Conejo Mountain Funeral Home, Memorial Park and Crematory is a funeral home and cemetery in Camarillo, Ventura County, California, established in 1965. [1]
Conejo Mountain Funeral Home, Memorial Park and Crematory is a funeral home and cemetery in Camarillo, Ventura County, California, established in 1965. [1]
The original cemetery [2] was a way of fighting off developers who proposed to buy chunks of property owned by Camarillo rancher Mary Smith, known for being opinionated and a woman of action. Mrs. Smith "soaked the farm" to raise $100,000.00 needed to get the cemetery project off the ground. "I just had no use for subdividers..." [3]
The Smith Ranch, begun in 1936 by J.V. (Jake) and Mary Smith. With the passing of Jake in 1949, Mary had farmed the ranch herself with the help of farmhands. Originally 800 acres (3.2 km2), the property today only consists of the 119 acres (0.48 km2) of the cemetery. Due to the generosity of Mary Smith, the Camarillo Sanitary District treatment plant takes up a portion of the original 800 acres (3.2 km2). [4]
The historic Chapel of the Islands, built in 1942 and was originally named Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Port Hueneme, California. In 1962 this church was part of the 33-acre (130,000 m2) Urban Renewal Project in Port Hueneme and had to be relocated or lost forever. In 1966 Mary Smith's bid to buy the church was accepted and the church was moved to the cemetery in February 1966 using portable aircraft landing strips to its new home in the middle of the former bean field turned cemetery. [3]
Mary Smith died in October 1992 [5] and was quoted, "I pray the good Lord doesn't send me to the city to finish my days. When they move me, I hope they move me feet first. I would rather die with my boots on than off." [4]
Since 1965, the cemetery has constructed mausoleum buildings and a state of the art funeral and cremation facility was dedicated in May 2007.
Ventura County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and Adolfo Camarillo, prominent Californios who owned Rancho Calleguas and founded the city. California State University, Channel Islands is housed on the former grounds of the Camarillo State Hospital.
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles (64 km) from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Newbury Park is a populated place and town in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while unincorporated areas include Casa Conejo and Ventu Park. The town is located in Southern California around 8 miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean and has a mild year-round climate, scenic mountains, and environmental preservation. About 28,000 residents of Thousand Oaks reside in Newbury Park.
The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California, United States surrounded by the mountains of the Transverse ranges. The cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and much of Ventura as well as the unincorporated communities of Hollywood Beach, El Rio, Saticoy, Silver Strand Beach, and Somis lie within the over 200-square-mile alluvial plain (520 km2). The population within the plain comprises a majority of the western half of the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metro Area and includes the largest city along the Central Coast of California. The 16.5-mile-long coastline (26.6 km) is among the longest stretches of continuous, linear beaches in the state.
Bardsdale is a rural unincorporated community and populated place in Ventura County, California. It is located in the orange blossom and agricultural belt of the Santa Clara River Valley, south of the Santa Clara River and on the north slope of South Mountain. The closest town is Fillmore, which is on the north side of the Santa Clara about 3 miles (5 km) from Bardsdale. Santa Paula is about 7 miles (11 km) west, the most direct route being South Mountain Road. Moorpark is about 6 miles (10 km) south over the serpentine mountain road known as Grimes Canyon.
The Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) is a union high school district in Ventura County, California. The district serves students in grades 9–12 on the Oxnard Plain, including the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Camarillo, California as well as adjacent unincorporated communities including El Rio, Somis, and Channel Islands Beach. As of 2020 the superintendent is Dr. Tom McCoy.
Rancho El Conejo was a 48,572-acre (196.56 km2) Spanish land grant in California given in 1803 to Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez that encompassed the area now known as the Conejo Valley in southeastern Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles Counties. El Conejo is Spanish for "The Rabbit", and refers to the many rabbits common to the region. The east-west grant boundaries approximately went from the border of Westlake Village near Lindero Canyon Road in the east to the Conejo Grade in the west. The north-south borders extended from the top of the Simi Hills at the end of Moorpark Road in the north to Hidden Valley in the Santa Monica Mountains in the south. The rancho is the site of the communities of Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village.
Rancho Guadalasca was a 30,594-acre (123.81 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Ventura County, California, given in 1836 by Governor Mariano Chico to Ysabel Yorba. The grant was in the southern part of the county, bordering on Los Angeles County. The grant extended along the Pacific coast near Point Mugu for about eight miles and extended into the interior along Guadalasca Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains for about ten miles.
Rancho Calleguas was a 9,998-acre (40.46 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Ventura County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Pedro Ruiz.
Rancho Ojai was a 17,717-acre (71.70 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Ventura County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Fernando Tico. Rancho Ojai is located on the east side of the upper Ventura River, across from the Rancho Santa Ana grant made in the same year. The grant encompassed present-day city of Ojai, at the foot of the Topatopa Mountains.
The Conejo Grade is a 7% grade incline on a section of US 101. Also known as the Camarillo Grade, it links Thousand Oaks and cities of the Conejo Valley, with Camarillo and the cities on the Oxnard Plain. With a summit elevation of 841.1 feet (256.4 m), California Highway Patrol inspection stations for trucks are situated on both sides of the highway at the upper terminus of the grade.
Rancho Sierra Vista is one of the last intact ranches from the first half of the twentieth century in the Santa Monica Mountains. The majority of the landscape is much as it was 100 years ago. The area is now owned by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park System.
The Norwegian Grade is a 2 miles (3.2 km) section of Moorpark Road from the Santa Rosa Valley up into the Simi Hills and the city of Thousand Oaks, within Ventura County, California. Completed in 1911, it may be one of the Norwegian Colony's most notable contributions to the city. Until the construction of California State Route 23 Freeway, this was the most direct route between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.
The Joel McCrea Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California is also known as the August DuMortier Ranch. The ranch is a rare surviving example of the large cattle ranches and fields of grain which once dotted the Santa Rosa and Conejo valleys in eastern Ventura County.
Ronald Jay Hargrave was an American ukulele player and actor from the 1950s era, who has become an icon to the Rockabilly fan base. He co-wrote music for Jerry Lee Lewis and was also identified as a billboard star musician in Japan with many singles. He was a resident of Ventura, California where he enjoyed visiting small shops and locations to play the ukulele for small impromptu crowds.
Norwegian Colony was a Norwegian community in Thousand Oaks, California, in the 1890s and early 20th century. They were among the first pioneers to settle in the Conejo Valley, and was perhaps the most successful colony in Ventura County at the time. The group of Norwegians had emigrated from Norway due to lack of land and widespread starvation, and had first settled in Santa Barbara in 1885. After being told about the cheap land in the Conejo Valley, they relocated to what became the Norwegian Colony in 1890-91. The colony consisted of five families: the Olsen, Andersen (Anderson), Pedersen (Pederson), Nilsen and Hansen families.
Dos Vientos is a neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, California in westernmost portion of Newbury Park. Bordering Dos Vientos Open Space and the Santa Monica Mountains, it was a 2,350-unit housing development which was approved by the Thousand Oaks City Council in April 1988. It is an upscale and master-planned community. Major development found place after infrastructure was built to support the homes in 1998. It was the largest residential project ever within Newbury Park. It has a maximum elevation of 2,500 feet.