In 1926, animal attendant Louis Goebel bought five lots at $10 apiece as a home for his seven African lions along old Ventura Boulevard in a remote, sparsely populated portion of Ventura County just over the Los Angeles County line--where the city of Thousand Oaks eventually grew. Not surprisingly, the big predators became a roadside attraction. By 1929, Goebel added exotic birds and other animals. Premier woman tiger trainer Mabel Stark arrived as Goebel's Lion Farm accrued regional fame, and Capt. Frank Phillips trained Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's famous Leo the Lion after the name changed to...

Before Camarillo, there was Springville, and before Springville there were the Ranchos Los Posas, Calleguas, and Guadalasca. The evolution of these ranchos into the community that became the city of Camarillo is a California story of hardscrabble ranching replaced by dry farming, followed by success as an important point in the growth of the walnut and lima bean trades. The magnanimous Camarillo family left its surname, as well as a regionally famous line of white show horses, to the community. The city was also home to Camarillo State Hospital, which for generations was a West Coast mainstay...