Santa Paula, California

Santa Paula is steeped in history. Wafting from its vintage brew are the heady fragrances of oil and citrus. Birthplace of the Union Oil Company of California and Citrus Capital of the World are just two of Santa Paula’s claims to fame. It has also been a center of the silent movie business when Gaston Melies held sway here with his Star Film Stock Company and home of the largest lemon ranch in the world.

Today Santa Paula has the greatest collection of vintage homes, commercial buildings, churches and schools in Southern California, and is the home of the Santa Paula Airport, Aviation Museum of Santa Paula, the California Oil Museum, and the Limoneira Company. Equally historic is the Santa Paula Cemetery which dates to the early 1870s and continues to serve the city. In addition, farms of the pioneers continue to produce under the skilled supervision of their farming descendants.

Surrounded by a sea of verdant agriculture, Santa Paula remains a preserved jewel basking in the Southern California sunshine.

Photo Galleries

Click any photo or link here to see a gallery of similar pictures...

 

Link to photo gallery of early residents. Photo of Nathan Weston Blanchard,Founder of Santa Paula and Citrus Industry.

Link to photo gallery of historical photos. This picture the Santa Paula Airport was taken on Opening Day, August 1930.

 

Link to gallery of historic industry and agriculture photos. Picture is of W.G. Faulkner barn, taken in 1880.

Tanker railcars wait on tracks at Mission Transfer Company

Tanker railcars wait on a spur line at the Mission Transfer Company.