e 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.
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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 California 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.
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