Reproduced essentially verbatim (some spelling corrections) from a copy of the article found in The Sentinel. The Sentinel was an Oak View newspaper published weekly on Thursday by Chuck and Faye Hill, with advertising by Joe Colville.
December 18, 1958 — THE OAK VIEW SENTINEL
THE ROAD TO OJAI
by Percy G. Watkins
The early description begins with the Collins ranch, describing the drives to the Collins house, and landscape features such as pear and apple orchards, apricots, a big red barn, and a house once owned by a Dr. Miller. The narrative continues to recount changes over time, including shifts in the road layout and the surrounding properties, painting a vivid picture of Oak View’s early topography. (content summarized from original article).
In what is now the north section of Oak View, William Collins, an early day Ventura banker, owned the ranch across from the Hemus place. The drive to the Collins house started where Shamrock Inn (near Ojai Drive) now is located. In 1900 the area north of the drive was planted to pears and apples. The trees were old, but a few trees yet remained of an orchard that predated the pears and the apples. South of the drive, the hill had been planted to apricots. A huge pear tree stood north of the drive at the gate; and a few years ago, this tree almost surround the Inn. Much later, the drive was changed to make room for the building now there. A big red barn stood on the hill east of the drive after it changed to a southward course at the top of the hill. South of the barn was a house owned by a Dr. Miller, a dentist. It was a straight up-and-down board house as usual, but it had what I presume is called a hip roof: (part of Percy's article not shown in this photocopy from the Oak View library).
Several paragraphs of historical detail follow, including notes about acres of apricots and hay, the Warren brothers and the Miller and Sherwood Ranches, and descriptions of the old houses and vines that once adorned the yards.
The Road from Ventura to Ojai, by Percy G. Watkins (January 8, 1959)