

• Ebell Club of Santa Paula, 125 S. Seventh St (7/20/1989)

• George Washington Faulkner House, 14292 W. Telegraph Road, Santa Paula (4/25/1991)

• Feraud General Merchandise Store, 2 and 12 W. Main St, Ventura (1/23/1986)

• First Baptist Church of Ventura, 101 S. Laurel St (7/3/2009)

• Emmanuel Franz House, 31 N. Oak St, Ventura (6/25/1982)

• Glen Tavern Hotel, 134 N. Mill St, Santa Paula (7/26/1984)

• Thomas Gould, Jr. House, 402 Lynn Drive, Ventura (12/23/2005)

• Grand Union Hotel (now Stagecoach Inn Museum), 51 Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park (12/30/1975)

• Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, 4595 Cochran St, Simi Valley (10/25/1996)

• Joel McCrea Ranch, 4500 N. Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks (4/18/1997)

• Mission San Buenaventura, 211 E. Main St, Ventura (4/10/1975)

• Olivas Adobe in Ventura (7/24/1979)

• Carnegie Art Museum (formerly Oxnard Public Library), 424 S. C Street (7/27/1971)

• Henry T. Oxnard Historic District, F & G Streets, between Palm & 5th (2/5/1999)

• Charles M. Pratt House, 1330 Foothill Road, Ojai (6/14/2002)

• Rancho Camulos, 5164 E. Telegraph Road, Piru (11/1/1996)

• San Buenaventura Mission Aqueduct, 234 Canada Larga Rd., Ventura (3/7/1975)

• San Miguel Chapel Site (address restricted), Ventura (7/20/1978)

• Santa Paula Hardware Company Block--Union Oil Company (now California Oil Museum) 1003 E. Main St. (8/14/1986)

• Saticoy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, 11220 Azahar Street, Saticoy (7/23/2018)

• Simi Adobe-Strathearn House,137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley (5/19/1978)

• SS Winfield Scott (Steamship shipwreck at Anacapa Island) (9/12/1988)

• St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel (now Ojai Valley Museum), 130 W. Ojai Ave, Ojai (6/29/1995)

• Thacher School Historic District, 5025 Thacher Road, Ojai Valley (4/4/2019)

• Ventura County Courthouse (now Ventura City Hall), 501 Poli St, Ventura (8/19/1971)

• Ventura Theater, 26 S. Chestnut, Ventura (12/29/1986)

• Women's Improvement Club of Hueneme, 239 E. Scott St (8/21/1989)

Other nearby historic places:

• Adamson House, 23200 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu (10/28/1977)

• Humaliwo (address restricted) (9/1/1976)

• Saddle Rock Ranch Pictograph Site (address restricted) (2/12/1982)

• Stevens House, 23524 Malibu Colony Road, Malibu (10/9/2009)

• Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas (5/29/1975)

Tell Me About the History of the Street Names in Casa Conejo in Newbury Park

Casa Conejo is an unincorporated Ventura County community of about 1,000 homes located in Newbury Park. Casa Conejo is a rectangular shaped island within Thousand Oaks city limits, but is not part of the city. Although Casa Conejo is considered part of Newbury Park, it is not part of the majority of Newbury Park within the boundaries of the City of Thousand Oaks.

Premiering in 1960, Casa Conejo was the first planned community in Newbury Park. Several folks have asked about the origin of the street names in Casa Conejo. Here goes (with the help of a relative of the original developers):

Louis Lesser Enterprises developed Casa Conejo. Members of the Lesser and Malat families created the street names; hence Lesser and Malat Drives, Rudman Drive came from Louis Rudman, also related through marriage to the Lessers, and who managed home sales.

William Malat (William Drive) had twin sons, Melvin (Melvin Ct) and Gerald (Gerald Drive). William's wife was Ethel (Ethel Ct). Louis Lesser's wife was Jeanne (Jeanne Ct). Louis Lesser's brother, Alvin "Sonny" was married to Martha (Martha Dr). Louis Rudman's wife was Shirley (Shirley Dr), who was also Ethel’s sister. One of Sonny's daughters is Dena (Dena Dr).

Ben (Ben Ct) and Lily (Lily Ct) were Louis and Alvin Lesser's parents. Michael (Michael Drive) is a cousin (by marriage) of the Lessers and Malats. Cathy (Cathy Dr) and Francine (Frankie Dr) were two of Louis and Jeanne’s four children. Lisa Rudman (Lisa Ct) is related to the Rudmans (I suspect their daughter).

The jackpot winner was WENDY, who has by far the longest street, not to mention a freeway on/offramp and overpass, named after her! Wendy, who lives in AZ, is a granddaughter of William Malat and daughter of Melvyn. Before it became Wendy Drive in mid-1961, it was called Avenida de la Felicidad.

There are a couple dozen other streets in Casa Conejo that I don’t have the source for at this time, but perhaps I’ll do some more digging:

North/South Streets: Jenny Drive, Gerst Drive, Ruth Drive, Lois Ave, Dorena Drive, Kitty St, Bella Dr, Randy Dr, Debbie St, Cay Ct, Henry Dr, Devia Dr, Virginia Dr, Nellie Ct, Bob Ct, Elinor Ct.

East/West Streets: Gloria Dr, Carl Ct, Alice Dr, Lynn Ct, Lois Ct, Verna Ave.

Historical and Cultural Landmark Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley is a California Historical Landmark, Ventura County Cultural Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bottle Village is a .3 acre lot located at 4595 Cochran Street that contains shrines, walkways, sculptures and buildings made from recycled items and discards from local landfills. All of these structures were built by hand over a 25 year old period by Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey, beginning at age 60 in 1956 until 1972. Thirteen buildings and 22 sculptures in total.

A non-profit organization, Preserve Bottle Village (PBV), was formed in 1979. The 1994 Northridge Earthquake caused extensive damage to the Bottle Village site. PBV has embarked on a campaign to develop a master plan for the restoration of significant site components. Learn how you can help at bottlevillage.weebly.com. There’s also a more recent website, with link to social media and periodic tours, at www.bottlevillage.org.

Grandma Prisbrey sold the property in 1972 to care for an ailing son, but came back several years later to continue building and to give tours.  She died in 1988 at the age of 92.

Hillside Letters in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County

There are over 500 hillside letters, or “mountain monograms,” in the United States, including 81 in California. What are hillside letters, you ask. They are simply large single letters, abbreviations and sometimes even messages erected on a hillside, usually by a school or town.

The Big “C” overlooking UC Berkeley (From Wikipedia; public domain)

One well known hillside letter is a giant concrete block letter “C” built in the hills overlooking UC Berkeley that was constructed on March 23, 1905.

We have our share of hillside letters here in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County, some of which you may be aware of…others, perhaps not.

The mountain monograms visible in our neck of the woods include:

• The CLU in the hills above Cal Lutheran University

• The A on the hill above Agoura High School

• The VC in the hills above Ventura College

• The V in the hills above Ventura High School

• The F in the hills just east of Fillmore

• The SP in the hills south of Santa Paula (off the 126)

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The letters CLU on Mt. Clef Ridge above Cal Lutheran University are maintained by students.

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Hilltop A overlooking Agoura High School up a steep hill. Made out of wood, I believe.

Here is a view of the letter VC north of Ventura College in late April 2019.

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If you drive north up Catalina Street, west of Ventura High School, you will be able to see this letter V on the hillside.

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The letter F is located in the hills west of Fillmore and is quite easy to see.

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This letters SP letters in the hills south of Santa Paula is cleared brush. They originated in 1922. More information on THIS PAGE.

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Happy Face Hill in Simi Valley is not a mountain monogram but is perhaps the visible hillside attraction throughout Ventura County.

Voters Chose to Incorporate the City of Thousand Oaks Over the City of Conejo in a September 29, 1964 Special Election

On September 29, 1964, voters in the Conejo Valley were given the choice of whether to incorporate as a separate city in Ventura County and, if so, what to name this new city. It came down to 4,601 out of approximately 7,000 registered voters that Tuesday.

In March 1963, 27 local organizations gathered to form a Conejo City Committee to take steps to bring to a public vote the incorporation of the City of Conejo.

Conejo? Yes, Conejo. A 16 square mile city. There was plenty of controversy, since the name Thousand Oaks had been used for much of this area within the Conejo Valley for over 40 years.

A group of citizens successfully petitioned to add the name Thousand Oaks to the ballot as an alternative to Conejo..  A humorous example of some of the outrage over changing the name to Conejo is seen in this letter to the editor of the local Chronicle newspaper:

"Let's Not Drop Thousand Oaks" Conejo in Spanish means rabbit, and since talk has it to change our name to Conejo instead of our good old Thousand Oaks, I then suggest we cut down all our beautiful oak trees and replace each one with a nice fat rabbit so that we can identify ourselves with the strange new name which some newcomers have thrown at us without regard or consideration of our sentimentality and perhaps foolish tradition. If one lives in the San Fernando Valley in Canoga Park or Northridge, one says he lives in Canoga Park or Northridge in San Fernando Valley. So why can't we say we live in Thousand Oaks in the Conejo Valley or in Newbury Park in Conejo Valley. I don't care how we do it, just please let's not drop the name of Thousand Oaks." -Lucia Rios de Schneider, 3107 Radcliffe Road, Thousand Oaks

There were also a number of residents who did not want to be included in the incorporation initiative, including residents of Newbury Park, residents of the Rolling Hills area south of the 101, 500 acres of Janss Corporation owned land west of Cal Lutheran, 40 acres of land east and south of the Park Oaks Shopping Center and 100 acres of land south of the 101 owned by Louis Goebel.

Election Results - A City is Born

The Special Election for the Incorporation of the City of Conejo took place on Tuesday, September 29, 1964. Voting was a lot simpler back then. Instructions indicated to vote, "stamp a cross (+) in the voting square next to the right of the answer you desire to give." "On absent voter ballots mark a cross (+) with pen or pencil." The three measures submitted to vote were:

• For or against incorporation

• The proposed city should be named (vote for one): Conejo or Thousand Oaks

• Vote for five city council members if the city is incorporated (there were 37 candidates on the ballot)

Portion of Sample Ballot from the September 29, 1964 Special Election for the Incorporation of City of Conejo (or Thousand Oaks, as the case were to be) (Courtesy Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections)

As you can see from the tallies written on the sample ballot above, residents voted to incorporate the city, but at 60% of the 4,601 votes it was not exactly a landslide. However, the desire to retain the name Thousand Oaks was quite clear, as 87% of votes tallied for this name over the city of Conejo.

The first City of Thousand Oaks City Council consisted of pharmacist Robert Talley (2,598 votes), Ventura County planner John Tapking (1,574 votes), Accounting Chief Alexander Fiore (1,139 votes), escrow agent David Betts (1,096 votes) and engineer Lee Williams (1,056 votes).

Councilman and Thousand Oaks Mayor David Betts in the 1966 Conejo Valley Days parade.

Another one of the original city of thousand Oaks councilmembers, John Tapking.

The City of Thousand Oaks was officially incorporated on October 7, 1964. At the time, the population of the city was approximately 22,000. The U.S. Census estimates 2014 population at just over 129,000. The City turned 50 in 2014.

Where Did the Name "Thousand Oaks" Come From?

According to the late Pat Allen, historian for the city, mostly farmers lived in the Conejo Valley in 1922.  The 2,200 acre Crowley Ranch was sold and subdivided and lots were sold for $1,000. As lots sold and population grew, developers held a contest to name the new village. Sixteen year old Bobby Harrington entered the name "Thousand Oaks," he won the prize and the rest is history.

Thousand Oaks became a subdivision of Ventura County on May 1, 1923, as recorded by the County Recorder. The Thousand Oaks post office opened October 31, 1938 (compared to July 16, 1875 for the Newbury Park post office).

Sources: Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections and news articles from the Conejo News, The Chronicle and Oxnard Press Courier.

Cheeseboro Canyon vs Chesebro Road in Agoura Hills

Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons cover over 4,000 acres in the northernmost section of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in the Simi Hills. The Chumash occupied these canyons for thousands of years, until ranchers came into the area in the 1800s. The natural landscape changed as a result to accommodate the needs of grazing cattle.

The National Park Service (NPS) acquired Cheeseboro Canyon in the early to mid 1980s and subsequently acquired Palo Comado Canyon (formerly known as the Jordan Ranch), in 1994.

Nearly every time we post an image from Cheeseboro Canyon to a social media site, someone points out, "it's not Cheeseboro, it's Chesebro."

Why is it called Cheeseboro when the road that gets you to the trailhead is called Chesebro?

According to one NPS Ranger I've spoken with, the original owner of the land in the late 1800s was Oscar Cheesebrough (yet a different spelling). The NPS adopted the U.S. Geological Survey spelling of Cheeseboro, while Caltrans adopted the name Chesebro.

Why the difference? That's not so clear. But what IS clear is that the actual canyon is called Cheeseboro Canyon and it is a beautiful place to hike and bike!