Preservation in Print – Rancho Guadalasca: Last Ranch of California’s Central Coast

Join the California Preservation Foundation for Preservation in Print, a free lunchtime series for anyone interested in historic preservation, architecture, planning, history, and related fields. Each one-hour session features a conversation with the author or a key contributor of a recent preservation-related title. There’s no need to read the book in advance—whether you’ve read every page, browsed the photos, or are simply curious, you’re invited to join. The program includes a brief presentation by the guest speaker, followed by a Q&A with questions from CPF’s Education Committee lead and audience members.

Rancho Guadalasca: Last Ranch of California's Central Coast

A journey through Ventura County history.

A Mexican land grant awarded in 1836, Rancho Guadalasca lay at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains along the eastern Oxnard Plain. Grantee Ysabel Yorba, an illiterate widow who successfully managed the ranch for over 35 years, is just one of many fascinating people who once lived there. Indigenous Chumash, Californio ranchers, Anglo-American farmers, Japanese fishermen, and Basque sheepherders all left their marks on the land, along with local institutions like Camarillo State Hospital and CSU Channel Islands.

Join archaeologist and anthropology professor Colleen M. Delaney as she traces the 5,000 years of community and lifeways that shaped Ventura County.

About the Author

Colleen M. Delaney spent her childhood interested in history, stories and special places as she moved around, ultimately calling eight U.S. states and Germany home. She channeled these interests to earn a PhD in anthropological archaeology. Currently a professor at California State University-Channel Islands, Professor Delaney uses archaeology, history and oral history to tell the stories of the past and present in Ventura County, California.

Posted in: Book Club, Free Events, Webinars