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Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of
Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...
, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak trees present in the area. The city forms the central populated core of the Conejo Valley. Thousand Oaks was incorporated in 1964, but has since expanded to the west and east. Two-thirds of master-planned community of Westlake and most of Newbury Park were annexed by the city during the late 1960s and 1970s. The Los Angeles County–Ventura County line crosses at the city's eastern border with Westlake Village. The population was 126,966 at the 2020 census, up from 126,683 at the 2010 census.


Etymology

One of the earliest names used for the area was Conejo Mountain Valley, as used by the founder of Newbury Park,
Egbert Starr Newbury Egbert Starr Newbury (September 8, 1843 – February 10, 1880) was the American founder of Newbury Park, California, and the first newspaper reporter in the Conejo Valley, located in Ventura County. Born and raised in Michigan, he moved to Califor ...
, in the 1870s. During the 1920s, today's Thousand Oaks was home to 100 residents. In the 1920s came talks of coming up with a name for the specific area of Thousand Oaks. A local name contest was held, where 14-year-old Bobby Harrington's name suggestion won: Thousand Oaks.O'Brien, Tricia (2017). ''Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 7. . The valley is characterized by its tens of thousands of oak trees (50,000–60,000 in 2012). When the city was incorporated in 1964, the Janss Corporation suggested the name Conejo City (City of Conejo). A petition was signed by enough residents to put Thousand Oaks on the ballot. An overwhelming majority—87%—of the city's 19,000 residents voted for the name Thousand Oaks during the September 29, 1964, election.


History


Pre-colonial period

Chumash people were the first to inhabit the area, settling there over 10,000 years ago. It was home to two major villages: Sap'wi ("House of the Deer") and Satwiwa ("The Bluffs").Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley : Old and New Frontiers. Windsor Publications''. Page 13. . Sap'wi is now by the Chumash Interpretive Center which is home to multiple 2,000 year-old pictographs. Satwiwa is the home of the Native American Indian Culture Center which sits at the foothills of Mount Boney in Newbury Park, a sacred mountain to the Chumash. A smaller village, Yitimasɨh, was located where Wildwood Elementary School sits today. The area surrounding Wildwood Regional Park has been inhabited by the Chumash for thousands of years. Some of the artifacts discovered in Wildwood include stone tools, shell beads and arrowheads. Another small Chumash settlement, known as Šihaw (Ven-632i), was located where Lang Ranch sits today. A cave containing several swordfish and cupules pictographs is located here. Two other villages were located by today's Ventu Park Road in Newbury Park. These were populated 2,000 years ago and had a population of 100–200 in each village. Other villages included Lalimanuc (Lalimanux) and Kayɨwɨš (Kayiwish) by Conejo Grade. The Chumash also had several summer encampments, including one located where
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...
currently stands, known as Ipuc (Ven-654). Another summer encampment was located at the current location of Los Robles Hospital. Each village was ruled by a chief or several chieftains, who often traveled between villages to discuss matters of common interest. A council of elders directed village life and organized events. Most villages had a cemetery, gaming field, a sweat house, and a place for ceremonies. Locally discovered tribal artifacts are at display at Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center and the Chumash Indian Museum. The region's recorded history dates to 1542, when Spanish explorer
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanis ...
landed at
Point Mugu Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...
and claimed the land for Spain. The Battle of Triunfo, which took place by Triunfo Creek, was waged over land between native Chumash and the Spanish newcomers.


19th century

From 1804 to 1848, Thousand Oaks was part of Alta California, which originally was a Spanish polity in North America. It was the Spaniards who first named it Conejo Valley, or Valley of Rabbits. The
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...
and indigenous Chumash clashed numerous times in disputes over land.Maulhardt, Jeffrey Wayne (2010). ''Conejo Valley''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 7. . Conejo Valley was given the name El Rancho Conejo in 1803. This year, Jose Polanco and Ignacio Rodriguez were granted El Rancho Conejo by Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga of Alta California. The land contained 48,671.56 acres. El Conejo was just one of two land grants in what became Ventura County, the other being Rancho Simi. As a result of the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
in 1822, Alta California became a Mexican territory. In 1822, Captain
José de la Guerra y Noriega José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega (March 6, 1779 – February 18, 1858) was a Californio military officer, ranchero, and founder of the prominent Guerra family of California. He served as the Commandant of the Presidio of Santa Barbara and the ...
filed Conejo Valley as part of the Mexican land grant. It remained a part of Mexico until the short-lived
California Republic The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now So ...
was established in 1846. It became a part of the U.S. after California gained statehood in 1850. The valley was now known as Rancho El Conejo.O'Brien, Tricia (2017). ''Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 7. . The ranch period began when the de la Guerra family sold thousands of acres through the 1860s and early 1870s. Two men owned most of Conejo Valley in the 1870s: John Edwards, who came from
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in 1849, and Howard Mills, who came from
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
in 1870. While Edwards owned most of present-day Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, Mills owned most of Westlake Village and Hidden Valley. Edwards' home was located on an acre of land where The Oaks Mall currently is located, while Mills built his home where Westlake Lake sits today. The third person to buy former Rancho El Conejo land was
Egbert Starr Newbury Egbert Starr Newbury (September 8, 1843 – February 10, 1880) was the American founder of Newbury Park, California, and the first newspaper reporter in the Conejo Valley, located in Ventura County. Born and raised in Michigan, he moved to Califor ...
. He bought 2,259 acres of land here in 1874, land which stretched from Old Town Thousand Oaks and into today's Newbury Park. He later established the valley's first post office in 1875: Newbury Park Post Office. When the Conejo Valley School District was established in March 1877, there were 126 residents living in Conejo Valley. In the late 19th century, Newbury Park was on the
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...
route between
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and Santa Barbara. The Stagecoach Inn (Grand Union Hotel) was built in 1876, and is now a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
and museum.


Norwegian Colony

Thousand Oaks was home to a Norwegian community in the late 1890s and early 1900s, known as Norwegian Colony. Norwegian settlers were among the first to settle in Conejo Valley. The Norwegian Colony was located at today's intersection of Moorpark- and Olsen Roads, now home to
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
and surrounding areas. The Norwegian Colony constituted of over 650 acres and stretched from
Mount Clef Ridge Mount Clef Ridge is a 1,076 ft volcanic mountain in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a volcanic outcrop that resulted from lava eruptions 30 million years ago. The ridge was formerly under ownership by the Janss Corporation, but was acquired ...
to Avenida de Los Arboles. The son of Norwegian immigrants donated his ranch to California Lutheran College in the 1950s. California Lutheran University is now home to the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation and the Scandinavian Festival. Many place names are named after Norwegian immigrants such as the Olsen and Pedersen families. The first Norwegians came from the village of Stranda by Storfjorden. Ole Anderson bought 199 acres here, while Lars Pederson owned 111 acres. Other Norwegian pioneers also included Ole Nilsen, George Hansen and Nils Olsen. A major contribution was the construction of the handmade Norwegian Grade in 1911, a mile-long road leading from Thousand Oaks to Santa Rosa Valley. With no doctors or hospitals nearby, the Norwegian Colony was short-lived. The Olsen family lost seven of their ten children, while Ole Anderson, Lars Pederson, and George Hansen all died in 1901 due to a diphtheria epidemic.


20th century

Newbury Park was a more established community than Thousand Oaks at the turn of the 20th century. A few lots existed early in the 1900s, wedged between Borchard land on the south and Friedrich land on the north. The Janss family, developers of Southern California subdivisions, purchased in the early 20th century. They eventually created plans for a "total community", and the name remains prominently featured in the city. Despite early aspirations, no large subdivisions were developed until the 1920s. The development was slow and hampered even more under the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s. Besides agriculture, the movie industry became an important industry in the 1920s and 1930s. Between 1950 and 1970, Conejo Valley experienced a population boom, and increased its population from 3,000 to 30,000 residents. From 3,500 residents in 1957, Thousand Oaks had over 103,000 inhabitants by 1989. While ranching and agriculture were the dominant industries until the 1950s, a number of new businesses appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Particularly many high-tech firms moved to Thousand Oaks in the '60s and '70s. Packard Bell and Technology Instrument Company were two high-technology businesses that moved into the Newbury Park industrial park in the 1960s. Other companies that followed included Westinghouse Astroelectronics Laboratory, Semtech Corporation,
Purolator Inc. Purolator Inc. is a Canadian courier that is 91% owned by Canada Post, 7% owned by Rainmaker Investments Ltd. and 2% by others. The company was originally organized as Trans Canada Couriers, Ltd. In 1967, it was acquired by the US manufacturer ...
, and Westland Plastics. Jungleland USA put Thousand Oaks on the map in the 1920s and helped attract Hollywood producers to the city. Hundreds of movies have been filmed in Thousand Oaks. Some of the first films to be made here were '' The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) at Jungleland USA and ''
Roaring Ranch ''Roaring Ranch'' is a 1930 American pre-Code Western film written and directed by B. Reeves Eason. The film stars Hoot Gibson, and it was released on April 27, 1930, by Universal Pictures. Cast *Hoot Gibson as Jim Dailey * Frank Clark as T ...
'' (1930) at the Stagecoach Inn.
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
was featured in the "Walls of Jericho" scenes in the film '' It Happened One Night'' (1934). A western village was erected at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
for the filming of '' Welcome to Hard Times'' (1967), while
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
and
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...
starred in several westerns made in Wildwood Regional Park. A nearby road, Flaming Star Avenue, is named after the film '' Flaming Star'' (1960) starring Elvis Presley, which was filmed here. Other movies filmed in the valley included '' Lassie Come Home'' (1943), ''
To the Shores of Iwo Jima ''To the Shores of Iwo Jima'' is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the foo ...
'' (1945) and '' The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1979–85). Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis visited Thousand Oaks for the filming of '' Hollywood or Bust'' (1956), which included a scene filmed on Live Oak Street.Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Pages 82–83. . Movie actor Joel McCrea, who had been advised by Will Rogers to buy land in the area, raised his family on a
ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
he had acquired in the early 1930s. Numerous celebrities later joined McCrea and relocated to the Conejo Valley, including Dean Martin,
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
, Roy Rogers, Strother Martin, Virginia Mayo, Michael O'Shea, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Ronald Colman, George Brent,
Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...
, Alan Ladd, Richard Widmark,
Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television, based in British Columbia. He is known for his roles in ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), '' Never Cry W ...
, and Bing- and Kurt Russell.Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Page 83. . While the city was home to 1,700 businesses in 1970, Thousand Oaks had 11,000 businesses in town by 1988.Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Page 111. . The world's largest independent biotechnology company, Amgen, was established in Newbury Park in 1980.


Jungleland USA

Louis Goebel of New York bought five lots off Ventura Boulevard (today's
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
) in 1925. He worked for the
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
film studio, and decided to create his own film industry zoo after the closure of Universal Zoo in the mid-1920s. He established Goebel's Lion Farm in 1926, situated where
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...
is located today. Goebel began with five lions and seven malamute dogs, but he soon acquired new animals such as giraffes, camels, hippos, monkeys, tigers, gorillas, seals and other exotic animals. It became home to several animals used for Leo the Lion MGM logo. There were held public animal shows, which drew thousands of spectators from throughout California. The animals from the park have been used in many movies and TV series, including many of the ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
'' films; '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), which used the site as a location, and '' Doctor Doolittle'' (1967).Maulhardt, Jeffrey Wayne (2011). ''Jungleland''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 8. . Goebel himself camped by the filming site of '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1932) by Lake Sherwood to watch his lions during filming. It became one of Southern California's most popular tourists attractions in the 1940s and 1950s, when the 170-acre park offered shows, lion training, elephant rides, train rides, safari tram buses and more. The park changed name to Jungleland USA in 1956 after
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...
was established. The park later went bankrupt in May 1969, due to competition from parks such as Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios. The park's 1,800 animals were sold at a public auction in October 1969.


Incorporation

The City of Thousand Oaks was incorporated on October 7, 1964. On September 29, 1964, voters approved the incorporation and selected the name. The incorporation became official once the certificates of election were filed with the California Secretary of State, and the record of affidavit was filed with the Ventura County Clerk. The results of the cityhood election was clear on September 24, 1964. 2,780 residents voted to set up a city, while 1,821 had voted no to incorporation. Certain areas however tried to set up its own municipality. An attempt at a cityhood election in Newbury Park failed in 1963, as Talley Corporation and Janss Rancho Conejo Industrial Park refused to join the efforts.
Reba Hays Jeffries Reba Marie Hays Jeffries (June 21, 1920 – August 13, 1989) was one of the founders of Newbury Park Chamber of Commerce and later its first female president. She was a prominent supporter of Newbury Park cityhood and opposed the annexation by ne ...
, a local opponent of cityhood, told interviewers why she thought the cityhood election failed: Cityhood backers had to collect signatures from owners who represented 29% of the land that was to be incorporated. As the efforts collected 29% of registered voters, the measure never came on the ballot. Most Newbury Park land were annexed through the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.
Casa Conejo Casa Conejo (; Spanish for "Rabbit House") is an unincorporated county island in Newbury Park, Ventura County, California, United States. It was the first planned community in Newbury Park and began building in 1960. When the city of Thousand O ...
and
Ventu Park Ventu Park () is an unincorporated community in southern Newbury Park, California. Unlike most of Newbury Park, Ventu Park is not within the Thousand Oaks city limits. It borders Ventu Park Open Space in the north, Hidden Valley in the south, and ...
are the only parts of Newbury Park left, which are not parts of Thousand Oaks. Lynn Ranch also decided to remain outside city limits. Two-thirds of Westlake Village were annexed by Thousand Oaks in two portions - in 1968 and 1972.Maulhardt, Jeffrey Wayne (2010). ''Conejo Valley''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 55. . The Westlake neighborhood of North Ranch remained an unincorporated area until January 1973, when Thousand Oaks approved the annexation of North Ranch. North Ranch borders Oak Park, an unincorporated area where voters have chosen not to be annexed into Thousand Oaks.


Modern history

Thousand Oaks is encouraging mixed-use retail and housing development along the downtown portion of
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
. The city is built-out within the confines of the Conejo Valley and has adopted a
smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood ...
strategy as there is no room for the sprawling suburban growth the city is known for. Increased development in Moorpark and Simi Valley in the late 1990s and early 2000s caused the Moorpark Freeway (Highway 23) to become heavily congested during both morning and afternoon rush hours. A major widening project began in 2008. On March 30, 2016,
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
and the NFL Rams team reached an agreement that allowed the team to have regular season training operations at CLU's campus in Thousand Oaks for the next two years. The Rams paid for two practice fields, paved parking, and modular buildings constructed on the northwestern corner of the campus. On November 7, 2018, a lone gunman killed 12 people in a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. Just days later, as a vigil was held for those impacted by the shooting, the massive ''Hill Fire'' and '' Woolsey Fire'' threatened the community, burning homes across Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. The fires would continue through almost the entire month of November charring almost 100,000 acres and consuming multiple homes in the region as it burned through Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, and Thousand Oaks, all the way to the Malibu coastline. In February 2019, in what was called a response to the shooting, members of the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrated outside Thousand Oaks High School. Parents, students, faith communities, and community members held a counter-demonstration across the street.


Geography

The city of Thousand Oaks is situated in the Conejo Valley in southeastern Ventura County, halfway between
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
and Santa Barbara, and 12 miles east of the Pacific Ocean.Kath, Laura and Pamela Price (2011). ''Fun with the Family Southern California: Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids''. Rowman & Littlefield. Page 45. . Conejo Valley lies at 900 feet; 55 of its 1,884 square miles are located within Thousand Oaks city limits. For comparison, the city is larger in area than
Long Beach, CA Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated ...
, and 20 percent larger than
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
.McCormack, Don (1999). ''McCormack's Guides Santa Barbara and Ventura 2000''. Mccormacks Guides. Page 119. . Designated open-space nature areas occupy 34 percent of the city as of 2017 (15,194 acres). 928 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is within the southern borders of the city. Thousand Oaks is within the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
and is 38 miles west of Los Angeles. Malibu is located on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains. Conejo Valley is bordered by the Santa Monica's to the south, Conejo Mountains to the west and north, and the Simi Hills to the northeast. Newbury Park currently makes up around 40 percent of the city's total land area. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.27%) is water. Although Thousand Oaks has several shopping centers, including the
Janss Marketplace Janss Marketplace is an outdoor shopping mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Previously known as Janss Mall, it opened in September 1961 as Village Lane. It was the first mall established in the city, and Thousand Oaks' only shopping center until ...
mall, The Oaks mall, and W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., a large portion of the city's inhabitants live in suburban communities a distance from the commercial centers of the city. The large housing districts near Lynn Road to the north and west are an example of this sprawl, despite attempts by Ventura County planners to reduce it. Many housing tracts are surrounded by walls. This design is meant to keep heavy traffic away from residential roads.


Physiography

The physiography is dominated by prominent knolls, surrounding mountains, open vistas and native oak woodland. It is home to 50–60,000 oak trees, and the city is characterized by its many oak trees and rolling green hills. The northern parts consist of mountainous terrain in the Simi Hills, Conejo Mountains and
Mount Clef Ridge Mount Clef Ridge is a 1,076 ft volcanic mountain in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a volcanic outcrop that resulted from lava eruptions 30 million years ago. The ridge was formerly under ownership by the Janss Corporation, but was acquired ...
. Narrow canyons such as
Hill Canyon Hill Canyon is a deep canyon in the western Simi Hills and within northern Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, southern California. The Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve includes the central canyon area, and is part of the Conejo Ca ...
cut through the steeper mountainous areas.
Conejo Mountain Conejo Mountain is a in Ventura County, California near Camarillo on the eastern boundary of the Oxnard Plain. At the western edge of the Conejo Valley, it is adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains. Crossing what was once a formidable barrier fo ...
and Conejo Grade are found in westernmost Newbury Park, while the southernmost parts of Thousand Oaks are made up of Russell Valley, Hidden Valley and the steep rugged slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains. The elevation ranges from 500 feet in the northwest to the 2,403 feet Simi Peak. The major drainage is Conejo Creek (Arroyo Conejo). Wetlands include Lake Eleanor, Paradise Falls in Wildwood Regional Park, Twin Ponds in
Dos Vientos 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 ...
and the 7-acre Hill Canyon Wetlands.


Climate

The region experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa'' in the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
) or dry-summer subtropical zone climate, with hot, sunny, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. Vegetation is typical of
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
environments, with chaparral and grasses on the hillsides and numerous western valley oaks. Its elevation ranges from about 500 to 900 feet (excluding the mountains and hills). The area has slightly cooler temperatures than the surrounding areas, as it receives cooler air from the ocean through various hill and mountain passes. On March 10 and 11, 2006, snow fell on the peak of
Boney Mountain Boney Mountain in Ventura County, California is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains. The prominent mountain visible from Newbury Park, California is . It is also known as Boney Peak. The mountain contains four of the highest ...
, the first snow to fall in the area in about 20 years. Snow also fell on Boney Peak on December 17 and 18, 2008. In line with the rest of coastal California, temperatures at solar noon tend to fluctuate between 70 and 80 °F (21–26 °C) during summer, and rarely drop below 60–65 °F (15–18 °C) during winter.Baker, Pam and Jim Dunham (2002). ''Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village''. Community Communications, Incorporated. Page 26. .


Demographics

The city neighborhoods were built for the blue- and white-collar class in the 1950s. Today it is an upscale city with highly educated residents.McCormack, Don (1999). ''McCormack's Guides Santa Barbara and Ventura 2000''. Mccormacks Guides. Page 121. . The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
reported that Thousand Oaks had a population of 126,683. The population density was . The racial makeup of Thousand Oaks was 101,702 (80.3%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 1,674 (1.3%)
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 497 (0.4%) Native American, 11,043 (8.7%) Asian, 146 (0.1%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 6,869 (5.4%) from other races, and 4,752 (3.8%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 21,341 persons (16.8%). The largest ancestry group is German-Americans 20,381 (15.8%), followed by Mexican 16,640 (12.9%), English 15,092 (11.7%), Irish 13,802 (10.7%), Italian 9,287 (7.2%), Russian 4,385 (3.4%), Chinese 4,256 (3.3%), French 4,127 (3.2%), Polish 4,127 (3.2%), Scottish 3,482 (2.7%), Indian 3,482 (2.7%), Norwegian 2,837 (2.2%) and Swedish 2,579 (2%). The census reported that 124,941 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 1,390 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 352 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 45,836 households, out of which 16,439 (35.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27,206 (59.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,260 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,925 (4.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,761 (3.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 284 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9,728 households (21.2%) were made up of individuals, and 4,459 (9.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73. There were 33,391 families (72.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.15. The population was spread out, with 30,076 people (23.7%) under the age of 18, 10,226 people (8.1%) aged 18 to 24, 29,853 people (23.6%) aged 25 to 44, 37,964 people (30.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 18,564 people (14.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. There were 47,497 housing units at an average density of , of which 33,501 (73.1%) were owner-occupied, and 12,335 (26.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%. 92,510 people (73.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 32,431 people (25.6%) lived in rental housing units. The median income for a household in the city was $121,088.


Government

Thousand Oaks does not directly elect its mayor; instead, council members take turns rotating into the position. According to the city's most recent (2019) Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fund financial statements, the city's various funds had $175.9 million in revenues, $169.8 million in expenditures, $1.01 billion in total assets, $176.3 million in total liabilities, and $27 million in investments:City of Thousand Oaks 2019 CAFR
/ref> The structure of the management and coordination of city services is: Established in 1964, the
City Manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...
's post is charged with coordinating
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...
policies and direction, and provides overall management administration of the city's ten departments. Administrative tasks are performed with assistance of four professional and three clerical staff members, including the Assistant City Manager, which serves in a key position. A major responsibility for the City Manager is the development of the annual city budget. As a chief legal advisor to the city, the City Attorney provides assistance and advice to all city departments and commissions. The attorney also represents the city in legal matters. The City Clerk's responsibilities include conducting elections, maintaining the custody of official city codes and records, administrating the oath of office given to elected officials, receiving legal claims, issuing marriage licenses, and receiving passport applications. Elected officials are very aware of the anti-growth sentiment that is common among the residents. All new development is described as slow-growth in order to be accepted by the community. Ordinances protect oak trees and the city prioritizes planting more in street medians and other public land. More than have been preserved as open space, containing more than of trails. Open space has been acquired through land dedications by developers, purchase, and
conservation easements In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...
. Donations of open space have been made by
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
and Joel McCrea. The largest donor has been the Prudential Company which developed the community of Westlake and eventually gave more than .


Political strength

Thousand Oaks and neighboring Simi Valley have traditionally been strongholds for the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
in Ventura County. , Thousand Oaks had three registered Republican voters for every two Democrats. 45.8% of voters were registered Republicans in 2008. By 2018, the party registrations for Thousand Oaks residents were 38% Republican, 33.7% Democrat, and 25% no preference, with the remainder split among other parties. Thousand Oaks is located adjacent to Simi Valley, often nicknamed "Reagan Country", where the former president is buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near the Thousand Oaks border. The former president hired Bruce Oxford to work at his Agoura Hills ranch in the late 1950s. By the early 1960s, Oxford had established the Thousand Oaks Meat Locker on today's
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
, a place where Reagan often returned to. During Reagan's run for governor of California in 1966, he stayed at the Meat Locker while awaiting the election returns. During the 1980 presidential election, Reagan returned to Thousand Oaks Boulevard (then Ventura Boulevard). Presidents George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan have held speeches at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
, while President George W. Bush visited Newbury Park in 2003. The Republican Club at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
has gained national prominence by having "the highest ratio of club members to number of students of any College Republican club in California."


Economy

While agriculture was the dominant industry in Thousand Oaks until the 1950s, a number of high-tech companies moved to Newbury Park in the 1960s. The city is a
biotech Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
hub anchored by Amgen with life sciences being one of the economic engines of the community. The city's economy is based on a range of businesses including biotechnology, electronics, automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, healthcare, and financing. Besides Amgen, other companies with corporate headquarters in the city include Teledyne Technologies, SAGE Publications, and Skyworks Solutions, while
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
, Baxter International, General Dynamics Corporation,
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...
, Verizon Wireless,
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
,
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. ...
, General Motors, BMW, Silver Star Automotive Group, and Anthem Blue Cross manage regional offices. Thousand Oaks also has large employers as Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center, Conejo Valley Unified School District, City of Thousand Oaks,
Hyatt Hotels Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vaca ...
, and
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
headquartered in the city. The city was also the former home to the corporate offices of
Wellpoint Elevance Health, Inc. is an American health insurance provider. The company's services include medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans through affiliated companies such as Anthem Blue Cross and ...
and GTE, which later became
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...
, which relocated in the last decade.
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
was also previously located here. J.D. Power and Associates is headquartered in Thousand Oaks. J.D. Power began moving its employees from its former headquarters in Agoura Hills, California, to its current headquarters in the Westlake section of Thousand Oaks in the weekend after April 11, 2002. The communities of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, and Agoura Hills are served by the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, one of the few in California to receive four-star accreditation from the United States Chamber of Commerce. Demographic data showed in 2002 that more and more of the local labor force was living within of their place of work, and fewer Thousand Oaks residents were making the commute to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. Over 40 percent of residents are employed as executives or business professionals.


Cannabis

Under the legalization of the sale and distribution of cannabis in California, city voters approved a marijuana business tax, Measure P, in November 2018. Commercial activities, such as growing, testing, and selling cannabis within their jurisdiction may be regulated by each city by licensing none or only some of these activities but local governments may not prohibit adults from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use. The two medical cannabis dispensaries that opened in February 2022 requested that the city amend the ordinance to allow them to sell recreational cannabis due to competition from dispensaries in other communities that sell both and delivery services that are permitted to operate in the city by state law.


Top employers

According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


Arts and culture

Conejo Valley Art Museum has showcased collections from artists such as Elizabeth Williams,
David Rose David Rose may refer to: Business * David Rose (real estate developer) (1892–1986), American real estate developer and philanthropist * David L. Rose (born 1967), American business executive and scientist at MIT Media Lab * David S. Rose (bor ...
and
Howard Brodie Howard Brodie (November 18, 1915 – September 19, 2010) was a sketch artist best known for his World War II, Korean and Vietnam combat and courtroom sketches. He worked as a staff artist for ''Life, Yank Magazine, Collier's, Associated Press'' ...
. Chumash Indian Museum on Lang Ranch Parkway has displays of Chumash artifacts and a reconstructed Chumash village. Another museum, the 1876 Stagecoach Inn, is located in Newbury Park and is a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
. Also in Newbury Park is Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, a museum at the foothills of Mount Boney, which is a sacred site for the Chumash people. American Radio Archive is a museum at Grant R. Brimhall Library dedicated to the history of radio. It contains one of the largest collections of radio broadcasting in the United States and in the world. California Museum of Art is located at The Oaks Shopping Center.
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...
is home to two theaters: the 1,800-seat Fred Kavli Theatre and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre.
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...
, Paul Anka,
Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...
, Kris Kristofferson and Peter, Paul and Mary have performed at Fred Kavli Theatre. Entertainers such as
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
, Bill Cosby, David Copperfield, BB King, Sheryl Crow and Mikhail Baryshnikov have also performed at the Civic Arts Plaza. Conejo Players Theatre has over 200 active members and was established in 1958. Hillcrest Center for the Arts is home to Gothic Productions, Young Artists Ensemble, Thousand Oaks Actors Guild and other groups. Hillcrest Center is also home to Classics in the Park, which arranges annual summer concerts in Conejo Community Park. Galleries include Fred Kavli Theatre Gallery, Thousand Oaks Community Art Gallery and William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art. The annual Scandinavian Festival ("Scan Fest") is an annual weekend spring festival which takes place at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
every April. The festival was the first held as an accomplishment of John J. Nordberg, who was instrumental in getting the first American-Scandinavian Foundation chapter chartered in Thousand Oaks. The festival was established in order to boost cultural ties between California Lutheran College and the Nordic countries. The festival offers foods, folk dances, music, literature and art from the Nordic Countries, including from
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
and the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
. The first festival was held in 1974 and was attended by over a thousand visitors. Conejo Valley Days is an annual spring festival with a carnival. OakHeart Country Music Festival is an annual outdoor country music concert held in June at the Conejo Creek Park fields. It is put on by the Borderline Bar and Grill and the Rotary Club. Previous performances include Rodney Atkins, Tyler Farr, Justin Moore, Josh Turner, Big & Rich, Jana Kramer, as well as other major names in
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
. On September 22, 2018, the City of Thousand Oaks hosted its first,
intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...
LGBTQ+ event outside of the Mary and Richard Carpenter Civic Arts Plaza Park. The Festival hosted over 2,000 attendees and its highlights included LGBTQ+ talent in the form of spoken word, dance, music, and art. The Festival also featured mental and physical health services, LGBTQ+ non-profits, supportive religious organizations, local business vendors, a tribute to the 1969
Stonewall Riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of ...
, youth arts/crafts, and more. The initial goal of this event was to bring critical visibility to the entire LGBTQ+ community of the Conejo Valley and to provide a cathartic experience for all attendees. The festival's organizers hope to make this an annual tradition.


Public safety


Fire department

The Ventura County Fire Department provides
fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
and
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
for Thousand Oaks and the surrounding areas. Prior to the 1930s, fires were fought by local ranchers. Conejo Valley residents all signed a petition appealing for a truck. The request was presented to Ventura County Fire Warden, Walter Emerick, in April 1931. Louis Goebel, the owner of Goebel's Lion Farm, contacted the warden and wrote: "If you provide Thousand Oaks with a fire truck, I'll build a fire station for it and you can use it as long as you want." The offer was accepted and Goebel built a 22-by-50 ft. extension onto his main building. On the evening of March 28, 1932, Walter Emerick delivered the valley's first fire engine. Tom Moody became the first Conejo Valley Fire Chief and established a temporary fire station in Lake Sherwood in 1942. Two permanent fire stations were built in 1949: one in Lake Sherwood and a new station at 67 Erbes Road which replaced the fire station at Goebel's Lion Farm. In 1961 Fire Station 34 was constructed followed by Station 35 in Newbury Park in 1962. Two stations were established to replace Station 31 on Erbes Road: Station 30 on Hillcrest Dr. (1974) and a new Fire Station 31 on Duesenburg Drive (1977). Fire Station 36 was built in 1985, followed by Station 37 in North Ranch in 2001. Conejo Valley fire personnel work closely with their counterparts across the county border in Los Angeles County, and reciprocate their services both Ventura- and L.A. Counties.Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce (1973). ''Conejo Valley: Thousand Oaks, California''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce. Page 9.


Law enforcement

Thousand Oaks Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff's Office provide
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
services for the city. Thousand Oaks Police Department was established on July 1, 1965, nine months after the city was incorporated, and has contracted the sheriff's department to provide police service since inception. The city's police department was instituted on July 1, 1965, with a personnel complement of twelve persons and two patrol vehicles. Captain T. Burt Stevens was the city's first Chief of Police. The police station was originally operated under contract with the
Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Office (VCSO), also sometimes known as the Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD), provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California as well as several cities within the county ...
. Fifteen officers, a sergeant, and a station commander serving as police chief, began work officially on July 1, 1965. Prior to the new police station, the closest deputies were in the city of Ventura and had to make the far trek to the Conejo Valley when crimes occurred. A resident deputy had also been assigned to the valley prior to the new station, who received his calls out of the family home. When the police station was established, it was originally two patrol cars to cover the city. As of 1973, the police department was staffed by nineteen deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff's East Valley Station. There were four one-man patrol vehicles which were operated on 24-hour basis. At first, the police station was housed in a room at the Park Oaks Fire Station, on the corner of Avenida de Los Arboles and Moorpark Road. As the officers soon outgrew the small room, the house across the street was rented and turned into a police station. The little house on Avenida de Los Arboles gave way to a professional sheriff's station, which was established on Olsen Road in 1969. It was replaced in 1988 with a more modern station, located just a half mile down Olsen Road.


Highway honors officer

The portion of the Ventura Freeway that passes through the city has been named in honor of Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Ron Helus, who was killed after entering the Borderline Bar & Grill to confront the perpetrator of a mass shooting event in November 2018.


Crime

Thousand Oaks is one of the safest cities in America, according to consistent FBI reporting. In October 2013, Thousand Oaks was ranked the fourth safest city with a population over 100,000 in America, according to an annual report by the FBI. It has one of the lowest crime rates in California. The company
Niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development * Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
ranked Thousand Oaks as America's second-safest city in 2016. The city experienced its first homicide in four years in October 2014. Despite a significant population growth since the 1990s, the city has experienced a general
crime decline The crime drop or crime decline is a pattern observed in many countries whereby rates of many types of crime declined by 50% or more beginning in the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s. Historical context The crime drop is not a new phenomenon e ...
. In 2015, there were 1.05 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, up from 0.99 in 2014. Overall, the city experienced a one percent crime decrease between 2014 and 2015. Petty theft was the most-reported crime category in 2013, accounting for 40% of all crimes.


Education

Thousand Oaks is served by the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Academic scores in public schools are high. Several schools are scoring in the top ten percent of schools in California. It includes numerous elementary schools, Colina Middle School, Redwood Middle School, Los Cerritos Middle School. The high schools of the area include Thousand Oaks High School, Newbury Park High School, and Westlake High School. Also part of the school district are Sycamore Canyon Middle School and Sequoia Middle School, located in Newbury Park. Oaks Christian High School, while located immediately outside Ventura County, matriculates numerous students from the county. Ascension Lutheran School is located in Thousand Oaks, and serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade.
La Reina High School La Reina High School is a Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest interna ...
is a private
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, all-girls junior/senior high school. The Thousand Oaks Library system is consistently ranked as one of the best public libraries in California. The library consists of the Grant R. Brimhall Library in Thousand Oaks and the Newbury Park Branch Library in Newbury Park. A children's library was added to the existing main building in June 2006. The children's library expansion resulted in an improved children's services area, a 3800-gallon, salt-water aquarium; quiet study rooms; a technology training room; a children's programming room; and additional seating and shelving capacity for both the children's services area and adult services area. Both the main library and Newbury Park Branch offer free wireless Internet access. For over ten consecutive years,
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
has been ranked among "Top 25 Universities in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' published by America's Best Colleges Guide. It was ranked 14th as of 2018.


Sports

Los Angeles Lightning is a local basketball team based at Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
. Besides having been the summer camp for NFL teams Los Angeles Rams and
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, CLU also served as the official training site of the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic Men's Water Polo teams. A nearby company, '' DesignworksUSA'' in Newbury Park, has designed the U.S. Olympic Team's bobsleds. Furthermore, Newbury Park has been the location of several Tour of California, a professional cycling race. AYSO, club soccer (such as Apex Soccer Club, Newbury Park Soccer Club and Conejo Valley United), Conejo Youth Basketball Association, Conejo Valley Thunder
Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
,
Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
football, Little League
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, CYFFA flag football, girls'
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, organized swim team leagues,
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
, and even organized
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
have active programs. Conejo Simi Swim Club is the oldest (est. 1974) and most successful youth swim program in the area. Ventura County Fusion, a minor-league
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team playing in the USL Premier Development League, while based in nearby Ventura, has held home games at Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park. The Conejo Oaks semi-pro collegiate baseball team play in Thousand Oaks at Sparky Anderson Field. The Ventura County Outlaws is a
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
team competing in the
Southern California Rugby Football Union The Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is the Geographical Union (GU) governing body within USA Rugby that governs adult rugby union teams in Southern California, the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Arizona, and New Mexico ) , po ...
, based in Thousand Oaks. The city is home to the Sherwood Country Club, a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. The annual Chevron World Challenge golf tournament hosted by Tiger Woods took place at the course from 2000 to 2013.


Professional Football

For 27 years,
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
hosted the training camp for the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
. The final camp was held in 1989.Pearlman, Jeff (2009). ''Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty''. Harper Perennial. Page 42. . The CLU football practice field used by the Cowboys as well as the CLU Kingsmen football team was replaced by a large sports complex in 2006. The Cowboys Clubhouse in Thousand Oaks still stands across from the complex, and is currently a family residence. The Los Angeles Rams' temporary headquarters and practice facilities are located on the same campus until the team constructs their permanent training complex in Los Angeles (in a separate July 2016 agreement, the Rams signed a three-year deal with UC Irvine to use that university's Crawford Field for the team's training camp.)


Baseball

In August 1994, a team from Thousand Oaks Little League became the first Little League team in Ventura County to win a World Championship, winning the
Junior League World Series The Junior League World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 12, 13, and 14 years old. The tournament is held annually at Heritage Park in Taylor, Michigan. It is patterned after the Little League World Series, which was named for ...
championship game 20–3. In 1996, a Senior Division (ages 14–16) Thousand Oaks Little League team won a National Championship. Two years later in 1998, a Big League Division (ages 17–18) Conejo Valley Little League team won a World Championship, defeating a Venezuelan Team 10–9 in the
Big League World Series The Big League World Series was a baseball tournament for youth aged 15 to 18 years old that began in 1968.
and going 26–1 in tournament play. In 2006, Thousand Oaks won the World Championship in the Big League Division (ages 16–18) of Little League by defeating a team from
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
10–0. The Thousand Oaks Big League team were also World Series runners-up in 2003 and 2005. In 2007, they were United States runner-up. In 2009, they won the United States Championship and appeared on prime time on ESPN. In the summer of 2004, the Little League National Championship team hailed from Thousand Oaks. The Conejo Valley East team of 11- and 12-year-olds went 22–0 in local, regional, and World Series tournaments play claiming the national title at the 2004 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania before losing in the international title game to the team from Curaçao,
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
.


Media

''The Acorn'' is the main newspaper covering Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, and Westlake Village. '' The Ventura County Star'' is a larger regional newspaper covering Ventura County. ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' circulations increased after the newspaper began covering the Conejo Valley in 1987. Thousand Oaks is home to a few radio station transmitter sites as well including
KCLU-FM KCLU-FM (88.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to Thousand Oaks, California and serves Ventura County. The station, owned by California Lutheran University, is a member of NPR and airs local news, weather forecasts, and tra ...
, an NPR radio station based at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
. Other radio station transmitters located in Thousand Oaks include KDSC (the repeater for Los Angeles' KUSC) airing
Classical Music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...
on 91.1, KYRA airing EMF's Christian Rock, Air1 on 92.7, an
K280DT
a translator of KOST-FM Los Angeles, airing
adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, qu ...
. Thousand Oaks TV is a 24-hour cable TV station established by the city in 1987. Besides
KCLU-FM KCLU-FM (88.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to Thousand Oaks, California and serves Ventura County. The station, owned by California Lutheran University, is a member of NPR and airs local news, weather forecasts, and tra ...
, another student media outlet at
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
is ''The Echo'', a news outlet. The first newspaper, ''Oaks Post'', was published during the 1940s. ''Conejo Valley News'' was established in 1954, while ''Village Chronicle'' was established in 1959. ''Thousand Oaks Journal'' was another early local newspaper in the 1960s. Former Newbury Park newspapers have included the ''Newbury Star'' in the 1960s, ''Our Town U.S.A.'', and ''The Newburian'', which was published by Newbury Park Adventist Academy. ''Newbury Park Reporter'' was a local edition of the '' Star Free Press''.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Roads

Thousand Oaks lies in the heart of the Conejo Valley, with the city of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
to the east and the city of Ventura to the west. The city is served by
U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
(the Ventura Freeway), as well as State Route 23 (the Moorpark Freeway). Highway 101 runs through the city and connects it with Los Angeles and Ventura. Highway 23 connects to the 101 near downtown Thousand Oaks, runs north toward
Moorpark Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County.. ...
.


Public transportation

Thousand Oaks is served by
Thousand Oaks Transit Thousand Oaks Transit (TOT) is Thousand Oaks, California's transportation service, providing local routes that serve the need of those commuting within the city itself. Routes *1 (Gold Line) Newbury Park *2 (Green Line) Central Thousand Oaks *3 ...
, which provides public transportation in the form of shuttles and buses. TOT buses provide service to Thousand Oaks as well as some neighboring communities. A regional transportation center provides bus and shuttle lines to Los Angeles, Oxnard, Ventura, Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Santa Barbara via the VISTA, Metro, and LADOT Commuter Express bus lines. In addition to being a transfer station from Los Angeles and other nearby cities, it also serves as the primary station for
Thousand Oaks Transit Thousand Oaks Transit (TOT) is Thousand Oaks, California's transportation service, providing local routes that serve the need of those commuting within the city itself. Routes *1 (Gold Line) Newbury Park *2 (Green Line) Central Thousand Oaks *3 ...
buses. Metrolink Ventura County and Pacific Surfliner services are available at the train stations in
Moorpark Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County.. ...
and Camarillo. The Amtrak Coast Starlight stops at the
Oxnard Transit Center The Oxnard Transit Center, originally known as the Oxnard Transportation Center, is an intermodal transit center in historic downtown Oxnard, California. As a transit hub, the station serves Amtrak and Metrolink trains as well as local and regio ...
and the Simi Valley Amtrak/Metrolink Station.


Air

Commercial air travel is provided primarily by Los Angeles International Airport for regular commuters, while the Bob Hope Airport (in Burbank) offers an alternative for domestic destinations. Thousand Oaks offers public transportation that runs to both airports, via the VISTA, Metro, and LADOT bus lines. Los Angeles International Airport is approximately southeast of the city, while Burbank Airport is approximately east of the city. General aviation airports include
Camarillo Airport Camarillo Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general av ...
, approximately west of the city; Oxnard Airport, approximately west of the city in Oxnard, California; and Van Nuys Airport, east of the city.
Conejo Valley Airport Conejo Valley Airport, also known as Janss Airport, was an airport in Thousand Oaks, California. It had a 2,600 foot runway and was located adjacent to Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The airport opened in 1926, but was relocated in the early 1960s. The ...
, also known as Janss Airport, was an airport in Thousand Oaks. It had the first qualified flying field in the Conejo Valley, and was opened sometime between 1946 and 1949 by the Janss Corporation, which had large land holdings in the area. The airport had 2,800 feet of unpaved runway, located parallel to Ventura Road, now known as
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
(near Moorpark Road). When the state established a highway through town in 1952, the airfield was moved to the south side of the 101 Ventura Freeway. The airport was often featured in movies, including '' Francis the Talking Mule'' (1950) with Donald O'Conner. Other movies filmed here include '' The Paleface'' (1948), ''
Riders of the Whistling Pines ''Riders of the Whistling Pines'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by John English and starring Gene Autry, Patricia Barry, and Jimmy Lloyd. Written by Jack Townley, the film is about a gang of outlaws who are destroying the timberland ...
'' (1949), and ''
Overland Stage Raiders ''Overland Stage Raiders'' is a 1938 " Three Mesquiteers" Western film starring John Wayne and directed by George Sherman. The film is notable for being the final film in which silent film icon Louise Brooks performed. Wayne played the lead in ...
'' (1938). The airport was no longer in use by 1962, and is the present location of Los Robles Greens Golf Course. The Janss Corporation later announced they would construct a new airport on the 1,400 acre Friedrich Ranch in Newbury Park, which they had purchased to develop the Rancho Conejo Industrial Park. Rancho Conejo Airport opened on May 5, 1960, and considered an executive airport. It had a 4,300 foot surfaced and lighted runway, and was described by the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'': "It was the finest executive aircraft facility on the West Coast... and will serve the needs of the fast-moving executives of the space-age industries." The airport was used in the filming of '' It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World'' in 1963. The airport closed by 1965–66, and the land remained empty until 1991 when Shapell Industries constructed Rancho Conejo Village homes. The former site is northwest of the intersection of Lawrence Drive and Ventu Park Road in Newbury Park.


Water

Potable water is drawn from the state water system.


In popular culture

Due to the temperate climate and relatively close proximity to the studios in Hollywood, a number of movies and television series have been filmed in Thousand Oaks. Thousand Oaks Boulevard can for instance be seen in the Oscar-winning film '' It Happened One Night'' (1934), while Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stop at a service station on Live Oak Street in '' Hollywood or Bust'' (1956). Hills near
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
were used in the filming of '' Welcome to Hard Times'' (1967). '' Spartacus'' (1960) was also filmed by CLU. Movies are still being made at Ventura Farms (previously Deerwood Stock Farm), Greenfield Ranch, and the JMJ Ranch. A number of movie productions took place in Wildwood Regional Park between the 1930s and 1960s. Examples include '' Wuthering Heights'' (1939), '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''
The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The sho ...
'' (1958–63), '' Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'' (1955), '' The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946), '' Bonanza'' (1963–73), '' The Big Valley'' (1965–69), '' Gunsmoke'' (1955–75), '' Wagon Train'' (1957–65), ''
Clearing the Range ''Clearing the Range'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film starring Hoot Gibson and his then wife Sally Eilers. Directed by Otto Brower, it was the first film released by the Poverty Row studio Allied Pictures. Gibson remade the film in ...
'' (1931), '' Flaming Frontier'' (1958), '' The Horse Soldiers'' (1959) starring
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...
, '' Roustabout (film)'' (1964), and '' Flaming Star'' (1960) both starring
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
, among others. More recently, Greenfield Ranch appeared as a zoo in '' We Bought a Zoo'' (2011). The ranch has previously been featured in films such as '' Down Argentine Way'' (1940), '' Heart and Souls'' (1993) and '' Bitter Harvest'' (1993). It has also been seen in TV-series such as '' True Blood'' (2008–2014), ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
'' (2002–2009), '' Bones'' (2005–2017) and ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...
'' (2005–2020). A Hidden Valley home was also used in the filming of '' It's Complicated'' (2009) starring Meryl Streep. Other films include ''
Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and w ...
'' (2005), ''
Come On, Tarzan ''Come On, Tarzan'' is a 1932 American pre-Code western film starring Ken Maynard, Merna Kennedy, and Niles Welch. A ranch foreman at odds with his female boss, fights outlaws who are killing horses for dog food.Taliaferro, John (2002). ''Ta ...
'' (1932), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), ''
To the Shores of Iwo Jima ''To the Shores of Iwo Jima'' is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the foo ...
'' (1945), '' Lassie Come Home'' (1943), '' The Guns of Will Sonnett'' (1967–69) and '' The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1979–85).


Notable people

*
Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...
, actress * Frankie Avalon, singer and actor * Austin Block, ice hockey player * Amanda Bynes, actress * Belinda Carlisle, singer * Richard Carpenter, musician * Mike Curb, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California * Frances Dee, actress * Ellen DeGeneres, television host * Bob Denver, actor * Aaron Donald, football player * John Fogerty, musician, singer, songwriter * Marcos Giron, tennis player *
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for pas ...
, football player *
Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
, ice hockey player * Jerry Heller, music executive * Mariel Hemingway, actress * Jack Kirby, comic book artist * Alan Ladd, actor *
Edie Locke Edie Locke (3 August 1921 - 23 August 2020) was an Austrian-American magazine editor and television producer and presenter. She was editor-in-chief of '' Mademoiselle'' from 1971 through 1979. Early life Edith Rosenberg Laub was born in Vienna o ...
, fashion journalist * Heather Locklear, actress *
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
, actressMedved, Harry and Bruce Akiyama (2007). ''Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer's Guide to Exploring Southern California's Great Outdoors''. St. Martin's Press. Page 280. . * Dean Martin, singer * Virginia Mayo, actress * Jody McCrea, actor * Joel McCrea, actor * The Miz, professional wrestler *
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
, actress * Trevor Moore, ice hockey player *
Heather Morris Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, singer, and model. She played the role of Brittany S. Pierce in the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. Early life Morris was born in Thousand Oaks, Califor ...
, actress *
Olivia O'Brien Olivia Gail O'Brien (born November 26, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. In 2016, after she collaborated with Gnash on the single " I Hate U, I Love U", the pair peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States ...
, singer-songwriter * Maryse Ouellet, professional wrestler * Slim Pickens, actor * Frances Prince, the city's first female mayor * Mickey Rooney, actor * Kurt Russell, actor *
Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations ...
, actor * Artie Shaw, musician * Britney Spears, singer *
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
, actor * Hailee Steinfeld, actress * Donna Summer, singer * Thomas Tull, film producer * Robert Urich, actor * Frankie Valli, singer and actor * Robert Wagner, actor * Richard Widmark, actor * Christian Yelich, baseball player *


Points of interest

* American Radio Archive, museum dedicated to the history of radio *
California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
( Pederson House and Water Tower) * California Museum of Art (CMATO), art museum at The Oaks mall * Chumash Indian Museum, museum with a replica of a Chumash village * Conejo Valley Art Museum, art museum at
Janss Marketplace Janss Marketplace is an outdoor shopping mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Previously known as Janss Mall, it opened in September 1961 as Village Lane. It was the first mall established in the city, and Thousand Oaks' only shopping center until ...
* Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, 33-acre botanical garden * Conejo Valley High: oldest continuously used public landmark in Conejo Valley (aka
Timber School Timber School was the first school in Newbury Park, California when established in 1889. and the current 1924 reconstructed Timber School is the oldest remaining school in the City of Thousand Oaks. It is also the oldest remaining public building ...
) * Dawn's Peak, locally known as Tarantula Hill, the highest point in Thousand Oaks *
Gardens of the World Gardens of the World is a botanical garden in Thousand Oaks, California, situated directly across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, within the downtown core of the city. Established in 2001, the park was given to the ...
, botanical garden featuring
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...
from various countries * Joel McCrea Ranch, listed on the
U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
* Oak Creek Canyon Whole Access Interpretive Trail, 0.4-mile trail with guide cable and braille signs describing the oak grove's flora and fauna * Satwiwa Culture Center, Chumash museum at the foothills of Mount Boney * Sherwood Country Club, host of Tiger Woods' '' World Challenge'' from 2000 to 2013 * Stagecoach Inn, historic hotel in Newbury Park * The Oaks Shopping Center, largest shopping mall in Ventura County *
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...
, home to City Hall and Fred Kavli and Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatres * Thousand Oaks Community Gallery, art gallery adjacent to Newbury Park Library * Thousand Oaks Library, the largest library in Ventura County * Wildwood Regional Park, a regional park


Wildlife

Thousand Oaks' fauna includes mammals such as mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, bears, grey fox and mule deer, as well as smaller mammals as the striped and spotted skunk, California raccoon, Virginia opossum, Audubon's cottontail, long-tailed weasel,
Botta's pocket gopher Botta's pocket gopher (''Thomomys bottae'') is a pocket gopher native to western North America. It is also known in some sources as valley pocket gopher, particularly in California. Both the specific and common names of this species honor Paul-É ...
,
ring-tailed cat The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed as Least Co ...
, California vole, western brush rabbit, western gray squirrel, and several species of rats and mice, where the most common are deer mouse and Merriam's kangaroo rat. The mountain lions which can be encountered or observed in most larger open-spaces in the city. The city recommends hikers not to hike alone, and always to keep children near. Mountain lions have been encountered numerous times in recent years, such as in Lynn Ranch in 2017 and Newbury Park in 2016. but is usually found in the adjacent Simi Hills, Santa Monica Mountains, and the
Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa C ...
. The drought may have brought a bear cub into the city in 2021. The natural habitat for an abundance of native animals, such as coyotes, hawks, crawdads, ducks, turtles, mule deer, numerous songbirds, mountain lions, several species of snakes, and numerous species of raptors. Some of the amphibians and reptiles found in Thousand Oaks include lizards such as side-blotched lizards, southern alligator lizards and
western fence lizard The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characterist ...
s, as well as the southwestern pond turtle and crawdads, and numerous species of snake, including
southern Pacific rattlesnake ''Crotalus helleri'', known as the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, black diamond rattlesnake, Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Corn ...
s, San Diego gopher snakes, striped racers,
California kingsnake The California kingsnake (''Lampropeltis californiae'') is a nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats. Due to ease of care and a wide range of color variations, the ...
s,
common kingsnake ''Lampropeltis getula'', commonly known as the eastern kingsnake, Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. (First published in 1958). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 42 ...
s,
ringneck snake ''Diadophis punctatus'', commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of colubrid snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south-eastern Canada. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, n ...
s, and western aquatic garter snakes. Some amphibians found in Thousand Oaks include ensatina, slender salamander, western toad, American bullfrog,
California toad The California toad (''Anaxyrus boreas halophilus'') is a subspecies of the western toad, along with the boreal toad. The California toad lives throughout the state of California, with the exception of south-eastern desert regions. Like the bore ...
, Pacific tree frog, and the California red-legged frog.


Avifauna

There have been observed a total of 171 bird species within the city limits. The most commonly encountered avifauna include the
house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale ...
, house finch,
Brewer's blackbird Brewer's blackbird (''Euphagus cyanocephalus'') is a medium-sized New World blackbird. It is named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer. Description Adult males have black plumage with an iridescent purple head and neck and glossy blui ...
, California towhee, spotted towhee,
oak titmouse The oak titmouse (''Baeolophus inornatus'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union split the plain titmouse into the oak titmouse and the juniper titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, p ...
, acorn woodpecker, and California quail. Raptor population densities in the Conejo Valley, which therefore has some of the highest quantities of raptors in the U.S. Some of the raptors found in the City of Thousand Oaks include the
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...
, red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, marsh hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, red-shouldered hawk, ferruginous hawk, pigeon hawk,
prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&n ...
,
turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of So ...
, barn owl, great horned owl, screech owl, American kestrel, and the
white-tailed kite The white-tailed kite (''Elanus leucurus'') is a small raptor found in western North America and parts of South America. It replaces the related Old World black-winged kite in its native range. Taxonomy The white-tailed kite was described in ...
.


Flora

Thousand Oaks is home to over 100 species of plants, while 400 species can be found within 100 sq. mi. of the city. There are four endangered plant species: Conejo buckwheat, Santa Monica dudleya, Conejo dudleya and Lyon's pentachaeta. There are between 50- and 60,000 oak trees in Thousand Oaks. Four oak species are native to Thousand Oaks: valley oak, coast live oak,
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
, and Palmer's oak. The city's largest oak has a trunk of 12 ft. in diameter and is located at Chumash Indian Museum. Thousand Oaks has the designation " Tree City USA" and has received the Trail Town USA Hall of Fame award. Thousand Oaks is home to
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
species found nowhere else on Earth. The wildflower species Conejo buckwheat, which is native to the Conejo Valley, is found only in Wildwood Regional Park and near the Conejo Grade. It only grows on
volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...
rock, and has yellow flowers which bloom April–July. It is in danger of becoming extinct. Another
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
species to Thousand Oaks, Conejo dudleya, is found throughout the valley, including in Wildwood Regional Park and also in the Santa Monica Mountains. A notable tree is the 300-year-old "Historic Sycamore Tree", which is designated Ventura County Landmark No. 44 and Thousand Oaks Historical Landmark No. 2. It is located at the "Tri-Village Complex" at Stagecoach Inn, Newbury Park.Sprankling, Miriam (2002). ''Discovering the Story of The Conejo Valley''. Newbury Park, CA: Conejo Valley Historical Society. Page 37. . Native flora can be seen at
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s throughout the city, including at
Gardens of the World Gardens of the World is a botanical garden in Thousand Oaks, California, situated directly across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, within the downtown core of the city. Established in 2001, the park was given to the ...
, Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, the ethnobotanic gardens at Chumash Indian Museum, and along the Nature Trail at Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park.


See also

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Notes


References


External links

* {{authority control 1964 establishments in California Cities in Ventura County, California Conejo Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1964