Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited byChumash Native Americans. The first European to encounter the area was explorerJoão Rodrigues Cabrilho, who claimed it forSpain in 1542. During themission period,Mission San Buenaventura, established in 1782, used the area for raising cattle.
Ranching began to take hold amongCalifornio settlers, who lost their regional influence when California became a US state in 1850. At about the same time, the area was settled by American farmers, who cultivatedbarley and lima beans.[11]
Henry T. Oxnard, founder ofMoorhead, Minnesota-basedAmerican Crystal Sugar Company who operated a successfulsugar beet factory with his three brothers (Benjamin, James, and Robert) inChino, California, was enticed to build a $2 million factory on the plain inland fromPort Hueneme.[12] Shortly after the 1897 beet campaign, a new town emerged. Oxnard intended to name the settlement after theGreek word for "sugar",zachari, but frustrated by bureaucracy, named it after himself. Given the potential growth of Oxnard, in the spring of 1898, a railroad station was built to service the plant, attracting a population of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican laborers.[13] The Oxnard brothers, who never lived in their namesake city, sold the Chino and the giant red-brick Oxnard factory in 1899 for nearly $4 million. The Oxnard factory, with its landmark twin smokestacks, operated from August 19, 1899, until October 26, 1959. Factory operations were interrupted in the1903 Oxnard strike.
Oxnard, 1908. The public library is at the right.
Oxnard was incorporated as a California city on June 30, 1903, and the public library was opened in 1907.[14] A neighborhood of distinctive homes, established in 1909, has been placed on theNational Register of Historic Places as theHenry T. Oxnard Historic District. Before and during World War II, the naval bases ofPoint Mugu andPort Hueneme were established in the area to take advantage of the only major navigable port on California's coast between thePort of Los Angeles andSan Francisco Bay, and the bases in turn encouraged the development of the defense-basedaerospace and communications industries.
In the mid-20th century, Oxnard grew and developed the areas outside the downtown area, including homes, industry, retail, and a new harbor namedChannel Islands Harbor.Martin V. ("Bud") Smith (1916–2001) became an influential developer. Smith's first enterprise in 1941 was the Colonial House Restaurant (demolished 1988) and then theWagon Wheel Junction in 1947 (demolished 2011).[15] He was also involved in the development of the high-rise towers at the Topa Financial Plaza,[16] the Channel Islands Harbor, Casa Sirena Resort, the Esplanade Shopping Mall,[17] Fisherman's Wharf, the Carriage Square Shopping Center, the Maritime Museum, and many other hotel, restaurant and retail projects.[18][19] In the late 1970s, as the demographic shifted towards becoming a majority-Latino city, theKu Klux Klan, which historically had a weak presence in Ventura County, unsuccessfullytried to form a chapter in Oxnard.[20]
In June 2004, the Oxnard Police Department and theVentura County Sheriff imposed agang injunction over a 6.6-square-mile (17 km2) area of thecentral district of the city, to restrict gang activity.[21] The injunction was upheld in the Ventura County Superior Court and made a permanent law in 2005.[22] A similar injunction was imposed in September 2006 over a 4.26-square-mile (11.0 km2) area of the south side of the city.[23] Prohibited activities include associating with other known gang members,witness intimidation, possessing firearms or usinggang gestures.[24] Since then, court decisions have made adding people to the civil orders more stringent, stemming from lawsuits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Judges determined that it was unconstitutional for people to be added to a gang injunction without adue process hearing. As a result of budget cuts due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Oxnard police stopped maintaining and enforcing the injunction in 2020.[25]
Oxnard is located on the Oxnard Plain, an area with fertile soil. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, creeks, and theSanta Clara River, the area contains several critical biological communities. Native plant communities include:coastal sage scrub, California Annual Grassland, and Coastal Dune Scrub species; however, most native plants have been eliminated from within the city limits to make way for agriculture and urban and industrial development. Also native to the region is the endangeredVentura Marsh Milkvetch, and the last self-sustaining population is in Oxnard in the center of an approved housing development.[26]
The fault has significantly contributed toseismic activity in the Oxnard region and beyond. The January 17, 1994, 6.7 MwNorthridge earthquake is believed to have occurred in the Santa Clarita extension of the Oak Ridge Fault.Landslides and ridge-top shattering resulting from the Northridge earthquake were observed aboveMoorpark, a city 19.6 mi (31.5 km)[28] east of Oxnard.[29]
Oxnard is the location of theNational Weather Service forecast office that serves the Los Angeles area.[30] The city is situated in aMediterranean (drysubtropical) climate zone, experiencing mild and relatively wet winters, and warm, dry summers, in a climate called thewarm-summer Mediterranean climate. Onshore breezes keep the communities of Oxnard cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. The average mean temperature is 61 °F (16 °C). The average minimum temperature is 52 °F (11 °C) and the average maximum temperature is 69 °F (21 °C). Generally, the weather is mild and dry, with around 300 days of sunshine annually. The average annual precipitation is 15.62 in (397 mm).[31]
Climate data for Oxnard, California (Oxnard Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1923–present
The area contains several critical biological communities. Native plant communities includecoastal sage scrub, California Annual Grassland, and Coastal Dune Scrub species; most native plants have been eliminated from within the city limits to make way for development. Also native to the region is the endangeredVentura Marsh Milkvetch, with the last self-sustaining population in Oxnard being at the center of a housing development.[26]
The balance of wildlife in Oxnard is similar to most places in southern California, with small mammals being common in urbanized areas, like squirrels, raccoons, and skunks. Coyotes prey on these smaller mammals. Small birds and mammals can be food for stray, feral, and pet dogs and cats.[34]
Oxnard has more coastalpower plants than any other city in California, with threefossil-fuel power plants providing energy for cities in both Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.[35][36] TheCalifornia Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) has identified Oxnard as a city excessively burdened by multiple sources of pollution.[37] Two of the power plants use ocean water cooling.[38][39] TheOffice of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has categorized much of Oxnard in the top 10 percent of ZIP codes most negatively impacted by pollution in the state.[37][40] In May 2015, the Oxnard City Council unanimously voted to extend the city moratorium on power plant construction. This moratorium extension occurred due to NRG/Southern California Edison's proposal, also called the Puente Power Project,[37] to construct a new fossil-fuel power plant. The following day, an NRG representative stated their case to replace the old power generation plant atMandalay Beach with a new, hi-tech, much cleaner, and more efficient plant.[41]
Pesticides are used in the agricultural fields surrounding Oxnard, as the area is one of the nation's leadingstrawberry producers, with agriculture being one of the top contributors to Oxnard's economy. Strawberries depend on large applications of fumigants containing pesticides. The Center for Health Journalism reported four ZIP codes with the highest pesticide use in the state clustered around Oxnard.[42]
Oxnard is a combination of neighborhoods and urban development focused on the downtown, coastline, and harbor areas.[46] The city's main land uses are industrial, residential, commercial, and open space.[47] One and two-story buildings characterize the city. The two tallest buildings in the county are in the northern part of the city at Topa Financial Plaza. The fourteen-floor high-rise was built in 1973, and the 21-floor high-rise was built in 1986.[48] The city is surrounded by agricultural land and the Pacific Ocean, as well as theSanta Clara River. The city's primary development lies along Highway 101 and the other main roads.[49]
TheHenry T. Oxnard Historic District is a 70-acre (28 ha)historic district that is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in Oxnard. Covering F and G Streets between Palm and 5th Sts., in the city, the district includes 142 houses, 139 which are "contributing buildings" and includes homes built mostly between 1906 and 1925.[45] It contains abundantAmerican-Craftsman andRevival architecture. Eric Andrist, owner of the district'sHenry Levy House since 2021, has created a new website with a database of all of the houses and their basic stats and histories. He found that the original research to create the historic district was full of errors and is setting out to find documentation to correct it all with evidence including old news articles.[50]
Ormond Beach is a beach along the Oxnard coast. The beach, which stretches for two miles,[51] adjoins the Ormond Wetlands, some farmland, and power plant remains. It covers the area in between PointsHueneme andMugu and is a well-known birding area. The beach historically contained marshes, salt flats, sloughs, and lagoons, but surrounding agriculture and industry have drained, filled, and degraded the beach and wetlands. A dune-transition zone-marsh system is still along much of the beach.[52][53]
Oxnard, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 99.1% of the population lived in households, 0.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.[59]
There were 53,839 households, out of which 45.1% included children under the age of 18, 52.4% were married-couple households, 7.9% werecohabiting couple households, 24.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 14.9% of households were one person, and 6.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.72.[59] There were 42,774families (79.4% of all households).[60]
The age distribution was 26.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% aged 18 to 24, 28.5% aged 25 to 44, 22.8% aged 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 33.7years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males.[59]
There were 56,615 housing units at an average density of 2,134.2 units per square mile (824.0 units/km2), of which 53,839 (95.1%) were occupied. Of these, 53.6% were owner-occupied, and 46.4% were occupied by renters.[59]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $93,372, and theper capita income was $30,413. About 8.8% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line.[61]
The2010 United States census[62] reported that Oxnard had a population of 197,899. The population density was 7,358 inhabitants per square mile (2,841/km2). The racial makeup of Oxnard included 95,346 (48.2%)White, 5,771 (2.9%)African American, 2,953 (1.5%)Native American, 14,550 (7.4%)Asian, 658 (0.3%)Pacific Islander, 69,527 (35.1%) fromother races, and 9,094 (4.6%) from two or more races. In addition, 145,551 people (73.5%) wereHispanic orLatino of any race.Non-Hispanic Whites were 14.9% of the population in 2010,[63] compared to 42.6% in 1980.[64]
The Census reported that 196,465 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 932 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 502 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 49,797 households, out of which 25,794 (51.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 28,319 (56.9%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 7,634 (15.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4,043 (8.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3,316 (6.7%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 395 (0.8%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,090 households (14.2%) were individuals, and 2,665 (5.4%) had someone who was 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 3.95. There were 39,996families (80.3% of all households); the average family size was 4.20.
The population was spread out, with 59,018 people (29.8%) under the age of 18, 23,913 people (12.1%) aged 18 to 24, 57,966 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 40,584 people (20.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 16,418 people (8.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.4 males.
There were 52,772 housing units at an average density of 1,962 units per square mile (758 units/km2), of which 27,760 (55.7%) were owner-occupied, and 22,037 (44.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 107,482 people (54.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 88,983 (45.0%) lived in rental housing units.
Theeconomy of Oxnard includesdefense,international trade, agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Oxnard is a manufacturing center in theGreater Los Angeles Area. The Port of Hueneme is the only deep-harbor commercial port between Los Angeles and San Francisco and moves trade within thePacific Rim economies. Companies utilizing the Port includeDel Monte Foods,Chiquita,BMW,Land Rover, andJaguar.[65] Other industries include finance, transportation, the high tech industry, and energy, particularly petroleum. Two large active oil fields underlie the city and adjacent areas: theOxnard Oil Field, east of the city along 5th Street, and theWest Montalvo Oil Field along the coast to the west of town. Tenby Inc.'s Oxnard Refinery, on 5th Street east of Del Norte Avenue, processes oil from both fields.[66]
According to the city's 2024/25 Budget,[67] the top employers in the city are:
In October 2020, city officials announced that once a large swath of agricultural land is fully developed into a business park by late 2021, it is estimated that up to 8,700 jobs will be created in the area.[73] AnAmazon fulfillment center opened in 2022 that serves Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties.[74][75]
"The areas studied showed a high percentage of Group I soils, primarily located on the relatively flatOxnard Plain. The Oxnard Plain, because of these high-quality agricultural soils, coupled with a favorable climate, is considered one of the most fertile areas in the world."[76]
In 1995, SOAR (Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources) was initiated by farmers, ranchers, and citizens of Ventura County to keep land in the Oxnard Plain from development.[77]
TheOxnard Plain is well known for itsstrawberries. According to theUSDA, Oxnard is California's largest strawberry producer, supplying about one-third of the State's annual strawberry volume.[78] From the end of September through the end of October, strawberries are planted and harvesting occurs from mid-December through mid-July in Oxnard. The peak harvesting season in California runs from April through June when up to 10 million pint baskets of strawberries are shipped daily.[79] The state of California supplies over 85 percent of U.S. strawberries, with the U.S. supplying a quarter of total world production of strawberries.[80]
The annualCalifornia Strawberry Festival[81] features vendors as well as food items based on the fruit such as strawberry nachos, strawberry pizza, strawberry funnel cake, strawberry sundaes, and strawberry champagne.[82][83]
In 2018, 80% of the voters approved a cannabis tax.[85] The city council adopted a "go slow" approach upon the legalization of recreational cannabis in California.[86] Companies must be licensed by the local agency and the state to grow, test, or sell cannabis and the city may authorize none or only some of these activities. Local governments may not prohibit adults who comply with state laws from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use. After an initial ban, businesses focusing on manufacturing, testing, and distributing cannabis were allowed to apply for a permit to operate in July 2019.[87] An initial process in May 2020 to select retail proposals was challenged by unsuccessful applicants.[88] After revising the city ordinance, the council decided in September 2020 to allow ten retail licences to be issued.[89] A social equity component to maximize the ability for communities of color to benefit from the new industry as owners and investors and managers and employees as allowed by state law was not included.[90] The city requires dispensaries to be a minimum of 600 feet (180 m) from schools or daycare centers.[91] A special-use permit was approved for a retail store in an Oxnard Shores neighborhood shopping center in February 2022 amidst organized opposition from the neighborhood.[92] The first dispensary in the city opened in the downtown area in December 2022.[93]
The Oxnard Oil Field in Ventura County, California. Other oil fields are shown in dark gray.
TheOxnard Oil Field is a large and productiveoil field in and adjacent to the city of Oxnard, inVentura County, California, in the United States. Its conventionaloil reserves are close to exhaustion, with only an estimated one percent of the original oil recoverable with current technology remaining: 434,000 barrels (69,000 m3) out of an original 43.5 million. However, the reservoir includes an enormous deposit of tar sands, ultra-heavy oil classed as an unconventional petroleum reserve, and potentially containing 600 million barrels (95,000,000 m3) of oil equivalent, should it become economically feasible to extract.[94] Present operators on the field include Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co., Anterra Energy Services, Inc., Chase Production Co., andOccidental Petroleum through its Vintage Production subsidiary.[95] As of the beginning of 2009, there were 34 active wells on the field.[95]
The West Montalvo Oil Field in Ventura County, California. Other oil fields are shown in dark gray.
TheWest Montalvo Oil Field is a large and productive oil field on the coast ofVentura County, California, in the United States, in and adjacent to the city of Oxnard, California. Discovered in 1947,[96] it has produced approximately 50 million barrels (7,900,000 m3) of oil, and originally contained up to 650 million barrels of oil in both the onshore and offshore areas. The offshore portion of the field is exploited from wells directionally drilled from onshore near McGrath Lake, from within an enclosure above the high-tide line atMcGrath State Beach.
Heritage Square in downtown is a collection of restoredVictorian andCraftsman houses that Oxnard's pioneer ranching families once owned.[99][100] Heritage Square is home to the Petit Playhouse[101] and the Elite Theatre Company.[102] The Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center[103][104] is home to theNew West Symphony.[105] The Gottfried Maulhardt/Albert Pfeiler Farm site is an historic farm park.[106]
Oxnard also has the Oxnard Independent Film Festival[107] and the annual Channel Islands Tall Ships Festival.[108] The Herzog Winery is based in Oxnard[109] along with other wine tasting rooms.[110] During late July, the annual Salsa Festival is held in downtown Oxnard, featuring a salsa tasting tent, local bands, a large dance floor, local vendors, as well as many salsa based food vendors.[111] The annual Reggae Jam on the Coast began to be hosted atCollege Park in 1994, drawing thousands of patrons.[112]
On February 4, 2016, theLos Angeles Rams selected Oxnard to be the site of their official team activities and minicamp. On February 19, 2016, the city of Oxnard and the Rams reached a tentative agreement to host official team activities and minicamps at River Ridge Playing Fields. On February 23, 2016, the Oxnard City Council voted unanimously 5–0 to allow the Los Angeles Rams to use the River Ridge Playing Fields facility from April 18 to June 17 and the locker room space from March 28 until June 24.
River Ridge Golf Course has two 18-hole courses flanked by housing developments.[116]
Rio School District: Serves 5,000 students at eight North Oxnard and El Rio campuses.
On February 12, 2008, a shooting involving students occurred atE.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard.Larry King was shot in one of the classrooms, from which he was taken to St. John's Hospital and later died.[117]
The city operates a freepublic library system with three locations: the Downtown Main Library, the Colonia Branch Library, and the South Oxnard Branch Library.[119] Some library sites include a Homework Center and an adjacent daycare center.
The Port of Hueneme is a shipping and receiving point for a wide variety of resources with destinations in the larger population centers of theLos Angeles Basin. Resources include automobiles,pineapple, and bananas. Agricultural products such as onions,strawberries, and flowers are shipped.[123]
Channel Islands Harbor provides recreational boating and commercial fishing moorings. It shares the nickname "Gateway to the Channel Islands" withVentura Harbor seven miles (11 km) to the north because operations that sail to the islands out of the harbors. Both harbors are vitalfishing industry harbors.
Oxnard Airport is a general aviation airport within the city that is owned and operated by the County of Ventura. While commercial service was offered in the past, no airlines currently provide service.
Ten round-tripPacific Surfliners daily through Los Angeles to San Diego. Some northbound trains to Santa Barbara continue toSan Luis Obispo. TheCoast Starlight, which travels fromLos Angeles toSeattle, stops twice a day (once in each direction), making the west Ventura County stop here (east county stop isSimi Valley).
Operates three Conejo Connection buses during peak hours towards theWarner Center Transit Hub in the San Fernando Valley, connecting with theMetro G Line. The Conejo Connection does not go to the Oxnard Transit Center, but instead stops at theEsplanade Shopping Center near Highway 101.[126] VCTC also operates the Coastal Connection throughVentura towardsSanta Barbara andGoleta from the Esplanade.[127]
A smaller transfer center at the Centerpoint Mall on C Street for Gold Coast Transit serves South Oxnard and Port Hueneme routes. VCTC also operates the Oxnard-CSUCI route toCalifornia State University, Channel Islands andOxnard College from this transfer center.[128]
Oxnard is mentioned in the season 3 episode ofThe Big Bang Theory entitled "The Jiminy Conjecture". Sheldon and Howard bet on what kind of cricket they hear in the hallway from Sheldon's apartment. They take the cricket to Professor Crawley (Lewis Black),a Caltechentomologist. While consulting Professor Crawley, he informs them that since he lost his funding, he has to move in with his daughter in Oxnard.[129][130]
The city of Oxnard is featured in the season 1Nickelodeon sitcomSam & Cat in Episode 22 titled, "#Lumpatious". The episode involves the titular characters attempting to get the word "lumpatious" added to the in-universe "Oxnard EnglishDictionary". However, the characters believe that the only way to get the word added to the dictionary is to meet with the people who run the dictionary called "the word keepers", who convene in the headquarters of the dictionary located in Oxnard, and convince them to add the word to the dictionary.[132]
Lucy Hicks Anderson: trans woman, socialite, and chef, most notable for being tried in the Ventura County court for perjury for marrying a man while "masquerading" as a woman in 1945.[133]
Lupe Anguiano: former nun and civil rights activist known for her work on women's rights, the rights of the poor, and protecting the environment.[134][135]
César Chávez: farm worker, political activist, and union leader lived in theColonia area of Oxnard during his childhood. Several streets and schools in the Oxnard area and surrounding areas bear his name. A home on Wright Road in the El Rio neighborhood, northwest of Highway 101 and Rose Avenue, is where Chavez lived with his family in the late 1950s while advocating for local farm workers. Also, the office of the National Farm Workers Association – which later becameUnited Farm Workers — was on Cooper Road, east of Garfield Avenue in theColonia neighborhood. The Oxnard office opened in 1966, the year of a historic march from Delano to Sacramento.[138][139]
Carmen Perez is an activist on issues of civil rights, including mass incarceration, women's rights and gender equity, violence prevention, racial healing, and community policing.[148]
Martin V. ("Bud") Smith: developer and philanthropist, the most significant developer in the Oxnard area, built the Financial Plaza Towers and financed the construction ofCSUCI's school of business and economics. His first real estate project was theWagon Wheel Motel & Restaurant and Wagon Wheel Junction.[192][193]
Charles C. Lynch is the former owner of a city-sanctioned, awarded in 2006, a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, California. Lynch obtained a Medical marijuana dispensary Business License and a Medical Marijuana Nursery Permit and was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. He was born in Oxnard.
Stanley Clark Meston: An American architect, he is most famous for designing the original golden arches of McDonald's restaurants. He was born in Oxnard.[194][195]
Cierre Wood: running back of the Canadian Football League (CFL); former member of the Houston Texans, the New England Patriots, and the Buffalo Bills; graduated from Santa Clara High School[282][283]
David Ochoa: soccer player in the MLS for Real Salt Lake and the Mexico Men's National Team, born in Oxnard[284][285]
Digital reproduction of the Oxnard-Ocotlan sister city flag presented at the Sister Cities bicentennial flag presentation around 1976.
Oxnard issister cities withOcotlán, Jalisco (Mexico).[290] This relationship was commemorated with a flag at the Sister Cities bicentennial flag presentation sometime around 1976.[291]
^"Oxnard, California", BEET SUGAR,The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer, no. XXIX No. 1, p. 59, July 5, 1902, retrievedJanuary 23, 2019 – via Google Books
^ab"2008 Report of the state oil & gas supervisor"(PDF).Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources. California Department of Conservation ("DOGGR 2009"). 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on May 25, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2010. p. 97, 122, 118, 160
^Hannah, Jewell (March 6, 2018).She caused a riot : 100 unknown women who built cities, sparked revolutions, and massively crushed it. Naperville, Illinois.ISBN9781492662921.OCLC1008768117.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Barajas, Frank P.Curious Unions: Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898–1961. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.
Hoad, Patricia; et al. (Spring–Summer 2002). "Oxnard at 100, The Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly".The Journal of Ventura County History. Ventura County Museum of History & Art:6–49.ISSN0042-3491.
Maulhardt, Jeffrey W. (2005).Oxnard 1941–2004. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7, 19, 28, 58, 63, 66, 68, 70, 78, 79, 81.ISBN978-0-7385-2953-0.
Gutleben, Dan,The Oxnard Beet Sugar Factory, Oxnard, California, 1959 – Revised 1960, page 1, Book available at the Oxnard Public Library
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