Moorpark, California
Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. The population was 36,284 at the 2020 census, up from 34,421 at the 2010 census.
Etymology
The town most likely was named after the Moorpark apricot, which used to grow in the area. The apricot, in turn, was named for Admiral Lord Anson's estate Moor Park in Hertfordshire, England; the apricot was introduced in 1688.Some of Moorpark's previous unofficial and official names include Epworth, Fremontville, Penrose, Fairview, and Little Simi.
History
were the first to inhabit what is now known as Moorpark. A Chumash village, known as Quimisac, was located in today's Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park. They were hunters and gatherers who often traveled between villages to trade. The village of Quimisac once controlled the local trade of fused shale in the region. The area was later part of the large Rancho Simi land grant given in 1795 to the Pico brothers by Governor Diego de Borica of Alta California.Robert W. Poindexter, the secretary of the Simi Land and Water Company, received the land when the association was disbanded. A map showing the townsite was prepared in November 1900. It was a resubdivision of the large lot subdivision known as Fremont, or Fremontville. An application for a post office was submitted on June 1, 1900, and approved by August of that year. The application noted that the town had a railroad depot. The town grew after the 1904 completion of the Santa Susana rail tunnel through the Santa Susana Mountains. Moorpark was then on the main route of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The depot remained in operation until it was closed in 1958. It was eventually torn down around 1965.
Moorpark was one of the first cities to run on commercial nuclear power in the entire world, and the second in the United States, after Arco, Idaho, on July 17, 1955, which is the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power. For one hour on November 12, 1957, this fact was featured on Edward R. Murrow's See It Now television show. The reactor, called the Sodium Reactor Experiment was built by the Atomics International division of North American Aviation at the nearby Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The Sodium Reactor Experiment operated from 1957 to 1964 and produced 7.5 megawatts of electrical power at a Southern California Edison-supplied generating station.
Moorpark College opened on September 11, 1967. Moorpark College is one of the few colleges to feature an exotic animal training and management program. Moorpark was incorporated as a city on July 1, 1983.
In 1996, Moorpark's Little League All-Star team represented the West Region in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
In February 2005, a Siberian tiger named Tuffy that escaped from a local residence was shot and killed in one of Moorpark's parks. This created a great uproar, because the animal control officers used a gun instead of a tranquilizer to kill the tiger, primarily because the tiger could not be shot from the proper angle for a tranquilizer to prove effective. Candlelight vigils were held for the late Tuffy. The couple who owned the tiger had moved from a licensed facility in Temecula, California, to an unlicensed facility in the Moorpark area of Ventura County. They lost their U.S. Department of Agriculture exhibitor license because they failed to notify the department of the move within 10 days. The wife pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor count of failing to maintain records of exotic felines. The husband pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, making false statements and failing to maintain proper records. Each was sentenced to home detention, three years probation, and fined $900.
Just a month later, in March 2005, the fairly complete remains of an unusually old mammoth, possibly the rare southern mammoth, were discovered in the foothills of Moorpark at the site of a housing development. The fossilized skeleton is believed to be from a 800,000 to 1.4 million years old mammoth, which is estimated to have had a weight of ten tons.
In 2006, the Moorpark city council transferred governance of their library from the Ventura County library system to their own newly created city library system. The library, which opened in 1912, celebrated its centennial in 2012.
On February 28, 2006, a housing proposal, North Park Village, which would have added 1,680 houses on in the northeast area of the city, was defeated by a landslide in a city election.
Egg City
In 1961, Julius Goldman founded Egg City, the largest chicken ranch in the United States at the time, located just north of Moorpark. Many chicken coops were spread over acres of concrete, with millions of chickens in them. Local residents were somewhat irked by the farm, when the smell of it wafted to Moorpark on windy days. The odors also commonly flowed to the nearby town of Fillmore. The business suffered a setback in 1972, when millions of chickens were slaughtered because of the threat of Newcastle disease. Egg gathering was done from 36 houses by hand, with workers placing eggs onto plastic flats while riding electric carts. Liquid, dry and shell eggs were processed at the hatchery facility warehouse, with yolk and albumen available individually. The farm finally closed in 1996. In early December 2006, a wildfire destroyed the dilapidated remains of Egg City.Geography
Central Moorpark lies in a valley created by the Arroyo Simi river. It is situated on flatlands and mesas at the base of numerous hills. It is located immediately west of Simi Valley, California.The city is divided by Highway 118, locally known as Los Angeles Avenue. Old Town Moorpark is located north of Route 118. Many newer residential communities can be found south of Route 118.
Neighborhoods
- Downtown is on High Street at the historic center of the city. The pepper trees that line High Street were planted by Robert Poindexter who was responsible for the plotting and mapping of the town. This area also features the High Street Arts Center, and various restaurants and businesses.
- The Peach Hill and Mountain Meadows neighborhoods are south of the Arroyo Simi. Moorpark High School is in this area, as well as many parks, including the Arroyo Vista Community Park and Recreation Center, the city's largest park. This area contains a large part of the city's population as over 75 percent of homes in Moorpark were constructed after 1980 here and in other new projects.
- Campus Park is named for Moorpark College. An additional substantial development is occurring to the north of the existing city, in the area of the Moorpark Country Club.
Climate
Ecology
occasionally come down from the hills and wander through the city.Demographics
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Moorpark had a population of 36,284. The population density was. The racial makeup of Moorpark was 57.8% White, 1.7% African American, 1.0% Native American, 8.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.4% from other races, and 16.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.2% of the population.The census reported that 99.9% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 11,565 households, out of which 39.8% included children under the age of 18, 65.3% were married-couple households, 4.9% were cohabiting couple households, 18.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 13.5% of households were one person, and 6.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.14. There were 9,412 families.
The age distribution was 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% aged 18 to 24, 25.5% aged 25 to 44, 28.0% aged 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.3years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males.
There were 11,756 housing units at an average density of, of which 11,565 were occupied. Of these, 75.9% were owner-occupied, and 24.1% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 18.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 70.8% spoke only English at home, 21.2% spoke Spanish, 3.3% spoke other Indo-European languages, 3.4% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.3% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 90.6% were high school graduates and 44.9% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $149,403, and the per capita income was $54,538. About 3.4% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Moorpark had a population of 34,421. The population density was. The racial makeup of Moorpark was 25,860 White, 533 African American, 248 Native American, 2,352 Asian, 50 Pacific Islander, 3,727 from other races, and 1,651 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10,813 persons.The Census reported that 34,421 people lived in households, 0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized.
There were 10,484 households, out of which 4,863 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,966 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,113 had a female householder with no husband present, 507 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 483 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 58 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,337 households were made up of individuals, and 434 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28. There were 8,586 families ; the average family size was 3.55.
The population was spread out, with 9,459 people under the age of 18, 3,631 people aged 18 to 24, 8,825 people aged 25 to 44, 10,051 people aged 45 to 64, and 2,455 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.
There were 10,738 housing units at an average density of, of which 8,182 were owner-occupied, and 2,302 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.9%. 26,688 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 7,733 people lived in rental housing units.