A Changing Landscape.

In an earlier entry, I spoke about the simple, rugged and peaceful life of the early ranchers of the Conejo Valley. I also talked about the area looking somewhat the same and unchanged for decades.

In the 1920's, change and growth began. Just 50 miles to the Southeast, Los Angeles was evolving into a major city in the United States due to the new growth industries of oil and entertainment. Other growth sectors such as shipping, aerospace and electronics were just around the corner. L.A. was exploding and the entire Southern California region felt the effect.


The Conejo and Triunfo Valleys started to change. A town along Ventura Blvd. (Thousand Oaks Blvd.) developed. The first grocery store and a few other businesses began. A church and a few saloons opened. Newbury's old land was sold in three parts and real estate developers divided the parcels and marketed the properties. One of the developers had a contest to name the city and a fourteen year old boy won with the name Thousand Oaks.

Hollywood came to town. The rugged, sunny and wide open Conejo Valley was an ideal backdrop for many movie sets. Louis Goebel bought five lots near where the civic center is today and used it to store animals used for movies. Goebel's Lion Farm opened in 1926 and remained a popular tourist stop as Jungleland until the 1960's.

A new elementary school was built on Conejo School Road but high school students needed to travel to get their education. Oxnard High School was the closest school into the 1950's.

William Randolph Hearst bought most of the Russell Ranch in 1925 hoping to find oil but sold the 30,000 acres at a loss in 1943. Many more large chunks of land were for sale with the actor, Joel McCrea, buying 3000 acres in the northern end of the valley.

The Janss family owned a large ranch in the area and had been very successful in developing the Westwood Village and Leimert Park areas of Los Angeles. In 1955, Edwin Janss, Jr. began to build four homes for ranch hands and couldn't get over the number of people that stopped and asked how much they wanted for a deposit. In 1956, the first tracts were planned and the community began to grow. In five years time, the population went from 1,500 to 12,000.

During the next five decades, the homes I sell every day were constructed. In the next few entries, I will talk about the different styles and features of homes, the ever-changing demands of the consumers and have some typical home improvement projects for the different eras. I welcome comments and participation especially from long time residents of the Conejo Valley who would like to share their early experiences.