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'''Oxnard''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|k|s|n|ɑːr|d|audio=En-us-oxnard.ogg}}) is a city in [[Ventura County]] in the U.S. state of [[California]], United States. On California's [[
It is at the western edge of the fertile [[Oxnard Plain]], adjacent to agricultural fields with strawberries, [[lima bean]]s and other vegetable crops. Oxnard is also a major transportation hub in [[Southern California]], with [[Amtrak]], [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]], [[Metrolink (California)|Metrolink]], [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]], and Intercalifornias stopping there. It also has a small regional airport, [[Oxnard Airport]] (OXR). The town also has significant connections to the nearby oil fields [[Oxnard Oil Field]] and the [[West Montalvo Oil Field]]. The high density of oil, industry, and agricultural activities around the city, has led to several [[Environmental issues in California|environmental issues]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=July 9, 2017 |title=Oxnard residents are fighting slag heaps, power plants and oil fields that mar the town's beaches |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-oxnard-coast-20170605-story.html |access-date=May 26, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
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Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by [[Chumash (tribe)|Chumash]] Native Americans. The first European to encounter the area was explorer [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo|João Rodrigues Cabrilho]], who claimed it for [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] in 1542. During the [[Spanish missions in California|mission period]], [[Mission San Buenaventura]], established in 1782, used the area for raising cattle.
Ranching began to take hold among [[Californio]] settlers, who lost their regional influence when California became a US state in 1850. At about the same time, the area was settled by American farmers, who cultivated [[barley]] and lima beans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Drury |first=Wells |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQtFAAAAIAAJ |title=California Tourist Guide and Handbook: Authentic Description of Routes of Travel and Points of Interest in California |last2=Drury |first2=Aubrey |date= |publisher=Western guidebook Company |year=1913 |pages=132 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Henry T. Oxnard]], founder of [[Moorhead, Minnesota]]-based [[American Crystal Sugar Company]] who operated a successful [[sugar beet]] factory with his three brothers (Benjamin, James, and Robert) in [[Chino, California]], was enticed to build a $2 million factory on the plain inland from [[Port Hueneme]].<ref>{{citation|title=Oxnard, California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=puooAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA59|work=The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer|date=July 5, 1902|issue=XXIX No. 1|page=59|department=BEET SUGAR |access-date=January 23, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> Shortly after the 1897 beet campaign, a new town emerged, now commemorated on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Ventura County, California|National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[Henry T. Oxnard Historic District]]. Oxnard intended to name the settlement after the [[Greek language|Greek]] word for "sugar", ''zachari'', but frustrated by bureaucracy, named it after himself. Given the potential growth of Oxnard, in the spring of 1898, a railroad station was built to service the plant, attracting a population of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican laborers and enough commerce to merit the designation of a town. The Oxnard brothers, who never lived in their namesake city, sold the Chino and the giant red-brick Oxnard factory in 1899 for nearly $4 million. The Oxnard factory, with its landmark twin smokestacks, operated from August 19, 1899, until October 26, 1959. Factory operations were interrupted in the [[Oxnard Strike of 1903]].
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Oxnard was incorporated as a California city on June 30, 1903, and the public library was opened in 1907.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 2, 2017|title=A Brief History of Downtown Oxnard|url=http://cnucalifornia.org/brief-history-downtown-oxnard/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=CNU California|language=en-US|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924073322/http://cnucalifornia.org/brief-history-downtown-oxnard/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Before and during World War II, the naval bases of [[Point Mugu]] and [[Port Hueneme]] were established in the area to take advantage of the only major navigable port on California's coast between the [[Port of Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco Bay]], and the bases in turn encouraged the development of the defense-based [[aerospace]] and communications industries.
In the mid-20th century, Oxnard grew and developed the areas outside the downtown area, including homes, industry, retail, and a new harbor named [[Channel Islands Harbor]]. [[Martin V. ("Bud") Smith]] (1916–2001) became an influential developer. Smith's first enterprise in 1941 was the Colonial House Restaurant (demolished 1988) and then the [[Wagon Wheel, Oxnard, California|Wagon Wheel Junction]] in 1947 (demolished 2011).<ref name="Demolition">{{cite news | last = Clerici | first = Kevin | title = Demolition begins on Wagon Wheel Motel and Restaurant | work = [[Ventura County Star]] | date = March 23, 2011 | url = http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/mar/23/demolition-begins-on-wagon-wheel-motel-and/ | access-date = July 19, 2011 }}</ref> He was also involved in the development of the high-rise towers at the Topa Financial Plaza,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2017/09/13/city-council-approves-agreement-15-story-oxnard-tower/653326001/|title=City Council approves agreement for 15-story Oxnard tower|first=Wendy |last=Leung |date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref> the Channel Islands Harbor, Casa Sirena Resort, the Esplanade Shopping Mall,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/money/business/2018/12/18/esplanade-oxnard-shopping-center-sold-santa-barbara-company/2317285002/|title=Oxnard's Esplanade Shopping Center purchased by Santa Barbara company|last=Hersko|first=Tyler|newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en|date=December 18, 2018|access-date=November 26, 2019}}</ref> Fisherman's Wharf, the Carriage Square Shopping Center, the Maritime Museum, and many other hotel, restaurant and retail projects.<ref name="gregg">{{cite news | last =Miller | first =Gregg | title =Bud Smith's Empire 54 Years in the Making and No End in Sight | newspaper =[[Los Angeles Times]]| date =January 1, 1995 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-31-fi-26462-story.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vcstar.com/news/local/oxnard/developer-negotiating-to-open-hyatt-hotel-at-channel-islands-harbor-ep-1267969929-351124351.html|title=Developer negotiating to open Hyatt hotel at Channel Islands Harbor| first=Kathleen |last=Wilson |work=[[Ventura County Star]]|date= September 10, 2015|access-date=January 3, 2016}}</ref> In the late 1970s, as the demographic shifted towards becoming a majority-Latino city, the [[Ku Klux Klan]], which historically had a weak presence in Ventura County, unsuccessfully [[Oxnard Klan Riot of 1978|tried to form a chapter in Oxnard]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1978-07-31 |title=
In June 2004, the Oxnard Police Department and the [[Ventura County Sheriff]] imposed a [[gang injunction]] over a {{convert|6.6|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area of the [[Colonia, Oxnard, California|central district of the city]], to restrict gang activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxnardpd.org:80/news/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=135 |title=Oxnard Police Department News – Gang Injunction |date=October 16, 2006 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013140216/http://www.oxnardpd.org/news/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=135 |archive-date=October 13, 2007 }}</ref> The injunction was upheld in the Ventura County Superior Court and made a permanent law in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-26-me-gangs26-story.html|title=Judge Favors Permanent Gang Ban|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 26, 2005|first2=Fred |last2=Alvarez|first1=Catherine |last1=Saillant}}</ref> A similar injunction was imposed in September 2006 over a {{convert|4.26|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area of the south side of the city.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-20-me-gang20-story.html|title=Zone Is OKd to Limit Oxnard Gang|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 20, 2006|first=Catherine |last=Saillant}}</ref> Prohibited activities include associating with other known gang members, [[witness intimidation]], possessing firearms or using [[Gang signal|gang gestures]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://keyt.com/news/local-politics/2019/11/13/judge-grants-modifications-to-oxnard-gang-ruling/|title=Judge grants modifications to Oxnard gang ruling|last=Brest|first=Jessica|date=November 14, 2019|work=KEYT {{!}} KCOY|language=en-US|access-date=November 14, 2019}}</ref> Since then, court decisions have made adding people to the civil orders more stringent, stemming from lawsuits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Judges determined that it was unconstitutional for people to be added to a gang injunction without a due process hearing. As a result of budget cuts due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], the Oxnard police stopped maintaining and enforcing the injunction in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Diskin|first=Megan|title=Oxnard police will abandon gang injunctions, department announces|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/oxnard/2020/07/21/oxnard-police-department-agency-desert-gang-orders-ventura-county/5481989002/|access-date=July 22, 2020|newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en}}</ref>
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==Arts and culture==
[[File:Oxnard Post Office.jpg|thumb|Oxnard Post Office]]
Oxnard cultural institutions include the [[Carnegie Art Museum]], founded in 1907 as the Oxnard Public Library by philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]]; the [[Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife]], founded by the late [[Los Angeles Times]] publisher [[Otis Chandler]],
Heritage Square in downtown is a collection of restored [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[American Craftsman|Craftsman]] houses that Oxnard's pioneer ranching families once owned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-03-me-1584-story.html |title=OXNARD : Heritage Square Receives Last House |first=Laura |last=Pitter |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 3, 1990 |access-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-07-vl-1228-story.html |title=STRUCTURES : Houses of History : Heritage Square is one of the more surreal estates in Ventura County. It harks back to Oxnard's more glorious past. |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |first=Josef |last=Woodard |date=November 7, 1991 |access-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref> Heritage Square is home to the Petit Playhouse<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxnardtourism.com/heritagesq/petit.html |title=Oxnartourism.com |publisher=Oxnardtourism.com |date=March 20, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128072207/http://www.oxnardtourism.com/heritagesq/petit.html |archive-date=November 28, 2007 }}</ref> and the Elite Theatre Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxnardtourism.com/elite/elite.html |title=Oxnardtourism.com |publisher=Oxnardtourism.com |date=January 1, 1999 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> The Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2019/11/15/oxnard-performing-arts-center-california/2564279001/|title=No operator in place for Oxnard performing arts center as year-end deadline nears|last=Leung|first=Wendy|date=November 15, 2019|newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en|access-date=November 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxnardpacc.com |title=Oxnardpacc.com |publisher=Oxnardpacc.com |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205004430/http://www.oxnardpacc.com/ |archive-date=December 5, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is home to the [[New West Symphony]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newwestsymphony.org |title=Newwestsymphony.org |publisher=Newwestsymphony.org |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> The Gottfried Maulhardt/Albert Pfeiler Farm site is an historic farm park.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Varela |first1=Brian J. |title=Oxnard to sell historical 1870s farm park under the condition it stays open to the public |url=https://eu.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/08/03/oxnard-sells-historical-maulhardt-pfeiler-farm-park-foundation/5435464001/ |work =Ventura County Star |access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref>
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