Editing Santa Paula, California (section)

==History==
The area of what today is Santa Paula was inhabited by the [[Chumash (tribe)|Chumash]], a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] people, before the Spanish arrived. In 1769, the Spanish [[Portola expedition]], first Europeans to see inland areas of California, came down the [[Santa Clara River Valley]] from the previous night's encampment near [[Fillmore, California|Fillmore]] and camped in the vicinity of Santa Paula on [[Timeline of the Portolà expedition|August 12]], near one of the creeks coming into the valley from the north (most likely Santa Paula Creek). Fray [[Juan Crespi]], a [[Franciscan]] missionary traveling with the expedition, had previously named the valley ''Cañada de Santa Clara''. He noted that the party traveled about {{convert|9|to|10|mi|km|0}} that day and camped near a large native village, which he named ''San Pedro Amoliano''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bolton |first=Herbert E. |pages=157 |year=1927 |title=Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774 |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000288788 |via=[[Hathi Trust|HathiTrust Digital Library]] |access-date=June 2, 2019}}{{cbignore}}<!-- archive of Hathi Trust entry does not seem to provide functional links --></ref> The site of the expedition's arrival has been designated California Historical Landmark No. 727.<ref>California State Parks [http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/727 "Portolá Expedition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213092715/http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/727 |date=December 13, 2014 }} ''[[California Register of Historical Resources|Office of Historic Preservation]]''</ref><ref Group=note>Registered on February 5, 1960, at Harding Park, Santa Paula Boys and Girls Club Recreation Center, 1400 block of East Harvard Blvd</ref><ref group=note>{{coord|34.35585|N|119.050867|W}} Coordinates of [[Commemorative plaque|plaque]]</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://santapaulatimes.com/news/archivestory.php/aid/1375/El_Camino_Real_Bell_officially_designated.html|title=El Camino Real Bell officially designated|newspaper=Santa Paula Times|access-date=February 25, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225044851/http://santapaulatimes.com/news/archivestory.php/aid/1375/El_Camino_Real_Bell_officially_designated.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Franciscan missionaries, led by Father [[Junipero Serra]], became active in the area after the founding of the [[San Buenaventura Mission]] and established an Asistencia; the town takes its name from the Catholic [[Saint Paula]]. Santa Paula is located on the 1843 [[Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy]] Mexican land grant.

In 1872 Nathan Weston Blanchard purchased {{convert|2700|acre|km2|1}} and laid out the townsite. Considered the founder of the community, he planted seedling orange trees in 1874.<ref>{{Cite web|last=II|first=Wes Woods|date=August 14, 2021|title=Pandemic has silver lining for author who sheds light on personal, Santa Paula history|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/08/14/pandemic-has-silver-lining-author-who-writes-santa-paula-history/8092848002/|url-status=live|access-date=August 17, 2021|website=Ventura County Star|language=en-US|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817133954/https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/08/14/pandemic-has-silver-lining-author-who-writes-santa-paula-history/8092848002/}}</ref><ref name=EIR>{{cite web|title= Historic Resources Report: East Area 1 Specific Plan EIR, Santa Paula, California|date=November 7, 2008|publisher=City of Santa Paula | url=http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/eastareaone/AppM-HistoricResourcesStudy.pdf|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203244/http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/eastareaone/AppM-HistoricResourcesStudy.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Several small oil companies owned by [[Wallace Hardison]], [[Lyman Stewart]]  and [[Thomas R. Bard]] were combined and became the [[Unocal|Union Oil Company]] in 1890.<ref name=GPHistoric>{{cite web|title= General Plan Conservation & Open Space Element Appendix: Cultural and Historic Resources|publisher=City of Santa Paula|date=April 13, 1998| url= http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/planning/General%20Plan/Conservation-OpenSpaceElementAppendix.pdf|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203249/http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/planning/General%20Plan/Conservation-OpenSpaceElementAppendix.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Waterfall|first1=Louis|title=Santa Paula Oil Field, in Geologic Formations and economic development of the Oil and Gas Fields of California|date=1943|publisher=State of California Dept. of Natural Resources Division of Mines, Bulletin 118|location=San Francisco|page=394}}</ref>

Santa Paula was incorporated in April 1902.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://santapaulatimes.com/news/archivestory.php/aid/3463/Four_decades_of_officials_pay_homage_to_Santa_Paula_92s_centennial_.html |title=Four decades of officials pay homage to Santa Paula's centennial |access-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831034156/https://santapaulatimes.com/news/archivestory.php/aid/3463/Four_decades_of_officials_pay_homage_to_Santa_Paula_92s_centennial_.html |url-status=live |newspaper=Santa Paula Times |last=Kelly |first=Peggy }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The first mayor was Lewis Arthur Hardison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 28, 1921 |title=Press-Courier Oxnard, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/?query=lewis%20hardison&t=467 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |access-date= |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927194239/https://www.newspapers.com/search/?query=lewis%20hardison&t=467 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lewis_Arthur_Hardison_-_First_Mayor_of_Santa_Paula,_CA.jpg|thumb|1st Mayor of Santa Paula, CA (1902), Lewis Arthur Hardison 1853–1921]]
In April 1911, [[Gaston Méliès]] moved his [[Star Film Company]] from [[San Antonio, Texas]] to a site just north of Santa Paula.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ventura Ready for Its Close-Up|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 2, 1997|first=Jane|last=Hulse|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-02-ca-14827-story.html|access-date=May 5, 2018|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007203703/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-02-ca-14827-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The large [[South Mountain Oil Field]] southeast of town, just across the [[Santa Clara River (California)|Santa Clara River]], was discovered by the Oak Ridge Oil Company in 1916, and developed methodically through the 1920s, bringing further economic diversification and growth to the area.  While the field peaked in production in the 1950s, [[Occidental Petroleum]] continues to extract oil through its Vintage Production subsidiary and remains a significant local employer.

A major expansion began in 2016 when construction started on a {{convert|500|acre|ha|adj=mid}} [[master-planned community]] of 1,500 homes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Limoneira teams with residential developer on East Area One|first=Claudia|last=Boyd-Barrett|date=September 9, 2015|work=[[Ventura County Star]]|url=http://www.vcstar.com/news/local-news/santa-paula/limoneira-teams-with-residential-developer-on-east-area-one_04687689|access-date=September 10, 2015|archive-date=September 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911052342/http://www.vcstar.com/news/local-news/santa-paula/limoneira-teams-with-residential-developer-on-east-area-one_04687689|url-status=live}}</ref>