Piru, California | |
|---|---|
 Location inVentura County and the state of California | |
  Piru Location in the State of California | |
| Coordinates:34°24′26″N118°47′59″W / 34.40722°N 118.79972°W /34.40722; -118.79972 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Ventura |
| Town established | 1887 |
| Government | |
| • State senator | Monique Limón (D)[1] |
| • Assemblymember | Steve Bennett (D)[1] |
| • U. S. rep. | Julia Brownley (D)[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.195 sq mi (8.275 km2) |
| • Land | 3.179 sq mi (8.234 km2) |
| • Water | 0.016 sq mi (0.041 km2) 0.50% |
| Elevation | 709 ft (216 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,587 |
| • Density | 813.7/sq mi (314.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 93040 |
| Area code | 805 |
| FIPS code | 06-57372 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1652775,2409077 |
.jpg)
Piru (/ˈpaɪruː/ ⓘ) is a smallunincorporated historic town located in easternVentura County, California, in theSanta Clara River Valley near theSanta Clara River andHighway 126, about seven miles (11 km) east ofFillmore and about 13 miles (21 km) west ofInterstate 5.Lake Piru, in theLos Padres National Forest, is the main recreational attraction. The population was 2,587 at the2020 census, up from 2,063 at the2010 census. For statistical purposes, theUnited States Census Bureau has defined Piru as acensus-designated place (CDP), which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.
Although the town is located in the traditional homelands of theTataviam, the namePiru (originally pronounced "Pea-roo") derives from theChumash wordpí idhu-ku,[6] which referred to thetulereeds growing alongPiru Creek that were used in making baskets.
Also designated and delineated as "Piro", adjacent to "Piro Creek" on 19th century atlas maps, (i.e. A. L. Bancroft's 1876 map of CA, NV, AZ, UT)[7] It was first named Piru City in 1888.[8]
The area was originally inhabited by theTataviam, who often established villages along near permanent water sources at lower elevations, includingPiru Creek and the Santa Clara River. The Tataviam village ofPiiru was the original village of the area. There was also a nearby shared village between the Tataviam andChumash ofKamulus in the corridor.[9]
Piru Creek was generally known as the place where theChumash and Tataviam shared the land with one another, being on the respective edges of each of their lands.[9] Important plant foods for the Tataviam includedyucca stalks and hearts, acorns, sage seeds,juniper andholly leaf cherry berries. The yucca hearts were collected in the spring each year and roasted inearth ovens.[10]
The town was founded in 1887 byDavid C. Cook fromElgin, Illinois, a wealthy publisher ofSunday Schooltracts and supplies who bought theRancho Temescal Mexican land grant from the sons ofYgnacio del Valle.[11] 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, aColonial Revival structure, at the southwest corner of Main and Center Streets.[citation needed]
Thecoast rail line was built through the valley in 1887. Because a small depot was already going to be built in nearbyCamulos,[12]Charles Crocker ofSouthern 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]
TheU.S. Post Office Department established the Piru Post Office on June 14, 1888.[13][14]: 194 [note 1] Legend has it that the change in pronunciation was brought about by conductors ofSouthern Pacific Railroad trains, who would shout out, "Pie-roo!" when pulling into town.[15] Another story tells of a Piru restaurant known for good pies. The owner hung a sign proclaiming, "We Put The Pie In Piru."[16]
In 1890, Cook built a lavishQueen Anne Style home a few blocks northwest of his original home, which came to be known as thePiru Mansion. A strictMethodist, 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 movieJ. W. Coop starringCliff 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.[17]
For her novelRamona (1884),Helen Hunt Jackson had used nearbyRancho Camulos as one of the settings. Portions of the 1910silent movieof the same name, starringMary Pickford, were shot there. During the production, Pickford,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.[18]
Juan José Fustero (b. ca. 1836), who called himself "the last full-blooded Piru Indian," died on June 30, 1921.[19] 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 companyUniversal and stated he committed the robbery to pay his parents' mortgage. The gang was each sentenced from one year to life in prison atSan Quentin.[20]
In the 1950s, the Round Rock Hotel became the Round Rock Rest Home for elderly tenants, which it remained until 1989.[18] The architectural style and pastoral setting made it a draw for the film industry. It was used in as a set in films such asThe Five Heartbeats (1991) andThe Silhouette. (1990).[18] It then became the Heritage Valley Inn.[21] It is no longer functioning as an inn.
Piru was struck by two major disasters in the 20th century. On the night of March 12, 1928, theSt. Francis Dam, to the east inLos 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. TheNorthridge earthquake of January 17, 1994, destroyed several buildings in the historic downtown area.
Piru is located at34°24′26″N118°47′59″W / 34.40722°N 118.79972°W /34.40722; -118.79972 (34.407297, −118.799675).[22]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), of which 99.50% of it is land and 0.50% is water.
Elevation: 692 feet (211 m).
Piru is located in theSanta Clara River Valley.
This region experiences hot and dry summers.[23] According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Piru has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.[24]
Piru has the highest percentage of agricultural workers and second-highest percent of manufacturing workers inVentura County. 32% have occupations in manufacturing, while 28% are employed in the agricultural sector.[25]
Piru had the lowest median home prices inVentura County in 1999.[26]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1,284 | — | |
| 1990 | 1,157 | −9.9% | |
| 2000 | 1,196 | 3.4% | |
| 2010 | 2,063 | 72.5% | |
| 2020 | 2,587 | 25.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[27] 1850–1870[28][29] 1880-1890[30] 1900[31] 1910[32] 1920[33] 1930[34] 1940[35] 1950[36] 1960[37] 1970[38] 1980[39] 1990[40]2000[41] 2010[42] | |||
Piru first appeared as acensus designated place in the1980 U.S. census.[39]
The2020 United States census reported that Piru had a population of 2,587. The population density was 813.8 inhabitants per square mile (314.2/km2). The racial makeup of Piru was 25.0%White, 0.2%African American, 3.1%Native American, 0.5%Asian, 0.0%Pacific Islander, 51.3% fromother races, and 19.9% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 89.5% of the population.[43]
The whole population lived in households. There were 682 households, out of which 51.9% included children under the age of 18, 65.0% were married-couple households, 6.7% werecohabiting couple households, 17.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 9.2% of households were one person, and 4.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.79.[43] There were 590families (86.5% of all households).[44]
The age distribution was 28.6% under the age of 18, 10.4% aged 18 to 24, 25.9% aged 25 to 44, 24.1% aged 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.0 males.[43]
There were 705 housing units at an average density of 221.8 units per square mile (85.6 units/km2), of which 682 (96.7%) were occupied. Of these, 49.1% were owner-occupied, and 50.9% were occupied by renters.[43]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $96,765, and theper capita income was $31,137. About 8.1% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line.[45]
The2010 United States census[46] reported that Piru had a population of 2,063. The population density was 727.6 inhabitants per square mile (280.9/km2). The racial makeup of Piru was 1,063 (51.5%)White, 16 (0.8%)African American, 43 (2.1%)Native American, 11 (0.5%)Asian, 0 (0.0%)Pacific Islander, 830 (40.2%) fromother races, and 100 (4.8%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1,748 persons (84.7%).
The Census reported that 2,063 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 523 households, out of which 292 (55.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 329 (62.9%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 69 (13.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 39 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (5.5%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.4%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 67 households (12.8%) were made up of individuals, and 25 (4.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.94. There were 437families (83.6% of all households); the average family size was 4.34.
The population was spread out, with 676 people (32.8%) under the age of 18, 243 people (11.8%) aged 18 to 24, 569 people (27.6%) aged 25 to 44, 420 people (20.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 155 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.2 males.
There were 561 housing units at an average density of 197.9 per square mile (76.4/km2), of which 302 (57.7%) were owner-occupied, and 221 (42.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 1,202 people (58.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 861 people (41.7%) lived in rental housing units.
.jpg)
Ventura County Waterworks District No. 16 provides sewer service to the more densely populated historic town center around the railroad line on the west side ofPiru Creek. The district's service area also includes a small area east of the creek and certain areas south of the settlement along Main Street.[47]
Fillmore Unified School District operates Piru Elementary School.[48] The district also operates Fillmore Middle School andFillmore High School inFillmore.
 | This section has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Piru has been used for shooting film and television productions over the years, includingDesert Fury (1947). Location scenes were shot with the northwest side of Center Street, at Main, used as the exterior of Fritzi Haller's saloon and casino; thePiru Mansion was used as the Haller home and the historic Piru bridge, crossingPiru Creek on the east side of town, was used as the locale of the car crash. (Some of the exterior scenes were also filmed in the Old Town section ofCottonwood, Arizona, especially where Burt Lancaster enters the Old Town jail, extant though enlarged.) Piru was also used in the scene inA Star Is Born (1954) starringJudy Garland andJames Mason whereJack Carson's character, Libby, finds them after they are married. Piru was also featured in the 1966 filmIncident at Phantom Hill.[49]
Piru stood in for a fictional town Clarksberg, California[50] in the 1974TV movieThe California Kid. Piru was used as a location for the 1974Rockford Filesepisode 'Caledonia, It's Worth a Fortune.' It was used for exterior shots in the 1975Filmation children's seriesThe Ghost Busters.Charlie's Angels filmed "Angel's on Vacation" in Piru in 1979. Scenes inThe Fugitive,The A-Team,The Dukes of Hazzard,Murder, She Wrote,NCIS andMonk were filmed in Piru. In the 1981 made-for-TV horror filmDark Night of the Scarecrow, several of the primary locations in the film, including the café, post office and service station, are in Piru.[11]
InTwilight Zone: The Movie (1983), the scenes of the rest home in the "Kick the Can" segment were filmed at the historic building that is now the Heritage Valley Inn.Dolly Parton andSylvester Stallone filmed scenes forRhinestone (1984), in Piru. AlsoSilent Night Deadly Night 3 was filmed here, in 1984.
The town served as the fictional San Remos countryside in the movieCobra, starringSylvester Stallone,Reni Santoni andBrigitte Nielsen.
With the exception of a few scenes, the entire comedyHappy, Texas (1999) was filmed in Piru. It was also used for scenes ofBubble Boy. The exterior of Piru United Methodist Church was used inBig Momma's House (2001). The chase scene inEnough (2002) starringJennifer Lopez was filmed in Piru along with scenes fromTorque (2004) and the final scene forVan Helsing (2004).
The 2005 movieThe Amateurs starringJeff Bridges was largely filmed in Piru – as was much of the television movieThe Love War (1970) starring Jeff's fatherLloyd Bridges, withAngie Dickinson (with Piru serving as locationand setting). The town has also served for some of the scenes on TV'sReno 911! and for scenes set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, inTrue Blood.[11]
In theDisney movieRace to Witch Mountain (2009) starringDwayne "The Rock" Johnson, scenes where he and thealien boy and girl go into a small town, Stony Creek, where they have repairs done on histaxi and go to a restaurant/country music club, were actually shot in Piru, which continues to be a popular location with film companies.[citation needed]
Piru Mansion was used as the home ofEllis Wyatt inAtlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the first segment in a three-part movie adaptation of the novel byAyn Rand. Piru was also used to film the 2011 music video "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" from the bandFoster the People and featuring actressGabourey Sidibe.[citation needed]
TheDexter season 6 episode "Nebraska" which aired in 2011 was partially filmed in Piru, with Piru standing in for parts of Nebraska.[51]
The 2013 music video for the hitWake Me Up byAvicii, starring the Russian model Kristina Romanova and the young Californian model Laneya Grace.
Water for Elephants was also filmed in Piru[52] as well asAlicia Keys'Unthinkable music video.[citation needed]
The 2014 action-drama filmSwelter, starringJean-Claude Van Damme,Lennie James, andAlfred Molina, was filmed entirely in Piru, per the DVD credits, with the town substituting forBaker, Nevada.
The 2017 movieLucky, starringHarry Dean Stanton, was filmed in Piru.
{{cite book}}:|last= has generic name (help)
Municipalities and communities ofVentura County, California,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
