Ventura County, California

Ventura County is a in the southern part of the  of. It is located on California's coast, and forms the northwestern part of the. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country. It is ranked as one of the top 100 in the country and as the 6th  by per capita income. range from $400,000 to around $2 million. This is partly because it is part of the Area, and has a large presence in technology corporations like telecommunications, healthcare, development, and especially biotech corporations, most of which are located in the.

As of the, the county had a population of 753,197. A more current California Department of Finance estimate places the population at 813,052. The is the  of  (formally known as San Buenaventura). Ventura County's largest city is, with a population of about 200,000.

History
Prior to the arrival of Europeans in California, the area was home to the tribe of.

Spanish period
In October, the expedition led by anchored in an inlet near ; its members were the first Europeans to arrive in the area that would become Ventura County.

Active occupation of California by Spain began in 1769. Gaspar de Portolà led a military expedition by land from to, passing through Ventura County in August of that year. A priest with the expedition, Father, kept a journal of the trip and noted that the area was ideal for a mission to be established and it was a "good site to which nothing is lacking". . Also on this expedition was Father, who later founded a mission on this site.

On, the  was founded by Father Serra , named after. Buenaventura is composed of two words, buena meaning "good" and ventura meaning "fortune." The town that grew up around the mission is named San Buenaventura, which came to be known as.

In the 1790s, the Spanish Governor of California began granting land rights to Spanish Californians, often retiring soldiers. These grants were known as ranchos and consisted of thousands of acres of land that were used primarily as ranch land for livestock. By 1822, there were 19 rancho grants in Ventura County.

Mexican period
In 1822, California was notified of Mexico's and the Governor of California, the Junta, the military in Monterey and the priests and neophytes at Mission San Buenaventura swore allegiance to Mexico on. California land that had been vested in the King of Spain was now owned by the nation of Mexico. By the 1830s, Mission San Buenaventura was in a decline with fewer neophytes joining the mission. The number of cattle owned by the mission dropped from first to fifteenth ranking in the California Missions.

In 1836, Mission San Buenaventura was transferred from the Church to a secular administrator. The natives who had been working at the mission gradually left to work on the ranchos. By 1839, only 300 Indians were left at the Mission and it slipped into neglect.

Several outhouses were discovered in dating back to the. They have proved to be a treasure trove for archaeologists who braved the lingering smell in the dirt to uncover some 19th Century artifacts.

United States of America period
The began in 1846 but its effect was not felt in Ventura County until 1847. In January of that year, Captain led the California Battalion into San Buenaventura finding that the Europeans had fled leaving only the Indians in the Mission. The Fremont and the Battalion continued south to sign the with General. The formally transferred California to the United States in 1848.

By 1849, a constitution had been adopted for the California territory. The new Legislature met and divided the pending state into 27 counties. At the time, the area that would become Ventura County was the southern part of.

The 1860s brought many changes to the area. A drought caused many of the ranchos to experience financial difficulties and most were divided, sub-divided and sold. Large sections of land were bought by eastern capitalists based on favorable reports of petroleum deposits. A United States Post Office was opened at Mission San Buenaventura in 1861. On, the town of San Buenaventura was incorporated becoming the first officially recognized town in Ventura County.

On, Ventura County was officially split from Santa Barbara County, bringing a flurry of change. That same year, a courthouse and wharf were built in San Buenaventura. A bank was opened and the first public library was created. The school system grew, with the first high school opening in 1890.

Other towns were starting in the county. A plan for  was recorded in 1874, and 's plan was recorded in 1875. The community of Nordhoff (later renamed ) was started in 1874. , and  were established in 1887. 1892 saw (later Simi Valley),,  and. was a late-comer, not being established until 1898.

The laid tracks through San Buenaventura in 1887. For convenience in printing their timetables, Southern Pacific shortened San Buenaventura to Ventura. The Post Office soon followed suit. While the city remains officially known as San Buenaventura, it is more commonly referred to as Ventura.

It had been known that oil existed in Ventura County as far back as the Chumash people, who used tar to make baskets and canoes waterproof. In the 1860s, several attempts were made to harvest the petroleum products under Ventura County but none were financially successful, and the oil speculators eventually changed from oil to land development. In 1913, oil exploration began in earnest, with Ralph Lloyd obtaining the financial support of veteran oil man Joseph B. Dabney. Their first well, named "Lloyd No. 1", was started on. The well struck oil at 2558 feet (780 m) but was destroyed when it went wild. Other wells met a similar fate, until 1916, when a deal was struck with the. Other deals followed with in 1917 and  in 1920. At its peak, the Ventura Avenue oilfield was producing 90,000 barrels of oil a day, with annual production of over a million and a half barrels.

In the early hours of the morning of, the  collapsed, sending billions of gallons of water rushing through the Santa Clara Valley, killing 385 people, destroying 1,240 homes and flooding 7,900 acres (32 km²) of land, devastating farm fields and orchards. This was the largest single disaster to strike Ventura County.

Modern period
Ventura County can be separated into two major parts, East County and West County. East County consists of all cities east of the, known locally as "The Grade." East County, geographically, is the end of the, in which the is located, and where there is a considerable decrease in. Communities which are considered to be in the East County are, , , , Santa Rosa Valley, , , and. A majority of these communities are in the, one of the most affluent areas in the. West County, which is everything west of the Conejo Grade, consists of communities such as, , Somis, Point Mugu, , , , , and. West County consists of some of the first developed cities in. Ventura County's largest beach communities are located in West County on the coastline of the Channel Islands Harbor.

East County
Ventura County consists of a number of suburban areas. Starting in the mid-1900s, there was a large growth in population in the East County, moving from the in  and out into the Conejo and Simi Valleys, which consists of, , , , , and parts of  belonging to. The other half of the, which belongs to , consists of , , , parts of , , and , which was formerly an unincorporated area that is now the most westerly part of Thousand Oaks. Many working-class white people migrated to this area during the 1960s and 1970s out of East and. As a result, there was a large growth in population into the and into  through the  corridor. Making the a full freeway in the 1960s, and the expansions that followed, helped make commuting to  easier and opened the way for development westward. The communities that have seen the most substantial development are, , , , , and. Development moved farther down the US 101 corridor and sent population rising in West County cities as well. The largest population growth there has been in, , and. Development in the East County and along the US 101 corridor is becoming more rare today, because most of these cities were master-planned cities, such as and, and are approaching build-out. Although the area still has plenty of open space and land, almost all of it was put aside and mandated never to be developed as part of the master plan of each city. Because of this, its private low-key location, its country feel, and its close proximity to Los Angeles, the area has become a very attractive place to live. It once had relatively inexpensive real estate, but this has changed due to sharply rising real-estate prices. For example, real estate in Newbury Park has increased in price by over 250% in the last 10 years. Median home prices in the Conejo Valley, for instance, now range from $700,000 to $2.2 million. The Conejo Valley area is one of the most affluent areas in the country.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 5,719 km² (2,208 ). 4,779 km² (1,845 sq mi) of it is land and 940 km² (363 sq mi) of it (16.43%) is water. of and  are located in the county.

Most of the population of Ventura County lives in the southern portion of the county. The major population centers are the and the  and  Valleys.

North of Highway 126 the county is mountainous and mostly uninhabited, and contains some of the most unspoiled, rugged and inaccessible wilderness remaining in southern California. Most of this land is in the, and includes the in the northernmost portion, adjacent to , as well as the large  and portions of both the  and  (both of these protected areas straddle the line with Santa Barbara County). All of the wilderness areas are within the jurisdiction of Los Padres National Forest.

The highest peaks in the county include (8831', 2697 m),  (8017', 2444 m), and  (7525', 2294 m), all in the  (Pinos and Frazier Mountain are sometimes assigned to the ). The uplands are well-timbered with, and receive plentiful snow in the winter.

Mount Pinos is sacred to the Indians. It is known to them as Iwihinmu, and was considered to be the center of the universe; being the highest peak in the vicinity, it has a spectacular view, unimpeded in three directions.

The is the principal waterway. , an artificial reservoir, is the largest body of water.

Adjacent counties

 * - west
 * - north
 * - east

ZIP Codes
See

Cities

 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)
 * (San Buenaventura)

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 101 (CA).svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:California 1.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 23.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 33.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 34.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 118.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 126.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 232.svg|20px]]

Unconstructed
 * [[Image:California 257.svg|20px]]

Public transportation
Ventura County is served by and  trains, as well as , (formerly South Coast Area Transit), and buses. The cities of, and  have their own small bus systems.

ferries connect Ventura with the five islands of

Airports

 * , just west of Downtown Oxnard is a commercial and general aviation airport. Commercial flights are available to.


 * , formerly a US Air Force Base, is a general aviation airport located south of the City of Camarillo.


 * is a privately owned airport. However, it is open to the public for general aviation.

Politics
Ventura County has tended to support the in local and national elections. The ideals of most citizens of Ventura County remain those of family values and slow growth. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was in.

A small part of coastal Ventura County is in, held by Democrat , while most of the county is in the , which is held by Republican. In the, Ventura is in the 35th, 37th, 38th, and 41st districts. The 35th and 41st districts are held by Democrats, and, respectively; the 37th and 38th districts are held by Republicans,  and , respectively. In the, Ventura is part of the 17th, 19th, and 23rd Senate districts, which are held by Republicans , Tom McClintock, and Democrat , respectively.

Current county s are Steve Bennett, Linda Parks (Chair), Kathy Long, Peter Foy, and John Flynn. Bob Brooks is the sheriff of the. Bob Roper is the chief of the.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 753,197 people, 243,234 households, and 182,911 families living in the county. The was 158/km² (408/sq mi). There were 251,712 housing units at an average density of 53/km² (136/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 69.93%, 5.35% , 1.95% or , 0.94% , 0.22% , 17.68% from , and 3.93% from two or more races. About one third (33.42%) of the population is or  of any race.

There were 243,234 households, of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the county the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $59,666, and the median income for a family was $65,285. Males had a median income of $45,310, versus $32,216 for females. The for the county was $24,600. About 6.4% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those aged 65 or over.

According to an updated 2005 US Census, median household income was $66,859, while mean was $85,032. was up to $29,634, making it the 6th wealthiest county in California.