Saticoy history:

Saticoy is a small unincorporated town in Ventura County, California. It lies in the Santa Clara River Valley, south of the intersection of Wells Road (State Route 118) and the Santa Paula Freeway, on the east side of Ventura, and north of the Santa Clara River at the head of the delta.

Saticoy is located on part of the river's rich alluvial fan—one of three areas in the world that has 60 feet (18 m2) of rich topsoil. Agriculture in the area includes avocados, lemons, oranges, strawberries, and many other row crops. Some of the area around Saticoy is used for industrial purposes. East and northeast of the town, along the shore of the Santa Clara River, is the Saticoy Oil Field, discovered in 1955 and operated by Vintage Petroleum.

The earliest known human inhabitants of the vicinity were the Oak Grove People. Some ancient mealing stones of this prehistoric tribe were found near Saticoy in 1932 and traced back to about 3000 B.C. In about the early 15th century, the Chumash tribe inhabited the area. They built canoes and milled the acorns.

The name Saticoy comes from the Chumash village named "Sa'aqtik'oy," which means in the native Chumash language "it is sheltered from the wind." It was one of the largest settlements of the Chumash region, which extended from Point Conception to Santa Monica and back into the foothills as far as the Coast Range. The natural underground springs located in the area made Saticoy a prime location for the tribe to hold their yearly meetings.

Manuel Jimeno Casarin was granted the 17,773-acre (72 km2) Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy on April 28, 1840, by the Mexican government.

In November 1861, Jefferson L. Crane settled at the site of the Chumash village and other Americans followed soon after. Saticoy, which was then 8 miles (13 km) from Ventura, had a school as early as 1868. W.D.F. Richards, considered the founder of Saticoy, arrived in 1868, and bought 650 acres of land. He did a lot toward the upbuilding of the community and followed many experiments in farming.

The postal authority established Saticoy Post Office in 1873. There have been many bridges across the Santa Clara River at Saticoy. They were often washed out due to abundant rainfall and flooding. The most notable washout, however, was due to the flood wave of water caused by the rupture of the St. Francis Dam, in northwest Los Angeles County, which occurred three minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928.

The bridge was washed out again in the flood of 1969 and cars were rerouted through the riverbed east of the bridge while it was under repair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_California