Category: History

The Picture -(via the Museum of Ventura County)

by Library Docent Volunteer Andy Ludlum

At first glance, the picture is nothing special. It’s a group of 31 men, posed in front of the Ventura Mill & Lumber Company. They are all dressed in their best clothing, suits and hats, most wearing ties. What makes the picture historic is that it was taken on Easter Sunday, the morning of April 8, 1917, two days after the United States had declared war on Germany. The young Ventura men had all volunteered to serve their country as members of a state naval militia. Newspaperman, author, and curator of what would become the Museum of Ventura County, E. M. Sheridan wrote that the photograph finally told the “little sleepy mission town” that “there really was a war and their own land was into it.”

Read the story: Museum of Ventura County

“The Woman Lawyer”- (via Museum of Ventura County)

by Library Docent Volunteer Andy Ludlum

On July 28, 1924, when motions were called for in the case of the People vs. Jesse Mendoza in Ventura County Superior Court, court watchers were stunned when “a tall and stately woman” stepped inside the bar and answered, “ready for the defendant.” Mary Belle Spencer of Chicago became the first woman to represent a criminal defendant in Ventura County history. And this was no routine trial. It was the trial of man accused of committing one of the most gruesome and brutal murders anyone could remember. Spencer practiced law for decades and relished the attention she drew in legal circles. But despite her accomplishments and failures, she was invariably described in the newspapers as “the woman lawyer.”

Read the story: Museum of Ventura County

The Bad Bob – (via Museum of Ventura County)

by Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

Marjery Misner was described in 1924 by The Los Angeles Times as a “pretty, young teacher.”  Near the end of the term, the first-year elementary school teacher in Santa Paula was summoned to the South Grammar School office of the district superintendent, Charles D. Jones.  He said her actions two weeks earlier left him with no choice. She could no longer teach in Santa Paula, and he asked for her resignation. What had Misner done to prompt such an arbitrary reaction from Jones? She defied a school board edict – and bobbed her hair.

Read the story: Museum of Ventura County

Easy Health in a Bottle (via Museum of Ventura County)

by Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

When a baby was teething and wouldn’t stop crying, there’s a good chance that Ventura County parents in the late 1800s reached for “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup.”

Source: Museum of Ventura County

Disaster in the Devil’s Jaw (via Museum of Ventura County)

by Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

One hundred years ago a tragic mix of poor judgment, navigational errors, irregular currents, and fog cost 23 sailors their lives.

Source: Museum of Ventura County

Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes: Ventura School for Girls (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

Ventura residents were shocked in February 1921 when they read about girls rioting at the local state training…

Source: Museum of Ventura County

The Story of Pierre Agoure (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

This is the story of an early Ventura County sheep rancher. His remarkable tale has been overlooked and almost lost over time.

Source: Museum of Ventura County

When Cars Came to Ventura County (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

It was a stand-off worthy of the old Wild West. The taciturn lawman was face to face with a huffing, puffing adversary. Neither was ready to back down.

Source: Museum of Ventura County

The Water Witch of Simi (via Museum of Ventura County)

By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum

The frail old man, known to everyone in Simi as “Grandpa Stones,” practically had to be carried over…

Source: Museum of Ventura County