Incorporated in 1866, the city of San Buenaventura (usually referred to as Ventura) is the county seat of Ventura County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 100,916. Ventura is accessible via U.S. Highway 101, California State Route 33, and California State Route 126.
Ventura is located northwest of Los Angeles on the California coast and at 34°16'30" North, 119°13'40" West (34.275242, -119.228048).
According to the United States Census Bureau, Ventura has a total area of 84.6 km2 (32.7 mi2). 54.6 km2 (21.1 mi2) of it is land and 30.0 km2 (11.6 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 35.49% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 100,916 people, 38,524 households, and 25,233 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,849.3/km2 (4,790.6/mi2). There are 39,803 housing units at an average density of 729.4/km2 (1,889.5/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 78.79% White, 1.41% African American, 1.16% Native American, 3.00% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 11.14% from other races, and 4.32% from two or more races. 24.35% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 38,524 households out of which 32.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% are married couples living together, 11.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% are non-families. 26.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.56 and the average family size is 3.12.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $52,298, and the median income for a family is $60,466. Males have a median income of $43,828 versus $31,793 for females. The per capita income for the city is $25,065. 9.0% of the population and 6.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.2% of those under the age of 18 and 5.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Father Junpero Serra founded Mission San Buenaventura in 1782, forming the basis of what would become the city. In 1841, Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado granted the Rancho San Miguel to Raimundo Olivas, whose Olivas Adobe on the banks of the Santa Clara River was the most magnificent hacienda south of Monterey.
After the American Civil War, settlers came to the area either as property owners, buying land from the Mexicans, or simply as squatters. Vast holdings were later acquired by Easterners, including the railroad magnate, Thomas Scott. He was impressed by one of the young employees, Thomas R. Bard, who had been in charge of train supplies to Union troops, and Bard was sent west to handle Scott's property.
Bard is often regarded as the Father of Ventura and his descendants have been prominently identified with the growth of Ventura County. The Union Oil Company was organized with Bard as President in 1890, and has offices in Santa Paula. The main Ventura oil field was drilled in 1914 and at its peak produced 90,000 barrels a day. The city is located between the Ventura River and the Santa Clara River, leading to soil so fertile that citrus grew better here than anywhere else in the state. The citrus farmers formed Sunkist Growers, Incorporated, the world's largest organization of citrus production.
Not easily accessible, Ventura was not a target of immigrants, and as such, remained quiet and rural. For most of the century which followed the incorporation of Ventura in 1866, it remained isolated from the rest of the state.
From the south, travel by auto was slow and hazardous, until the completion of a four-lane expressway (US Highway 101) over the Conejo Grade in 1959. This route, now further widened and improved by 1969, is known as the Ventura Freeway, which directly links Ventura with the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Another route, US Highway 101 ALT (now the Pacific Coast Highway) traveled along the coast from Santa Monica via Oxnard, but was not heavily used.
From the north, entrance was by way of a single road along the beach and stagecoach passengers either had to wait until low tide when the horses could cross on the exposed wet sand, or go up the Ventura River Valley and then cross over the mountains to Santa Barbara via Casitas Pass, a long and difficult trip.
Inland, Ventura was hemmed in by (what is now) the Los Padres National Forest, composed of mountainous country and deep canyons. This route became passable with the completion of the Maricopa Highway in the 1920s.
Since then, Ventura has grown steadily. In 1920 there were 4,156 people. In 1930 the population had increased to 11,603, and by 1950 the population reached 16,643. In the last two decades it has quadrupled to approximately 102,000.
Source:
VenturaCalifornia.com
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