Additional information
by Mary Alice Orcutt Henderson (Author)
This visual history of the 20th century's middle decades in Santa Paula illustrates how a rural city settled into its middle age. As a sequel to Images of America: Santa Paula, which covered the pioneering and settlement years of 1870 to 1930, it continues this Ventura County city's story through the Depression decade and the World War II and Korean War home front years that led up to the sixties. The time from 1930 to 1960 was prosperous for the two main industries in Santa Paula and its environs: citrus cultivation and oil production. The population increases reflected the job opportunities that these industries presented, bringing other families, businesses, and opportunities to the growing city.
Author Biography
Author Mary Alice Orcutt Henderson has local family roots dating to 1872. Her family still owns and farms part of its initial 640-acre homestead. The founding president of the Santa Paula Historical Society, Henderson's link to the city's past, along with her ancestors' reminiscences of early times, have sparked her passion to share hometown history. Most of the photographs came from generous local families, and the Santa Paula Chronicle was the primary research source.
