Editing Ojai, California (section)

==History==

=== Chumash ===
Ojai sits on the traditional territory of the [[Chumash people|Chumash]], a Native American people who inhabited the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what are [[Morro Bay, California|Morro Bay]] in the north to [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] in the south and the [[Channel Islands (California)|Channel Islands]]. Before the arrival of European settlers, at least 10,000 Chumash people lived in over 150 independent villages, speaking variations of the same language.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbnature.org/collections-research/anthropology/chumash-life/ |title=Chumash Life |author=<!--Not stated-->
 |publisher=Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History |access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref> Starting in 1769, Spanish soldiers and missionaries arrived to colonize the California coast, [[Christianize]] the native population, found military [[presidios]] and relocate Chumash people from their villages into [[Spanish missions in California|Spanish missions]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brown|first=Alan K|title=The Aboriginal Population of the Santa Barbara Channel.|journal=Reports of the University of California Archeological Survey|year=1967|issue=69|publisher=University of California}}</ref>

Due to violence and imported disease, Chumash people died at devastating rates under Spanish rule.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/opinion/californias-saint-and-a-churchs-sins.html|title=Opinion &#124; California's Saint, and a Church's Sins|first=Lawrence|last=Downes|date=August 18, 2015|work=The New York Times}}</ref> According to George Tinker, a Native Scholar, “The Native American population of coastal population was reduced by some 90 percent during seventy years under the sole proprietorship of Serra’s mission system.”<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tinker|first=George E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uL6knHvq_kC&q=california+native+genocide|title=Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide|date=January 1, 1993|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-1-4514-0840-9|language=en}}</ref> Whether due to Spanish rule or as part of the [[California Genocide]] under the land's eventual control by the [[United States]], by 1900, the Chumash population had declined to just 200, while current estimates of Chumash people today range from 2,000<ref name="sdsu">{{cite web |url=http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/calindians/calinddict.shtml#p |title=California Indians and Their Reservations: P. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110062812/http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/calindians/calinddict.shtml |archive-date=January 10, 2010 |publisher=SDSU Library and Information Access |access-date=July 17, 2010}}</ref> to 5,000.<ref name=nps>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/chis/historyculture/nativeinhabitants.htm |title=Native Inhabitants |publisher=National Park Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522182201/http://www.nps.gov/chis/historyculture/nativeinhabitants.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2007}}</ref>

The name Ojai is derived from the Ventureño Chumash word ʼawha'y meaning "moon."<ref name=":0">Harrington, John Peabody. ''The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the Smithsonian Institution 1907-1957''. Kraus International Publications, 1981, 3.89.66-73</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> A 1905 book on place names in the United States records the name Ojai as being derived from an Indigenous word meaning "nest", though the specific Indigenous language is not identified.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | last=Gannett |first=Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n229 230]}}</ref>

=== Rancho Ojai ===
{{main|Rancho Ojai}}
In 1837, Fernando Tico, a Santa Barbara businessman, received the 17,716-acre Rancho Ojai Mexican land grant, which included both the lower and upper Ojai valleys. Tico operated a cattle ranch on the land and moved his large family to an adobe in the lower valley. Tico sold the entire Rancho Ojai in 1853.<ref>Fry, Patricia, Elise DePuydt & Craig Walker, ''The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History''. Ojai Valley Museum. 2017. pp. 16-18</ref> The rancho changed hands several more times before it was purchased in 1864 by [[Thomas A. Scott]], a Pennsylvania oil and railroad baron. The petroleum exploration of the Ojai Basin was the result of a report of [[petroleum seep|oil seeps]] (oil springs) along the Sulphur Mountain area. In 1866, Scott's nephew [[Thomas Bard]] used a steam-powered cable-tool [[drilling rig]] on the north side of Sulphur Mountain. On May 29, 1867, Ojai No. 6 produced an [[oil gusher]], at a depth of 550 feet, and the Ojai Field eventually produced 10-20 [[barrels of oil]] a day.  Also in 1866, [[Leland Stanford]]'s brother Josiah dug oil tunnels on the south side of Sulphur Mountain, producing 20 barrels a day for the Stanford Brothers refinery in San Francisco. For economic reasons, falling oil prices at the end of the Civil War and cheaper imports from the east, Scott and Stanford ceased [[oil exploration]] in the valley area.  Thomas Bard then began selling the surface rights to parcels of Rancho Ojai in late 1867. As the president of [[Unocal]], Bard would return in the 1890s to dig about 50 oil tunnels into Sulphur Mountain, which produced until 1998.<ref>Sheridan, Solomon Neill. ''History of Ventura County, California'', Vol. 1, 1926. p. 217</ref><ref>Westergaard, Waldemar and Thomas Bard. "Thomas R. Bard and the Beginnings of the Oil Industry in Southern California," ''Historical Society of Southern California'', Vol. 10, No. 3, 1917, pp. 61-69</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nelson |first1=Mike |title=The Hunt for California Crude |journal=AAPG Explorer |date=2020 |volume=41 |issue=2 |page=18 |url=https://explorer.aapg.org/story/articleid/56103/the-hunt-for-california-oil |access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref>

=== Nordhoff ===
The town was laid out in 1874<ref>[http://gis.ventura.org/RecordMaps/mr/001/001mr225.pdf "MAP of the town of NORDHOFF"] 1 MR 225. ''Ventura County Recorder'' Retrieved December 3, 2013, from [http://gis.ventura.org/CountyView/ CountyView GIS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925120224/http://gis.ventura.org/countyview/ |date=September 25, 2014 }}.</ref> by San Buenaventura businessman [[R. G. Surdam|R.G. Surdam]] and named Nordhoff in honor of the writer [[Charles Nordhoff (journalist)|Charles Nordhoff]] who had written a book about California titled, ''California for Health, Pleasure and Residence: A Book for Travelers and Settlers''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California: for health, pleasure, and residence. A book for travellers and settlers. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/14022123/ |access-date=January 9, 2024 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> Most early settlers to the valley had one or more family members who were ill, particularly with respiratory illnesses, and the Ojai Valley developed a reputation for having healthy air quality. Many did get well after moving to the valley. Charles Nordhoff had not visited the Ojai Valley when his book came out in 1873, but made several visits to his namesake town in the early 1880s, and he mentioned the Ojai Valley in the revised 1882 version of his popular book.<ref>Fry, Patricia, Elise DePuydt & Craig Walker, ''The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History''. Ojai Valley Museum. 2017. pp. 30-31</ref> The discovery of hot springs in Matilija Canyon and subsequent development of hot springs resorts in the late 1800s contributed to the valley's healing mystique.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

The public junior high and high school in Ojai is [[Nordhoff High School|Nordhoff Junior High and High School]]. The former public middle high school, named "Matilija", formerly served as Nordhoff Union High School and still features large tiles with the initials "NUHS" on the steps of the athletic field.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

=== Railroad ===
The [[Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad]] connected Ojai to the [[Coast Line (UP)|national rail network]] near [[Ventura station]] in 1898.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ojaihistory.com/the-iron-horse-came-to-the-valley-in-98/ |title=The "iron horse" came to the valley in '98 |last=Wenig |first=Ed |website=Ojai History |publisher=Ojai Valley Museum |access-date=January 25, 2019 |date=October 6, 2017 }}</ref> The Southern Pacific Railroad acquired all the capital stock in the Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad in April 1898.<ref>Myrick, David F., "The Railroad Comes to Nordhoff in the Ojai Valley," Ventura County Railroads, A Centennial History, Vol. II, ''The Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 33, Nos. 2 & 3'', 1988, 19-20</ref> A nine-day [[Pineapple Express]] with rainfall intensity reaching {{convert|6.2|inch|cm}} per day caused floods destroying the rail line in January 1969.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pyle |first=Russ |title =The Great Flood: Ventura County |publisher =Dan Poush |date =1969 }}</ref> The former rail line was converted to the Ojai Valley Trail in 1989.<ref>{{cite book |last =Salcedo-Chourré |first =Tracy |title =Rails-to-Trails: California |publisher =The Globe Pequot Press |date =2001 |location =[[Guilford, Connecticut]] |page =[https://archive.org/details/railstotrailscal00trac/page/165 165] |isbn =978-0-7627-0448-4 |url =https://archive.org/details/railstotrailscal00trac/page/165 }}</ref>

=== Libbey ===
Nordhoff became a popular wintering spot for wealthy Easterners and Midwesterners. The elite Foothills Hotel, which catered to them, was built on a mountain overlooking the town in 1903. Visitors enjoyed dining, music concerts, horseback riding, and hunting and fishing trips into the back country. Some of these businessmen built homes in the valley and contributed to the community's development. Among these winter visitors were Edward Drummond Libbey and his wife Florence. Their first winter in Ojai was in 1907. Libbey was the owner of the Libbey Glass Company of Toledo, Ohio. He fell in love with the valley, bought property in the Foothills tract in 1909, and built a Craftsman-style house designed by Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey.<ref>Walker, Craig. ''Ojai by Design: Fine Architecture of the Ojai Valley''. Arts Commission of the City of Ojai. 2017. p.12</ref>

Steeped in [[City Beautiful]] ideals, Libbey began thinking about what could be done to beautify the existing rustic town. He bought up all the properties on the south side of Ojai Avenue (where Libbey Park is today) and most of the buildings there were demolished. In 1916, he hired the architectural firm of Frank Mead and Richard Requa of San Diego to transform Nordhoff into the Spanish-style town center seen today. The project included a Mission-style arcade along the main street, a bell-tower reminiscent of the famous campanile of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Havana, Cuba (also known as the Havana Cathedral), and a pergola with two arches opposite the arcade.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In March 1917, just after completion of the renovation project, the name of the town was changed to Ojai. The valley had always been known as "The Ojai".<ref>Lewis, Mark. "Inventing Ojai," ''Ojai Quarterly'', Winter 2016-17, pp.120-126</ref> Leading up to and during World War I, American sentiment became increasingly [[Anti-German sentiment|anti-German]]. Across the United States, German and German-sounding place names were changed. Some Ojai writers in the past have speculated that anti-German sentiment contributed to the name change of Nordhoff to Ojai in 1917.<ref>{{cite news|title=Looking for Charles Nordhoff|last=Meltzer|first=Betty Kikumi|date=August 21, 2005|work=Redlands Daily Facts|location=Redlands, Calif.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Rediscovering the Lost Horizon: Shangri-la Does Exist - It's in California and It's Idyllic, says Angela Wigglesworth|last=Wigglesworth|first=Angela|date=August 29, 1998|work=Financial Times|location=London (UK)|page=18}}</ref> There is no clear evidence that this was the case for the name change in Ojai.<ref name="VCS 2031-08-01">{{Cite news|last=Woods II|first=Wes|date=August 1, 2021|title=Ojai keeps its small town charm 100 years later|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/08/01/ojai-keeps-its-small-town-charm-100-years-later/8093123002/|access-date=August 8, 2021|newspaper=Ventura County Star|language=en-US}}</ref>

To thank Libbey for his gifts to the town, the citizens proposed a celebration in the new Civic Center Park (later changed to Libbey Park) that they wished to call "Libbey Day," but Libbey suggested "Ojai Day" instead. The first Ojai Day took place April 7, 1917.<ref>"Idealized Ojai Receives Recognition As Does Also Its Benefactor," ''The Ojai'', April 13, 1917, 1</ref> Ojai Day was celebrated each year until 1928. Local schoolteacher Craig Walker revived Ojai Day in 1991 and it has been celebrated since.<ref name=":2">Fry, Patricia, Elise DePuydt, and Craig Walker. ''The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History.'' Ojai Valley Museum Edition. 2017. Ojai, California. p.225, pp. 333-334</ref> The Ojai Day celebration takes place in October.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In 1917 two fires struck the community. The first started in Matilija Canyon on June 16 and burned 60 buildings in its path, including many homes and the Foothills Hotel. The newly Spanish-style structures in the downtown were not affected. On November 28, 1917, a fire started in a gasoline stove in a store in the Arcade and the stores in the western half of the Arcade burned down. Part of the Arcade suffered smoke damage but did not burn down.<ref>Fry, Patricia, Elise DePuydt & Craig Walker, ''The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History''. Ojai Valley Museum. 2017. pp.188-189</ref> A new Spanish-style Foothills Hotel was built in 1919–1920 to replace the one that burned down.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

=== Housing ===
The Taormina neighborhood was established as the first historic district in the city in 2016. The housing development was built in the style of French [[architecture of Normandy]] in the 1960s and 1970s by members of the [[Theosophical Society in America|Theosophy movement]] adjacent to the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy]]. Taormina's founder, theosophist Ruth Wilson, envisioned the development as a [[retirement community]] for fellow theosophists but in the early 1980s a court ruling required the community to be open to residents of all faiths and backgrounds.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/ojai/2016/08/31/ojai-names-taormina-its-first-historic-district/89496504/ |title=Ojai names Taormina its first historic district |first=Claudia |last=Boyd-Barrett |date=August 31, 2016 |newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]] |access-date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> The majority of homes in the city were built between 1940 and 1980 with about a dozen mobile-home parks included in the housing stock. With rapid growth in the 1970s, a slow-growth ordinance was passed.{{r|NYT 2020/03/03}} From 2008 to 2018, there were no new multifamily developments with a single six residential unit apartment being built in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rode |first=Erin |date=November 25, 2019 |title=Ojai gets its first new apartment complex in over 10 years |url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2019/11/25/ojai-new-apartments-built-first-time-10-years/4191477002/ |access-date=July 30, 2022 |newspaper=Ventura County Star |language=en-US}}</ref>