Agoura - Oak Park - Conejo Valley Chamber Of Commerce

History

The 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill lured thousands to California. Not all of the new arrivals, however, found instant wealth, and many were forced to seek inexpensive property away from the more prosperous towns.

Congress passed the Homestead Act of 1862 and thus made it possible for settlers to own 160 acres by simply living there, building a home and raising a family. Additional property could be bought for $1.25 an acre.

During the early years, areas were known for their stagecoach and freight wagon stops. The Vejar Junction, located three days from Los Angeles, was the one stop in the Conejo Valley Rancho.

The good wells were available to travelers - one around the area that's now Grape Arbor Park, and another near the site where Cornell and Agoura Roads meet. According to a UCLA archaeological survey, some of the earliest written history identifies Agoura as "a place with water."

Water was, of course, a necessity for Agoura's first residents, the Chumash Indians who set up their villages in the Santa Monica Mountains. A friendly and colorful people, the Chumash tribe was dispersed by 1850.

In 1901, the George Lewis Family moved from Chatsworth to their newly built house on the ranch at what is presently called Agoura. It stood beside the original road which is now the alignment of the Ventura Freeway. Though the Lewis family's stay in Agoura was not a long one, their presence in Agoura saw many important changes, including the expansion of ranching activities, and the building of a major state highway through Agoura.

In 1924, the Colodny brothers, Ira and George, bought the George Lewis Ranch (in what is now Old Agoura) and subdivided the 500 acres north of the highway, calling the area Independence Acres. By this time, an acre was selling for $800. Ads proclaimed that "a very few chickens will pay the monthly installments and a few added chickens will give you an income sufficient for your needs. There is always a ready market for eggs." The advertisements further claimed that Independence had "rich soil, good drainage, daily sea breezes, no city taxes, scenic beauty, good streets, electricity and plenty of water."

Despite these boasts, water was a problem. Bob Boyd, Agoura's first postmaster, recalled that there were "about 28 more families than the local water resources could supply."

By 1928, the name Independence Acres was changed to Picture City after Paramount Studios bought the Colodny Brothers Ranch. The land was known for its variety of habitat which provided the scenic backdrop for many motion pictures.

At this time, a group of local business men joined together to form the Picture City Chamber of Commerce. The chamber began a movement within the community to petition for a permanent post office. The postal department requested a list of 10 name suggestions. Pierre Agoure, an early settler and a Frenchman, was the son of a prosperous farmer and stockman in Basses-Pyrennes, France. He came to California in 1871 at the age of 17. Agoure started as a dairyman and later herded sheep in the Conejo Valley. In 1875 he began his own sheep raising venture, beginning with 400 head of sheep. He gradually added to his holdings until he had a population of 25,000 head of sheep and cattle at one time.

Agoure was one of the region's most successful sheep farmers in the Conejo Valley and by 1906, owned 16,880 acres of Conejo Valley grazing land.

The Agoure name was the one chosen by the postal department-because, according to Boyd, it was the shortest name proposed. The name was then misspelled by the post office as the final "e" was changed to "a" - although some feel that this was for ease of pronunciation - and the town of Agoura was born.