Ventura County Historic Landmarks & Points of Interest facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Ventura County is home to many amazing places that tell stories about its past! These special spots are called Ventura County Historic Landmarks & Points of Interest. They include old buildings, important sites, and even whole neighborhoods.

Back in 1966, the county leaders created the Cultural Heritage Board. This group helps decide which places are important enough to be called historic. In 1968, the first two places were chosen: the Faulkner House near Santa Paula and the Edwards Adobe in Saticoy. These landmarks are found all over the county, in both cities and smaller towns. Some cities, like Fillmore and Oxnard, ask the county board for advice. Other cities, like Ventura and Santa Paula, have their own lists of historic places.

You can even visit a museum in Port Hueneme, the Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum, to learn more about the area's history. It's located in a historic building itself, the Hueneme Bank Building!

Cool Historic Landmarks to Explore
Points of Interest with Special Stories
Images for kids
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Cool Historic Landmarks to Explore

Ventura County has many landmarks, each with its own unique story. Here are some of the most interesting ones:

Old Houses and Buildings

Faulkner House (VCHL No. 1): This beautiful house near Santa Paula was built in 1894. It's a Queen Anne style farmhouse with a cool three-story tower that has eight sides! Today, it's a learning center about farming.
Edwards Adobe (VCHL No. 2): Built in 1860 in Saticoy, this two-story house mixes Mexican and "Yankee clapboard" styles. It's a real blast from the past!
Cook Mansion (VCHL No. 4): Also known as the Piru Mansion, this grand Queen Anne style house in Piru was first built in 1886. It burned down in 1981 but was rebuilt in 1983, looking just as grand!
Rancho Arnaz Adobe (VCHL No. 5): Located in Oak View, this adobe house was built in 1863. It's the oldest home in Ventura County that people have lived in continuously!
Don Adolfo Camarillo House (VCHL No. 8): Built in 1893, this house in Camarillo belonged to Don Adolfo Camarillo, a very important person in the area's history.
Ventura County Courthouse (VCHL No. 12): This impressive building in Ventura was built in 1912. It has a Neoclassical style with cool terra cotta decorations and a copper dome. It became Ventura City Hall in 1972.

The Ventura County Courthouse, now City Hall.

Thomas R. Bard Mansion (VCHL No. 31): This Italian Mediterranean style mansion in Port Hueneme was built in 1915 for Thomas R. Bard, who was important in the oil business and a U.S. Senator. Today, it's used by the U.S. Navy.
Josiah Keene House (VCHL No. 33): In Ventura, this Victorian house from 1872 has a unique steep, sloped roof called a mansard roof.
Union Oil Company Building (VCHL No. 36): This Queen Anne style office building in Santa Paula was the first headquarters for the Union Oil Company. Now, it's the California Oil Museum, where you can learn about oil history!

The historic Union Oil Company Building in Santa Paula.

Glen Tavern Inn (VCHL No. 65): Built around 1910 in Santa Paula, this hotel has a Craftsman and English Tudor style. It's a beautiful place with a long history.

The Glen Tavern Inn, a historic hotel.

Rancho Camulos (VCHL No. 152): This ranch in Piru was used as the setting for the famous 1884 novel Ramona. It's a great place to imagine stories from the past.

The visitor center at Rancho Camulos.

Schools and Community Places

Santa Clara Schoolhouse (VCHL No. 9): This one-room schoolhouse in Santa Paula, built in 1896–97, is also known as the Little Red Schoolhouse. Imagine learning there!
Oxnard Carnegie Library (VCHL No. 13): Built in 1906–07 with money from Andrew Carnegie, this Neoclassical building in Oxnard was once a public library. Now, it's an art museum!

The former Oxnard Carnegie Library, now an art museum.

Port Hueneme Women's Improvement Club (VCHL No. 19): This building in Port Hueneme was built in 1915 and was a place for women in the community to gather and work on projects.

The Women's Improvement Club of Hueneme building.

Southern Pacific Railroad Depot (VCHL No. 23): The very first train station in Ventura County was built in Santa Paula in 1887.

The Santa Paula Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.

Santa Susana Depot (VCHL No. 29): This railroad station in Simi Valley was built in 1903 and now houses a railroad museum. It's a great place to learn about trains!

The Santa Susana Depot, now a museum.

Barbara Webster School (VCHL No. 142): Built in Santa Paula in 1925, this school was created to educate the children of Mexican farm workers.
Timber School House and Auditorium (VCHL No. 166): In Newbury Park, this Mission style school was built around 1924.

Natural Wonders and Outdoor Sites

Row of eucalyptus trees (VCHL No. 3): East of Lewis Road in Camarillo, you can see a long row of 1,000 eucalyptus trees that were planted way back in 1892!
Point Mugu Recreation Area/State Park (VCHL No. 14): This amazing archaeological site near Point Mugu was once a Chumash village called Satwiwa, occupied for 6,000 years! It also has the largest remaining grassland in California.

Beautiful Point Mugu State Park.

Libbey Park Bowl Sycamore Tree (VCHL No. 27): In Ojai, there's a sycamore tree that's over 200 years old! The Chumash people used it for special ceremonies.
San Buenaventura Mission Aqueduct (VCHL No. 28): Starting in 1792, a seven-mile-long aqueduct was built to bring water to the Mission San Buenaventura and local farms. You can still see parts of it today!

A section of the historic San Buenaventura Mission Aqueduct.

Foster Park Lion Entrance Markers (VCHL No. 34): At the east end of the Foster Park Bridge in Ventura, two large sandstone lions were put up in 1908 to mark the park's entrance.

One of the lion entrance markers at Foster Park.

Moreton Bay Fig Tree (VCHL No. 79): In Santa Paula, there's a huge Moreton Bay Fig Tree that was planted in 1879. It's a giant!
Mount McCoy and Cross (VCHL No. 106): This landmark in Simi Valley features a cross on top of Mount McCoy.

Mount McCoy in Simi Valley.

Palm Trees along "C" Street (VCHL No. 148): In Oxnard, Mexican Fan Palm Trees were planted in 1903 along C Street, creating a beautiful, historic avenue.

Points of Interest with Special Stories

Points of Interest are places that are important for their history, even if they aren't buildings.

Corriganville Movie Ranch (POI No. 1, later VCHL No. 150): This ranch in Simi Valley opened in 1937 and was used to film many movies, especially Westerns! It even became a Western-themed amusement park for a while. Today, it's a park operated by the City of Simi Valley.

Foundations at Corriganville Park, once a movie ranch.

Butterfield Stage Route (POI No. 2): This was a route used by the Butterfield Overland Mail to deliver mail between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Imagine stagecoaches rumbling through Santa Rosa Valley!
Saticoy Springs and Chumash Indian Village Sa'aqtik'oy Site (POI No. 6): This site in Saticoy was a Chumash settlement dating back 5,500 years! It was an important gathering place for Chumash leaders.
Cesar Chavez Childhood Home Site (POI No. 9): In Oxnard, this is the site where the famous labor leader Cesar Chavez and his family lived in a small barn in 1939.
Colonial House Restaurant (POI No. 10): This site in Oxnard was once home to the most popular restaurant in Ventura County after World War II. Movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable used to visit! Though the building is gone, a brick fireplace remains.