The original San Cayetano School near 7th Street.
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Wire Chief Test Board.
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Sam Stocker receiving award at Ventura County Fair. Mural is now in the City Council Chambers.
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Fillmores first high school circa 1914.
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Fillmores Main Street circa 1895.
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Cactus Flat School. The boards were on loan and returned to the ranchers uncut.
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Courtesy Fillmore Historical
Museum

Did you know that?...

Leo Carrillo (silent film star and 1950s TV actor) was a descendant of the family who originally owned the Rancho Sespe land grant.

Fillmore is named after Jerome Fillmore, Southern Pacific Superintendent, who may only have passed through the town on a special train in May of 1887.

C. C. Elkins owned 50 acres of orange groves in Florida before coming to Fillmore.

The boards of the temporary Cactus Flat school were uncut because the ranchers only loaned them for the building of the school and wrote their names on them to make sure they got them back.

The original San Cayetano School was west of Sespe Creek off 7th Street.

By 1900 Fillmore’s population was 150 people according to Rand McNally. It had grown to 13,643 a century later and to 16,419 by 2020.

Main Street was the town’s main street until it burned in 1903, then Central Avenue developed into the “main” street.

Pole Creek originally emptied into the Sespe until it was rerouted to flow into the Santa Clara.

The Fillmore Rotary club was founded in 1905.

The original (1911) Fillmore Union High School was considered to be one of the most beautiful schools in the state.

In 1911, the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools thought the new Fillmore High School was too big and there would never be enough students to fill it. Fillmore had to build a bigger school in 1924.

The first high school graduating class was in 1911 and the Alumni Association was founded in 1915 when there were 15 alumni.

City Manager Clarence Arrasmith sponsored City “Happy Hours” during the depression. These were variety shows – no alcohol.

The mural in the City Council Chamber was painted as a backdrop for the Ventura County Fair.

Fillmore was then next to last town in California to go from operator assisted calls to direct dial in the early 1960s. Avalon on Catalina Island was the last town.

The canon in front of the Memorial Building used to be fired during the May Festival.

Two large alligators washed out of animal sanctuary on the mountain on the east end of the valley near Piru in the 1969 flood.

One family has given us 3 mayors. William H. Price, 1926; his son, Lester Price, 1936; and W. H. Price’s great-grandson, Bill Dewey, 1979.

Frank Munoz was the first Hispanic mayor in 1972.

Delores Day was the first women mayor in 1977.

Southern California is experiencing acute levels of homelessness and lack of affordable housing. To help meet the need in the Fillmore community, Many Mansions and the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura built Mountain View.

On Tuesday, September 27th, over 200 guests gathered to celebrate Mountain View’s Grand Opening. The 77-unit community consists of apartments reserved for extremely and very low-income households, with 8 units designated for those who have suffered homelessness. It is a culmination of a 6-year development process that transformed an essentially vacant and underdeveloped site into a beautiful, well-managed complex.

In attendance at this week’s festivities were residents and community leaders. State Assembly member Steve Bennett, County Supervisor Kelly Long, Fillmore Mayor Pro Tem Lynn Edmonds, California Housing & Community Development Department representative Hector Leyva, and Joseph Alexander, a representative for Mountain View residents spoke compellingly about the need for more affordable housing, and about the collaborative effort that made Mountain View possible.

Indeed, at its inception, the proposed project received enthusiastic response from over 3,000 Fillmore community members, embracing affordable housing and positioning Mountain View to be a welcome addition to the city. With design elements that recognize and celebrate Fillmore’s history and setting, such as a wall mural painted by a local artist and playgrounds inspired by agricultural equipment, Mountain View is a Fillmore community asset.

Mountain View residents are part of the Fillmore community and stories such as a 76-year-old 5th generation Fillmore resident who could not afford her home after her husband passed away in 2013, are representative of those who found a home in Mountain View.

To further support residents, on-site services and programs such as case management, life-skills workshops, and children’s after-school programs are available at no cost to all residents. These programs are run at on-site amenities designed to support community building and wellbeing, such as a community room, a pocket park, playgrounds, and courtyards. They are facilitated by Many Mansions and partnering organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley.

Many Mansions is a leading provider of affordable housing and life-changing services in Ventura County. With the belief that everyone deserves a place to call home, we house and serve close to 1,500 individuals, with a focus on working families in the very low-income brackets, seniors, veterans, persons with disabilities, and individuals and families who have experienced homelessness.

The Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura is an independent, nonprofit agency serving the residents of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. It is a leader providing opportunities and assistance to people in need of affordable housing through development, acquisitions, and partnerships.