Arroyo Conejo Creek is the Longest Creek in the Conejo Valley

The Arroyo Conejo is the longest creek in the Conejo Valley, covering 57 square miles, including 43 in the Conejo Valley and 14 in the Santa Rosa Valley. It flows through Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, including the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and the Santa Rosa Valley.

Historically the Arroyo Conejo was a seasonal creek. Today it is a perennial creek fueled by urban runoff. The north folk carved Wildwood Canyon over thousands of years. Paradise Falls in Wildwood Park is a well known feature of the Arroyo Conejo. The south fork originates in the Conejo Hills above Newbury Park.

The south fork of the Arroyo Conejo can be seen from the Arroyo Conejo Trail in the 302 acre Arroyo Conejo Open Space, accessible from the Rancho Conejo Playfield in Newbury Park.

Arroyo Creek seen from the Arroyo Conejo Trail in Thousand Oaks.

The Arroyo Conejo is part of the Ventura County Watershed. Watersheds are defined by the natural boundaries of a surface runoff area. Ventura County has four watershed zones named for the major tributary in each zone - Ventura River (Zone 1), Santa Clara River (Zone 2), Calleguas (Zone 3), and Cuyama River (Zone 4 North) and Malibu Creek (Zone 4 South). The Arroyo Conejo is in the Calleguas Creek Zone.

The Calleguas Creek zone has a watershed area of about 341 square miles. All stream flows in Zone 3 eventually end up in Mugu Lagoon before entering the Pacific Ocean. Major tributaries to Calleguas Creek include Revolon Slough, Conejo Creek, Arroyo Santa Rosa, Arroyo Conejo, Arroyo Las Posas/Arroyo Simi, Happy Camp Canyon, Lang Creek, and Tapo Canyon.

The Calleguas Creek watershed contains the man-made Lake Bard (aka Bard Reservoir – main imported water supply for about 60% of Ventura County population), along with several Ventura County Watershed Protection District constructed debris basins of varying sizes and depths designed to capture runoff sediment before it can cause damage to the Calleguas Creek drainage system. Some of the largest District basins include Sycamore Canyon, Las Llajas, and Runkle Canyon basins.

View fullsize

Bard Reservoir seen from the Sunset Hills Trail in Thousand Oaks.

More on Ventura County Watersheds at www.vcpublicworks.org/wpd/watersheds.

Former Olympia Farms Property on the Rancho Potrero Open Space

The Rancho Potrero Open Space area is located in Newbury Park off of Lynn Road, just east of the intersection with Rancho Dos Vientos. The area includes an equestrian center where Rancho Potrero Community Equestrian Center is located and is adjacent to the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

On the west end of the space is a a property that used to be called Olympia Farms, which was owned by Greek immigrant, textile businessman and Arabian horse breeder George Patarias Huck. (Huck was tragically shot and killed in front of his home in Mt. Olympus in August 1984 at age 46.)

Huck's 638 acre property was sold to the Mountains Recreation and Conservancy, City of Thousand Oaks, Conejo Recreation and Park District and National Park Service for $4.2 million in 1993. 312 acres were carved out as an addition to Rancho Sierra Vista. The remainder is part of Rancho Potrero, which is maintained by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA).

In the 2021-2022 time frame, the Olympia Farms space was redeveloped and improved to include, pedestrian paths, a horse corral, drinking fountain for people and animals, picnic benches and a small amphitheater area. More info and footage at THIS LINK.

NOTE: THE SITE WAS REDEVELOPED IN 2021-2022 AND THE OLD RANCH BUILDING LUMBER DISCUSSED BELOW I BELIEVE IS IN STORAGE WITH THE CRPD.

These old ranch buildings are actually a Ventura County historical point of interest that was designated as such in May 1986. According to the City of Thousand Oaks, there were two large barns built in 1930 on the Dos Vientos Ranch. Joseph Lewis, business partner of City of Camarillo namesake Adolfo Camarillo, farmed 8,000 acres of land in this area. The barns were dismantled to make room for home development in Dos Vientos and the lumber currently resides here. The Conejo Recreation & Park District is working with the Conejo Valley Historical Society in finding other appropriate uses for these materials, such as displays at the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park.

Visit the Camarillo Ranch House for a Taste of Local Ventura County History

Built in 1892, the Camarillo Ranch House is a grand, three-story, 15-room home built by Adolfo Camarillo in the Queen Anne Victorian style. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2003. The home features seven bedrooms, a grand staircase, tower bay, wooden refrigerator, wrap-around exterior balcony, hardwood floors and turrets.

The exterior and interior of the Camarillo Ranch House were restored by the City of Camarillo and Camarillo Ranch Foundation in 1999-2001.

The White Horse Stables were built in 1966 for the famed Camarillo White Horses. Breeding of the horses began in 1920 when Adolfo Camarillo acquired Sultan, a Spanish stallion, and bred him with a Morgan mare. The White Horses are now owned by members of the White Horse Association. Learn more about the White Horses at www.camarillowhitehorses.org.

Renovation of the historic 1905 Mule Barn at the Camarillo Ranch was completed in 2009.

Today the Camarillo Ranch is owned by the City of Camarillo and operated by the Camarillo Ranch Foundation. The Camarillo Ranch House operates as a museum, featuring rotating exhibits, along with historic home and school tours.

The 3 1/2 acre site is host to a number of community events each year and is available to private parties for weddings, parties, fundraisers and other events. It is a beautiful setting, shaded by historic trees planted before 1900.  You can't miss these trees as you drive by on the 101 freeway.

Docent-led tours of the house are currently (as of September 202) offered on Saturdays and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (last tour starts at 1:30 p.m.). House tour fees are $5 per person (cash only). Children 12 and under are free. The grounds are open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are open to the public.

The Camarillo Ranch House is located at 201 Camarillo Ranch Road.  Visit camarilloranchfoundation.com or call 805.389.8182 for more information.

Casitas Springs in Ventura County was Home to Johnny Cash in the Early 1960s

Casitas Springs is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, located 1.2 miles east of Lake Casitas. Originally it was called Arroyo de Las Casitas (Creek of the Little Houses) in 1864. Its population is just over 1,000, located along State Route 33

All that aside, Casitas Springs is best known as the residence of Johnny Cash from 1961 to 1967. He bought a 5,000 sq ft home on Nye Road in 1961 where he lived with his wife Vivian Liberto and their four daughters. Liberto filed for divorce in 1966.

Driving Ventura Avenue north from Ventura towards Ojai, this sign near the juncture of Nye Road reminds us that the original Man in Black called Casitas Springs home.

Liberto continued to raise her daughters, Rosanne, Kathy, Tara and Cindy and moved from Casitas Springs to Ventura in 1968 after remarrying Ventura police officer Dick Distin in 1968. She passed away in 2005.

Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, four months after the passing of his second wife, June Carter Cash.

The Old "Agoura" Sign on Agoura Road

I was running (literally running) around Agoura Hills, in the vicinity of Agoura Road west of Chesebro Road, when I looked up and saw this distinctly vintage "Agoura" sign displayed at the corner of Agoura and Lewis Roads. While I've driven that stretch of Agoura Road hundreds of times over the years, for whatever reason I never really noticed this interesting sign.

I wondered how long this sign has been there. City of Agoura Historian Cim Castellon was able to help put some of the puzzle together by contacting Brian Rooney of R7 Media, who provided the image below.

This photo shows two women posing for the camera with the Agoura sign and Agoura Market and Gas Station, owned by Harold Neale, in the background.

Photo Credit: R7 Media (www.r7media.com)

On the east side of Lewis Road road is the old Agoura Post Office at 28249 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills. Brian thinks the Agoura sign was put up about the time the post office opened.

The sign is located adjacent to what used to be Center Stage Music, in a building that originally was Fitzgerald's Market in the 1920s and later Agoura Market in the 1940s.

For more local history, be sure to stop by the Reyes Adobe Historical Site, the first home built in Agoura Hills back in 1850.

Chuck E. Cheese's Was Founded in 1977 by the Guy Who Turned Down One Third of Apple

Chuck E. Cheese's was founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977, the same year he sold his company, Atari (makers of Pong) for $28 million. The previous year, Steve Jobs, who worked briefly for Bushnell at Atari, offered Bushnell a 1/3rd interest in the newly founded Apple Computer, for $50,000. Bushnell said no...ugghh!!

Chuck E. Cheese’s is now 45 years old, with over 600 worldwide locations, including Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

www.chuckecheese.com

City of Fillmore Neon-Lighted Sign From Pre-World War II

You don't see many signs around town like the Fillmore sign at the northeast corner of Highway 126 (E. Telegraph Road) and Central Avenue.

Fillmore sign photo taken as I was waiting at the stoplight driving south on Central Avenue.

The sign was originally constructed in 1940, making it 80 years old. It is designated a historical landmark by the City of Fillmore.

The Fillmore sign is a cool green neon lit up at night

It's not exactly easy getting to Fillmore from the Conejo Valley as you either have to take the winding path of the 23/Grimes Canyon Road via Moorpark or drive out to Ventura via the 101 and take the 126 to Fillmore by way of Santa Paula. Kind of a haul but certainly fun to do every now and then.

At a total area of only 2.8 square miles, Fillmore is the smallest of Ventura County's 10 cities, and its population of roughly 16,000 places it 9th (roughly double the population of Ojai). Fillmore was not named after Millard Fillmore; it was named after Jerome Fillmore, General Superintendent of the Southern Pacific Railroad when they built the line connecting Santa Paula, Fillmore and Castaic.

Quite a quaint little place that is certainly fun to visit, with highlights such as numerous themed train rides at Fillmore & Western Railway, State Fish Hatchery and Railroad Visitor Center, along with an old town feel along Central Avenue.

Fillmore sign as of July 2022