Santa Paula - Mary Alice Orcutt Henderson

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Résumé :
Santa Paula was built on the foundations of citrus cultivation
and oil production. Ventura County's first irrigated 100-acre
orange and lemon orchard was planted at Santa Paula in 1874, and the original 1888 harvest was so plentiful and delicious that the Limoneira Ranch Company was incorporated in 1893 and continues to thrive. Oil seeps brought wildcatters, and California's first gusher came in at Santa Paula in 1888. The town's twin notorieties through the 20th century were its designation as the citrus capital of the world and as the birthplace of the Union Oil Company of California (UNOCAL). Lemons and avocados remain the primary tree crops, the oil fields still produce, and the small-town character of bygone days has been preserved--Santa Paula has the largest concentration of vintage structures in the county....

Biographie:
Author Mary Alice Orcutt Henderson, the president of the Santa Paula Historical Society, is the great-granddaughter of an 1882 homesteader on land that the family continues to farm. The granddaughter of William Warren Orcutt, the dean of petroleum geology, Henderson has written several other publications on Santa Paula's history. The photographs illustrating this tour through the community's past were drawn from the archives of the Santa Paula Historical Society and private collections.