The Olivas Adobe in Ventura, California is an adobe structure built in 1837 by Raymundo Olivas on the north bank of the Santa Clara River about a mile from the estuary where it flows into the Santa Barbara Channel.

Olivas Adobe
Olivas Adobe
Location4200 Olivas Park Dr., Ventura, California
Coordinates34°14′40″N 119°14′28″W / 34.24444°N 119.24111°W / 34.24444; -119.24111
Built1837
ArchitectRaimundo Olivas
NRHP reference No.79000570
CHISL No.115
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 24, 1979[2]
Designated CHISL1933[1]

Olivas received, in recognition of his service at the Presidio of Santa Barbara, approximately 2,250 acres (9 km2) as part of land grant from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1841, which he named Rancho San Miguel. The land had originally been part of grazing area for the cattle herds of Mission San Buenaventura but was appropriated during the secularization of the missions lands.

Olivas built the adobe home in 1837, and expanded it in 1849 to two stories, making it the only such building in the area. He and his wife and their 21 children lived here until 1899. It later became Max Fleischmann's hunting lodge (of yeast and margarine fame). After his death, his foundation donated the land and the house to the City of Ventura.[3]

The Olivas Adobe is registered as California Historical Landmark #115 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[2]

In popular culture edit

The Star Film Company headed by Gaston Méliès shot a silent film in 1913 here called “The Gringo Strikes” which featured a Robin Hood-like character in old Mexico.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Olivas Adobe". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  3. ^ "Olivas Adobe Interpretive Signs". City of Ventura. September 4, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Hulse, Jane (January 2, 1997). "Ventura Ready for Its Close-Up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2018.

External links edit