Rancho Guadalasca: Last Ranch of California’s Central Coast

Rancho Guadalasca, a Mexican land grant at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains along the eastern Oxnard Plain, was awarded in 1836 to Ysabel Yorba, an illiterate widow who successfully managed the ranch for over 35 years.

Yorba is one of many fascinating people who once lived on Rancho Guadalasca. Indigenous Chumash, Californio ranchers, Anglo-American farmers, Japanese fishermen, and Basque sheepherders all left their marks on the land, along with institutions such as Camarillo State Hospital and California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI).

The book recounts 5,000 years of history, tracing the people, communities, and cultures that shaped Ventura County, California.