The Homeplace of Original Conejo Valley Settler Nils Olsen in 1913

This historic photo and information was generously provided by Gerry Olsen, grandson of Nils Olsen, one of the original settlers in the Conejo Valley in the 1890s.

Nils Olsen was born over 150 years ago (June 16, 1859) in Norway. After a stint in the Norwegian Army, he decided in 1884 that he wanted to move to the United States. So he started saving his money. In late January 1886 he bid farewell to his family. He arrived New York on February 20, 1886 via ship...it took about 16 days to get from Bergen, Norway to New York via Liverpool, England and Ireland (cost was roughly $58).

Built in 1905, this is the home of original Conejo Valley settler Nils Olsen in 1913.

Two days after arriving in New York, Nils was off to San Francisco, where he arrived nine days later.  Then later that month (March 1886) he took the train and stagecoach to Santa Barbara, where for four years he worked as a stone mason. In 1889, Nils met George Edwards, whose family owned 20,000 acres in the Conejo Valley and who was selling parcels.

In 1890, Nils and four other Norwegians, Ole Nelson, Lars Pederson, George Hanson and Ole Anderson purchased 650 acres from Edwards. Apparently the land cost about $3/acre for flatlands and $2/acre for hillsides. They settled and grew barley and wheat for the next 20 years.  This area was known as the Norwegian Colony.

Anderson sold his land to Hanson by 1900 and moved back to Norway. Nelson sold his land to Pederson in 1902. Hanson's wife (he died at age 39 in 1901) sold her land to Olsen in 1902-1903. That left just the Olsens and Pedersons.

Olsen's first home was southeast of the corner of Olsen and Moorpark roads. In 1905, he and his family moved into the new three bedroom home and barn pictured above. The photo was taken from the hill behind where the Church of the LDS on Moorpark Road currently resides. The home was located on, but of course, OLSEN Road near the corner of Olsen and Mountclef (adjacent to Cal Lutheran University).

Outdoor castle scenes of Wuthering Heights were filmed on the Olsen property in 1938. Nils passed away on December 14, 1941 at the age of 82.  In 1954, the home pictured above was torn down to make room for a more modern home.

There is so much more history to tell about these Norwegian settlers who bravely settled on the land we now reside.  Here I am stressing out about pulling weeds and mowing the lawn. These hearty Norwegians will forever be remembered in the Conejo Valley.

Dos Vientos Ranch Twenty Five Years Ago Compared to Today in Newbury Park

Dos Vientos Ranch in August 1997

Dennis Bronk of Newbury Park sent over this old photo of the Dos Vientos Ranch (or Two Winds Ranch) development in its early stages in August 1997. That's Cypress Elementary near the bottom right side of the photo. The body of water east of the school is Conejo Mountain Creek Detention Basin No. 1. The photo below is the view today.

Keep in mind that in the late 1800s/early 1900s there was almost no residential development throughout the Conejo Valley. The Dos Vientos development was the last of the large developments we will ever see in the Conejo Valley.

A view of Dos Vientos Ranch looking towards the Oxnard Plain in the 1950s.

The Corriganville Movie Ranch Site in Simi Valley is a Ventura County Historical Landmark

The Corriganville Movie Ranch Site in Simi Valley was designated a historical point of interest by the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board in January 1982, then subsequently was redesignated as a historical landmark in August 1995.

Corriganville was a 1,500 acre piece of land in Simi Valley purchased by western film star Ray “Crash” Corrigan in 1937. The site was a working movie ranch for nearly three decades, and was used in the making of roughly 3,500 western films and television series such as Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Actors like John Wayne, Gene Autry, Johnny Weissmuller, Tex Ritter, Joel McCrea, Dale Evans and so many others filmed movies here.

Corriganville today...the ranch burned down in the 1970s, leaving just these cement slabs and exterior walls.

In 1949, the ranch opened to the public as “Corriganville,” a western themed amusement park. The ranch was later purchased by Bob Hope in 1965, deeming the ranch its alternative name, Hopetown. The ranch burned down in the 1970s and all that is left are the cement slabs and exterior rock walls of the barn. 

View of Corriganville Park from a trail on the east side of the park. The trail takes you up to 118 Freeway and a wildlife corridor tunnel that takes you under the freeway into Rocky Peak Park.

In 1988, 190 acres of the original ranch was purchased by the City of Simi Valley and is now owned and managed by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. Corriganville Park is located at 1601 Kuehner Drive, Simi Valley and is open to the public for hiking, walking and exploring. For a detailed compilation of historical aspects of the site, visit www.corriganville.net.

A photo of the Corriganville Movie Ranch when it was an active movie set. Learn more about Corriganville and see a model of what it looked like in the 1960s at the nearby Santa Susana Depot Museum.

Banning Dam (Lake Eleanor Dam) in Thousand Oaks is a Ventura County Historical Landmark

Banning Dam (also referred to as Lake Eleanor Dam) was designated as Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 120 in May 1988. Built in 1889 at 37 feet high and 140 feet long at its crest, the dam is located in a gorge adjacent to Westlake Boulevard, just south of Potrero Road. It is considered either the first or second concrete arched dam built in California.

The 8 acre Lake Eleanor can be seen as you are driving on Westlake Boulevard/Decker Canyon or you can do the Lake Eleanor Open Space Hike in Westlake Village for a view of the lake from above.

The lake and surrounding 529 acres of open space is fenced off from the public to create a habitat for wildlife. The area include rugged hills, rocky outcrops, freshwater marsh habitat, oak woodland and coastal sage scrub. Hawks and other large birds often use the outcrops for nesting sites and the area supports several species of rare/endangered plants.

The Lake Eleanor open space was acquired by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency in 1986. Banning Dam was designated City of Thousand Oaks historical point of interest No. 9 in May 1988.

Banning Dam

A Murder of Crows Above Thousand Oaks Boulevard

On a recent Sunday afternoon, we witnessed this large congregation of crows flying this way and that above Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Yes, this is next to the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall. We believe they were plotting an air bombardment over the new cars on display.

The Thousand Oaks Auto Mall consists of Rusnak BMW, Rusnak Westlake Audi, Rusnak Westlake Porche, Anderson Autos Acura of Thousand Oaks, DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks, DCH Suburu of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Honda of Thousand Oaks, Infiniti of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Jaguar of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Land Rover of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Lexus of Thousand Oaks, Neftin Westlake Mazda, Neftin Westlake Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo of Westlake, Bentley Westlake, Genesis of Westlake, Westlake Hyundai, Lamborghini Westlake, Maserati Westlake Village, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Westlake, Shaver Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram, Anderson Autos Mercedes-Benz Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Buick GMC Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Cadillac of Thousand Oaks and Anderson Autos Chevrolet of Thousand Oaks.

Dramatic Sunset Ends a Perfect Thanksgiving 2022 Weekend in Ventura County

Beautiful skies tonight, Sunday, November 27, 2022, at the end of the first weekend of holiday season shopping in Ventura County. Though it was such a beautiful weekend, many of us spent time outdoors, away from the hustle and bustle.

View from the camarillo Premium Outlets

View from near Thornhill Broome Beach in Point Mugu State Park (Photo Credit @bradli.mp3 Instagram)

Squawkless in Summerland? No! Check Out the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary

It was not a planned visit.

My son and I were cycling from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara for the first time, enjoying a relaxing ride on Via Real/Lillie Ave, paralleling the 101 on the north side.

We passed a sign that said "McLeod Parrot Menagerie" and I heard birds, squawking birds. I said, let's check this out! 

Little did I know that co-located at the Menagerie is the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary.

Squawkless in Summerland!? Heck no! Lots of squawking and talking going on at this place!

The Sanctuary is a non-profit organization founded by Jamie McLeod that rescues and rehabilitates parrots that are unwanted, abused and orphaned. The organization also finds homes for these beautiful animals. 

The Sanctuary is home to over 60 of birds, some of which are ready for adoption; others may have conditions that prevent adoption.

We got the chance to chat with Jamie, who is 1984 graduate from the America's Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College. She showed us the Skylar Learning Center, where children can learn more about these interesting, long-lived, intelligent creatures.

And of course we visited with the birds and had meaningful conversations with many of them. We heard words and phrases like "hello," "knock knock," "how's it going," "I love you," and so on. Quite entertaining. And we caught a few cool head bobs too!

We also learned that the McLeod Parrot Menagerie provides grooming and boarding, toys and other parrot-related products and services.

The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary is a must see and less than an hour from central Thousand Oaks. Walk-in visits are available 10 am to 3:30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Fees for non-docent tours are $10 for adults and $5 for 12 and under and 65+ seniors. Donations are welcomed (and tax deductible) as they help towards caring for and feeding the parrots. Docent-led personalized tours are also available with at least one week’s advance notice. You may observe the birds, but do not touch or feed them or their cages.

These fellows were quite entertaining.

To learn more, visit www.sbbird.org or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbbsbirds or call 805.565.1807. The street address is 2340 Lillie Avenue, Summerland.