Ventura County Museum of History and Art
The Museum of Ventura County celebrates, preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of Ventura County, the California Channel Islands and the surrounding region through its collections, exhibitions, events, educational programs, publications and its research library, and serves as a gathering place for the community.
Our History
The Museum of Ventura County first opened in 1913 in the newly built Ventura County Courthouse (now Ventura City Hall). Soon known as the Pioneer Museum, its collections of artifacts and curios were the legacy of Dr. Cephas Bard, a Pennsylvania doctor who came to Ventura after the Civil War. A compassionate man with wide-ranging interests, Dr. Bard accepted historical objects in lieu of cash payment for his services. Priceless Chumash, Spanish and Mexican-American objects from his collection are on display in the galleries today.
In 1977, the Museum moved to its 15,000 square foot building on Ventura's Main Street, near historic Mission San Buenaventura. In 1978, it became an independent nonprofit, no longer receiving operating support from the County of Ventura.
Chumash Window, after Chris Chapman's painting for the book Chumash Ethnobotany, by Jan Timbrook
Our Future
Expansion Project
In July 2010, our Phase One expansion opened with a New Plaza facing onto Main Street, the state-of-the-art Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Pavilion, a renovated lobby, parking lot, and new landscaping.
A planned Phase Two will complete the project, adding galleries, the Education Center with a Children's Garden, a Great Hall and Lobby, a new Research Library, and space for storage and maintenance of the collections on site. Learn more about our New Spaces and Phase II of our planned expansion.
Agriculture Museum
In September of 2011, our new Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum opened to the public in nearby Santa Paula. With permanent and changing exhibitions, programs and events, the Agriculture Museum celebrates the long and innovative agricultural history of our region.
How the Museum Fulfills Its Mission
Over 50,000 individuals per year enjoy the Museum's exhibitions, Research Library, tours, special programs, and events.
Collections: The Fine Arts and Historical Artifacts collection includes more than 30,000 objects and works of art. The fine arts portion of the collection includes priceless works by renowned local artists such as John Nava, Jessie Arms Botke, Omar d'Leon, Horace Bristol and Beatrice Wood, and more than 200 extraordinary historical figures by Ojai artist and historian George Stuart. Artifacts relating to Ventura County's early inhabitants, and to participation in local, national and global events such as the Spanish American War, World War II, and the Saint Francis Dam Disaster, chronicle the history of Ventura County to the present day.
Research Library and Archives: A non-lending Research Library affiliated with the County Library holds over 170,000 items relating to our County's history including maps, photographs, newspapers, books, periodicals, manuscripts, oral histories and video tapes, many of them rare and one-of-a-kind, articles of incorporation, and other county records. We draw from all of these holdings to create interpretive exhibitions that illuminate our County's past, and the possible course of its future.
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