By 1950, only 27% of the original homeowners still lived in their homes.
Much, if not all of the F & G Street land was originally owned by Aranetta Rice Hill, who owned land all over downtown Oxnard. Her husband passed in 1904 making her a very rich widow. She owned a ranch on the south side of Fifth Street at F Street that was lined by black walnut trees that became a year-long lawsuit with the newly incorporated City of Oxnard. Originally the county supervisors of Ventura promised she could keep the trees for trading the land to create Fifth Street. But when Oxnard incorporated, they wouldn’t allow the trees to remain and she sued them. She ended up moving to a large house on the corner of Sixth and F Street that is now a Korean Presbyterian Church.
The G Street Tract began selling its 74 lots on January 9, 1913. 22 days later, only 5 lots remained. A number of the lots were purchased to build homes on, while others as investments. The sales were so hot, owners were offered substantial advances over the prices they originally paid.
G Street has 66 houses and F Street has 76 houses.
The district is made up of 8 actual blocks of houses.
There are only 2 houses in the district that hold their own “landmark” status, 155 S. G and 205 S. F. All of the others are a part of the “Henry T Oxnard Historic District” which holds it’s own overall landmark status.
The first house was built in 1906 and the last house in 1976, spanning 70 years.
The first foundation laid in the G Street Tract was at 227 S. G by Elmer W Power, a bookkeeper for Bank of Levy. They didn’t move in, though until June of 1915, and in the interim a number of other houses were completed.
The top 10 years for the largest numbers of houses built are: 1912 had 16 1920 had 15 1927 had 13 1920 had 10 1918 and 1925 tied with 8 1926 and 1930 tied with 7 1915 and 1929 tied with 6
The largest lot is at 205 S. F (29,281 s.f) followed by 460 S. F (21,960) and 155 S. G (21,000 s.f.). 201, 239 and 355 S. G all come in at (14,000 s.f.)
Most of the G Street lots clock in at 7,000 s.f. while a majority of the F Street lots are 10,980 s.f.
The largest house is the Henry Levy House at 155 S. G with 5,235 s.f. It is 2 ½ stories with a basement and a finished attic. It also has a large workshop in the back which will soon be converted to an ADU.
There are 109 single story houses and 33 houses with more than 1 story. The tallest house is at 155 S. G with 2 ½ stories and a basement.
2 houses disappeared (302 S. F and 310 S. F) some time after 1966 and the only thing remaining is a parking lot for Santa Clara Church.
A number of accomplished people have lived in the historic district. You can see a list HERE.
The historic district hosts “Christmas Tree Lane” every year beginning on the 2nd Sunday of December and running through December 26th. The event gets thousands of visitors every year by car and on foot. Contrary to popular belief, the homeowners do NOT get a discount on their electric bills and the City of Oxnard does nothing to support the event.
There are several haunted houses in the district. The Henry Levy House at 155 S. G Street appeared on the hit TV series “Ghost Adventures” as their season finale on Thanksgiving night 2022.
The Oxnard Country Club started out with 2 tennis courts on the corner of F and Fifth Street, where 460 S. F currently sits. The OCC was founded in 1907.