Editing Piru, California (section)

==History==
[[File:Rancho Camulos visitor center.jpg|thumb|The Rancho Camulos ranch foreman's house in Piru, before its renovation as a visitor center.|400px]]
[[File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Photographed by Norris M. Knaus, March 22, 1934. VIEW OF BLACK WALNUT TREE (125 ft. Spread) - Casa Del Rancho Camulos, State Highway 12 (5164 HABS CAL,49-PET.V,1-17.tif|thumb|View of a very large black walnut tree on the historic [[Rancho Camulos]], Piru, 1934]]

=== Indigenous ===
The area was originally inhabited by the [[Tataviam people|Tataviam]], who often established villages along near permanent water sources at lower elevations, including [[Piru Creek]] and the Santa Clara River. The Tataviam village of ''Piiru'' was the original village of the area. There was also a nearby shared village between the Tataviam and [[Chumash people|Chumash]] of ''Kamulus'' in the corridor.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Inc |first=Arthur D. Little |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3vxCAAAAIAAJ |title=Alternative Site Analysis |date=1978 |publisher=A.D. Little |pages=399 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Piru Creek]] was generally known as the place where the [[Chumash people|Chumash]] and Tataviam shared the land with one another, being on the respective edges of each of their lands.<ref name=":1" /> Important plant foods for the Tataviam included [[yucca]] stalks and hearts, acorns, sage seeds, [[juniper]] and [[Holly-leaf cherry|holly leaf cherry]] berries. The yucca hearts were collected in the spring each year and roasted in [[earth oven]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u582AQAAMAAJ |title=Angeles National Forest (N.F.), Antelope-Pardee 500-kV Transmission Project: Environmental Impact Statement |date=2007 |pages=43 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Rancho and settler town ===
The town was founded in 1887 by [[David C. Cook]] from [[Elgin, Illinois]], a wealthy publisher of [[Sunday School]] [[tract (literature)|tracts]] and supplies who bought the [[Rancho Temescal]] Mexican land grant from the sons of [[Ygnacio del Valle]].<ref name="church">Johnson, Brett (December 24, 2011) [http://www.vcstar.com/lifestyle/tiny-piru-church-has-big-history-and-movie-star "Tiny Piru church has big history and movie-star looks"] ''[[Ventura County Star]]''</ref> Wanting to establish a "Second Garden of Eden" in this part of the Santa Clara River Valley, Cook specified, tradition says, that the acreage be planted with fruits identified with the Biblical garden—apricots, dates, figs, grapes, olives and pomegranates. That same year, he built his first home, a [[Colonial Revival architecture|Colonial Revival]] structure, at the southwest corner of Main and Center Streets.{{Citation needed|date=February 2015}}

The [[Coast Line (UP)|coast rail line]] was built through the valley in 1887. Because a small depot was already going to be built in nearby [[Rancho Camulos|Camulos]],<ref>{{Cite GNIS|270247|Camulos |access-date=December 15, 2014}}</ref> [[Charles Crocker]] of [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] refused to build a depot in Piru. This so annoyed Cook that he built his own depot and hired a stationmaster. Cook laid out the town around the railroad in 1888.{{Citation needed|date=February 2015}}

The [[United States Post Office Department|U.S. Post Office Department]] established the Piru Post Office on June 14, 1888.<ref name=webpmt.usps.gov>{{cite web |title=Post Offices by County |work=[[United States Postal Service|USPS]] |url=http://webpmt.usps.gov/pmt007.cfm?PostOfficeCounty=Ventura&stat_state_name=CALIFORNIA |access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref><ref name=Storke>{{cite book|title=A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo And Ventura, California| author=Storke, Mrs. Yda Addis|publisher=Lewis|location=Chicago|url=https://archive.org/details/memorialbiogra00stor|page=[https://archive.org/details/memorialbiogra00stor/page/183 183]|year=1891}}</ref>{{rp|page=194}}<ref group=note>Ventura County settlements with a Post Office in 1890 included [[Bardsdale, California|Bardsdale]], [[Rancho Camulos|Camulos]], [[Fillmore, California|Fillmore]], [[Ojala, California|Matilija]], [[Montalvo, Ventura, California|Montalvo]], [[Newbury Park, California|Newbury Park]], [[El Rio, California|New Jerusalem]], Piru City, Punta Gorda, [[Simi Valley, California|Simi]], [[Camarillo, California#Springville|Springville]], and [[Conejo Valley|Timberville]]. Larger Post Offices in [[Ventura, California|Ventura]], [[Port Hueneme, California|Hueneme]], [[Santa Paula, California|Santa Paula]], [[Saticoy, California|Saticoy]], and [[Ojai, California|Nordoff]] provided money order service (Ventura also handled International exchange).</ref> Legend has it that the change in pronunciation was brought about by conductors of [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] trains, who would shout out, "Pie-roo!" when pulling into town.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |last3= |first3= |last4= |last5= |last6= |last7= |last8= |first8= |last9= |date=1990-06-20 |title=PIRU : What's in a Name? Mispronunciation |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-20-me-65-story.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Another story tells of a Piru restaurant known for good pies. The owner hung a sign proclaiming, "We Put The Pie In Piru."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piru, California • Beyond Nevada Expeditions |url=https://beyond.nvexpeditions.com/california/ventura/piru.php |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=beyond.nvexpeditions.com}}</ref>

In 1890, Cook built a lavish [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne Style]] home a few blocks northwest of his original home, which came to be known as the [[Piru Mansion]]. A strict [[Methodism|Methodist]], he provided for construction of a church on the north side of Center Street, just west of Main. The church front is used in the movie ''[[J. W. Coop]]'' starring [[Cliff Robertson]] (1972). His home at Main and Center became the Piru Hotel. Cook sold out to the Piru Oil and Land Company in 1900 after being cured of his ailments and realizing a profit due to recent oil discoveries.<ref>[http://gis.ventura.org/RecordMaps/mr/005/005mr004.pdf "MAP of PIRU: the property of the PIRU OIL and LAND CO."] 5 MR 4. ''Ventura County Recorder'' Retrieved November 6, 2014, from [http://gis.ventura.org/CountyView/ CountyView GIS].</ref>

For her novel ''[[Ramona]]'' (1884), [[Helen Hunt Jackson]] had used nearby [[Rancho Camulos]] as one of the settings. Portions of the 1910 [[silent film|silent movie]] [[Ramona (1910 film)|of the same name]], starring [[Mary Pickford]], were shot there. During the production, Pickford, [[D. W. Griffith|D.W. Griffith]] and others of the cast and crew, stayed at the Piru Hotel. The hotel later became known as the Mountain View Hotel. The name was later changed to the Round Rock Hotel, because of a large, round boulder located in the northeast corner of the front yard.<ref name=":0" />

=== 20th century ===
Juan José Fustero (b. ca. 1836), who called himself "the last full-blooded Piru Indian," died on June 30, 1921.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian Juan Jose Fustero {{!}} The Fillmore Gazette|url=http://www.fillmoregazette.com/community/indian-juan-jose-fustero|access-date=2021-12-17|website=www.fillmoregazette.com}}</ref> In 1961, a plaque to honor him was placed in Piru Canyon near the place where he lived most of his life.

On December 17, 1922, Jenks Harris, a would-be cowboy actor, and a gang of partners in crime, which included another actor and the president of the Pacific Autoplane Company, robbed the bank in Piru of $11,000. He said, when later caught in Los Angeles, that he conceived of the idea while on location at Piru with the film company [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] and stated he committed the robbery to pay his parents' mortgage. The gang was each sentenced from one year to life in prison at [[San Quentin State Prison|San Quentin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=SCVHistory.com {{!}} Piru {{!}} Bank Robbed, Banker Kidnapped by Movie Cowboy's Bootlegging-Human Trafficking Gang, 1922 |url=https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lat121222bank.htm |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=scvhistory.com |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1950s, the Round Rock Hotel became the Round Rock Rest Home for elderly tenants, which it remained until 1989.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=WILLIAMS |first=KATHLEEN |date=1991-07-13 |title=LANDMARKS / COUNTY HISTORICAL SITES : Hotel's Past Is Worth Checking In To |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-13-me-1779-story.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The architectural style and pastoral setting made it a draw for the film industry. It was used in as a set in films such as ''[[The Five Heartbeats]]'' (1991) and ''The Silhouette.'' (1990).<ref name=":0" /> It then became the Heritage Valley Inn.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hong |first=Peter Y. |date=2003-05-11 |title=Heritage Valley's play for the past |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-11-tr-escape11-story.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> It is no longer functioning as an inn.

==== Disasters ====
Piru was struck by two major disasters in the 20th century. On the night of March 12, 1928, the [[St. Francis Dam]], to the east in [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]], broke, sending a torrent of water through the Santa Clara River Valley and causing the deaths of approximately 400 people, a number of whom were in Piru. The [[Northridge earthquake]] of January 17, 1994, destroyed several buildings in the historic downtown area.