Oxnard, California
Oxnard, California is a part of Ventura County and is also its biggest city. The city of Oxnard is located in the western corner of Oxnard Plain, a region regarded as one of the most important agricultural centers of the US. Oxnard Plain is particularly famous for the lima beans and strawberries produced here.
Oxnard was declared a US city in the year 1903; it was incorporated in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA. This metropolitan statistical area also houses several other cities, among which the major ones are: Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Simi Valley.
Oxnard, other than being famous as an agricultural center is also known for the educational facilities. The quality of education offered at the elementary, junior high and high schools as well as the colleges and universities of the city is worth mentioning. The city is particularly known for the institutions of technical education housed by it; these include big names like Modern Institute of Technology and ITT Technical Institute.
Oxnard is a great place to live in. The city also has a bustling nightlife, various places to eat, places to see and can also offer you a great shopping experience. The city is known for its ambient social atmosphere and its lively residents.
Oxnard History
The earliest inhabitants of the Oxnard area were the Chumash Indians. They used to live in thatched, round houses and moved around in well-designed plank canoes. These people were particularly famous for their excellent basket work. Joao R. Cabrilho, the famous Portuguese explorer was the first European to invade this region. In the year 1542, Cabrilho claimed the region for Spain.
After California became a US state in the year 1850, American farmers started to inhabit the Oxnard region. This was the time when the California settlers started to regain their lost hold over the area. American farmers living in this part of the country concentrated in yielding of lima beans and barley.
The region got the name 'Oxnard' from the famous businessman Henry T. Oxnard. During the mid 19th century, Chino, CA had a sugar beet plant owned by Henry T. Oxnard. Oxnard used to run the factory along with his brothers Robert, James and Benjamin. He is also the founder of the famous American Crystal Sugar Company based in Moorhead, Minnesota. Oxnard got enticed for establishing a $2 million plant in the region around Oxnard's Port Hueneme. Within a few days of the beet campaign of 1897, a new town called Oxnard was founded in this part of California. By the year 1898, the Oxnard town experienced significant growth. As a result of this, Oxnard got its own railroad station and with it a large number of Mexican, Japanese and Chinese laborers came to work.
Although the region was named after them, none of the four Oxnard brothers resided here. Moreover, they also sold both the factory of Chino and Oxnard's red brick factory in the year 1899 against a sum of $4 million, which was considered to be quite a big amount during that era. However, operation at the Oxnard factory continued from 1899 to 1959; during the time in between, operations at the factory got interrupted for a short span in 1903 due to the Oxnard Strike. The Oxnard Strike was a dispute between Mexican and Japanese labors and the local landowners regarding labor rights.
Henry T. Oxnard didn't want the place to be named after him. His desire was to name the town as 'zachari', which is the Greek word used for 'sugar'. However, as he failed to explain the emotion behind this desire of him to the country's government, he decided to name the town after himself. Finally, on the 30th of June, 1903 Oxnard obtained the designation of a California city.
About Oxnard, California
The city of Oxnard, CA covers a total area of 101.5 square km, out of which 69.7 square km is land and the remaining area has water bodies. There are dunes, beaches, creeks and wetlands scattered all over the fertile terrain of Oxnard. The city is also home to the Santa Clara River, a river running between Oxnard and Ventura. Oxnard houses several significant biological communities. The communities of native plants of the city include species like Coastal Dune Scrub and coastal sage scrub. To make more land available for agricultural, industrial and urban development, however, a large share of native plants of the region were eliminated.
Oxnard has a Mediterranean climate marked by warm and dry summers and mild and wet winters. You will experience a cooler summer in Oxnard than most other regions with Mediterranean climate due to the onshore breezes. The onshore breezes also make sure that the region stays warm during the winter months.
Oxnard's economy is based on agriculture, international trade, tourism, defense and manufacturing. The city is one of the primary manufacturing centers of the Southland. Port Hueneme, a port surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the city of Oxnard on the other, is one of the busiest ports of California. This port is frequently utilized by manufacturing industry rulers like BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Chiquita and Del Monte Foods. The petroleum, energy, hi-tech, transportation and finance industries of Oxnard are also among the highest revenue generators of the region.
Oxnard Plain including the city of Oxnard is known for the strawberries grown. The city is the principal strawberry producer of California; the region supplies around 1/3 of the annual strawberry requirement of the state. This makes the city the obvious site for celebrating the California Strawberry Festival. The festival is hosted by Oxnard every year during summer (on the 3rd week of May); the venue of the event is Oxnard College. The event area features vendors selling high quality strawberries as well as food stalls offering items prepared based on strawberry, such as strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, strawberry funnel cakes, strawberry champagne and strawberry sundaes.
Another major festival of the city is the Oxnard Salsa Festival. This festival started in early 1990s and since then is held every year in the month of July (during the 3rd of 4th week of the month). The venue of the celebration is the city's Plaza Park. Oxnard Salsa Festival features salsa dance, salsa music and a wide variety of spicy foods. Another major event of the festival is the Salsa Dash, which includes walking and running competitions. However, the Salsa Dash starts a few days before the actual festival begins.
About Ventura County, California
The city of Oxnard is a part of Ventura County and also its largest city. This county was incorporated into the state of California in the year 1873. Ventura County is located in California's southern half along the Pacific Coast. The county covers a total area of 5,719.2 sq. km. The largest share of the county's population resides in its southern half. Places like Conejo Valley, Simi Valley and Oxnard Pain are more populated compared to the other parts of the county.
Ventura County is often called the 'Gold Coast' for being an extremely affluent place. The county ranks high in the list of highest earning counties of the state as well as that of the United States. A large share of the county's wealth also comes from the technology corporations such as biotech, healthcare, telecommunications and development corporations.
The county uses services from both Metrolink and Amtrak trains. Other than that, it is also served by buses from VISTA, Greyhound Lines and Gold Coast Transit. The major cities of Ventura County, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Camarillo, on the other hand, have bus systems that operate only within the respective cities. Ventura County is also connected with the 5 channel islands of the Channel Islands National Park through ferries from Island Packers.
The county houses two primary airports, Oxnard Airport and Camarillo Airport. The Oxnard Airport operates only for general aviation and is situated in Downtown Oxnard's western territory. The Camarillo Airport used to be one of the country's air force bases; however, now it operates as an airport for general aviation. It is situated in the southern half of Camarillo. The county has another airport of private ownership known as the Santa Paula Airport; but, this one is also open for being used by the public.