Somis, California
Encyclopedia
Somis is an unincorporated area
of Ventura County
, California
, just north of the Camarillo
city limits. Its generally recognized boundaries are the areas around the intersection
of Somis Road (State Route 34
) and Los Angeles Avenue (State Route 118
), the latter being the dividing line between uptown and downtown. Its official boundaries are any residences in the 93066 ZIP Code
. It is in the area code 805
.
As of 2000, the total population was 2,946 It is primarily an agricultural area, but is home to a fire station
, a hardware store
, a market
known as the Somis Market which is also a Mexican cafe, a post office
, an elementary school
, several shops including the Somis Nut House, one main residential tract and numerous estates and ranches. It has no formal local government
, but it is serviced by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and the Ventura County Fire Department
.
http://somisschoolreunion.myevent.com/3/miscellaneous2.htm
SOMIS TOWNSHIP
SCHOOL BUILT IN 1895
Beginning as two separate school districts with seventeen students in each, what is now Somis Union School District presently has 50 staff members and serves approximately 500 students.
The Las Posas School District actually predates Somis, opening its first one room school at the corner of Bradley and Highway 118 in 1888. It was moved further up Bradley Road the next year and served all area students until 1895 when the first Somis School opened on the site of the present Somis Thursday Club building. Before relocating to the present site in 1924, the building (a twin to the building at the corner of Highway 118 and Center School Road) contained five classrooms rooms.
Research at the county school offices archives gave the names of the teachers in 1895 - Estelle Wolf at Los Posas and Anna L. Tillotson at Somis. By 1899 the records included names of the three trustees in each district and by 1905 salaries for the teachers, $60.00 per month for Las Posas' Olive Phelps and $65.00 for Phoebe Eaton in Somis. The research shows that Somis continued to pay more and by 1917 Marjorie McKee made $900 a year while Lula France only made $630 at Las Posas.
By 1919 two teachers were working at Somis; by 1921 the first teaching principal was named after having been supervised previously by the county superintendent. Mildred Wright made $1575 a year, and her staff member Elizabeth Murley earned $1215 a year. 1925 saw a third teacher added and in 1929 the first male principal Glenn Roper had a staff of four others.
The trustees that year were Irene Kitchen (mother of Jack), Ralph Harris (whose daughter Nita would become principal in 1946) and U.D. Underwood. By 1931 the staff of five included Theodora Mahan as 3rd and 4th grade teacher and who would become principal in 1936.
She was still principal in 1940 when the two districts merged and Somis Union was now governed by five trustees. Perusal of trustees' names reveals five families where two generations took turns on the board (Snyder, Kitchen, Underwood, Hawley, and Bean) and the Fulkerson family has three generations, beginning with J.F. in 1909, Jack in 1942 (WWII interrupted his service-he was back on in 1960) and Bob in 1988.
Somis School has always been a magnet for community activities from 4-H club and scout meetings, athletic events (the ball field lights attracted teams from all over the county in the 1920's) square dancing and cotillion, classes and meetings of every kind.
The community was so rural and housing so short following WWII that it became necessary to furnish on site housing to the custodian/bus driver. Mr. Thompson and his family first lived in a converted bungalow. His wife, Cecil, managed the cafeteria and helped clean the school. The cafeteria was started right after WWII by a mother's group wanting hot lunches for the students. Busing was a service by 1937 and probably earlier. The school library was begun by the Mother's club in the '60's and its current home was built in 1992. Instrumental music instruction began in the late '40's. Kindergarten was added in '49 during Helen Doolin's years as principal, with Ailene Mahan as the teacher for kindergarten during the mornings. In the late afternoon Mrs. Mahan taught grades 7 & 8 to relieve Mrs. Doolin's half day for administrative duties.
The old auditorium became the Discovery Room in the late '60's while Charles Jones was superintendent/principal and housed classes in photography, cooking using the old cafeteria stove, pottery, plant propagation, wood working, and science under the direction of teacher Gary Scofield. The Discovery Room was active housing teachers Tom Buhring, Ruth Toops and Debbie Keever until new science portable buildings were built in 1997 under Superintendent Richard J. Malfatti. The discovery room became the home of the Somis Independent Study program and the new Somis Academy, run by Pam Owens and Carol Andersen.
Mr. Jones served the district as superintendent for 27 years followed by Dale Forgey serving the district as superintendent for 12 years, followed by Thelma Edmundson serving the position for 4 years and currently serving the position is Mary H McKee. Long time school secretary Jean Tillotson retired in December 1994, after 31 years with district.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
of Ventura County
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, just north of the Camarillo
Camarillo, California
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at the 2000 census. The Ventura Freeway Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at...
city limits. Its generally recognized boundaries are the areas around the intersection
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
of Somis Road (State Route 34
California State Route 34
State Route 34 is a short state highway in the U.S. state of California.-Route description:SR 34 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System....
) and Los Angeles Avenue (State Route 118
California State Route 118
State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that begins running west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties in southern California. It travels from Saticoy in Ventura County east to Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles...
), the latter being the dividing line between uptown and downtown. Its official boundaries are any residences in the 93066 ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
. It is in the area code 805
Area code 805
North American area code 805 is a California telephone area code. Area code 805 includes most or all of the California counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, plus southernmost portions of Monterey County....
.
As of 2000, the total population was 2,946 It is primarily an agricultural area, but is home to a fire station
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
, a hardware store
Hardware store
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware including: fasteners, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for...
, a market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
known as the Somis Market which is also a Mexican cafe, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, an elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, several shops including the Somis Nut House, one main residential tract and numerous estates and ranches. It has no formal local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
, but it is serviced by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and the Ventura County Fire Department
Ventura County Fire Department
The Ventura County Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. Together, these areas compose the Ventura County Fire Protection District in the state of California,...
.
Education
Somis School Grades K-8http://somisschoolreunion.myevent.com/3/miscellaneous2.htm
SOMIS TOWNSHIP
SCHOOL BUILT IN 1895
Beginning as two separate school districts with seventeen students in each, what is now Somis Union School District presently has 50 staff members and serves approximately 500 students.
The Las Posas School District actually predates Somis, opening its first one room school at the corner of Bradley and Highway 118 in 1888. It was moved further up Bradley Road the next year and served all area students until 1895 when the first Somis School opened on the site of the present Somis Thursday Club building. Before relocating to the present site in 1924, the building (a twin to the building at the corner of Highway 118 and Center School Road) contained five classrooms rooms.
Research at the county school offices archives gave the names of the teachers in 1895 - Estelle Wolf at Los Posas and Anna L. Tillotson at Somis. By 1899 the records included names of the three trustees in each district and by 1905 salaries for the teachers, $60.00 per month for Las Posas' Olive Phelps and $65.00 for Phoebe Eaton in Somis. The research shows that Somis continued to pay more and by 1917 Marjorie McKee made $900 a year while Lula France only made $630 at Las Posas.
By 1919 two teachers were working at Somis; by 1921 the first teaching principal was named after having been supervised previously by the county superintendent. Mildred Wright made $1575 a year, and her staff member Elizabeth Murley earned $1215 a year. 1925 saw a third teacher added and in 1929 the first male principal Glenn Roper had a staff of four others.
The trustees that year were Irene Kitchen (mother of Jack), Ralph Harris (whose daughter Nita would become principal in 1946) and U.D. Underwood. By 1931 the staff of five included Theodora Mahan as 3rd and 4th grade teacher and who would become principal in 1936.
She was still principal in 1940 when the two districts merged and Somis Union was now governed by five trustees. Perusal of trustees' names reveals five families where two generations took turns on the board (Snyder, Kitchen, Underwood, Hawley, and Bean) and the Fulkerson family has three generations, beginning with J.F. in 1909, Jack in 1942 (WWII interrupted his service-he was back on in 1960) and Bob in 1988.
Somis School has always been a magnet for community activities from 4-H club and scout meetings, athletic events (the ball field lights attracted teams from all over the county in the 1920's) square dancing and cotillion, classes and meetings of every kind.
The community was so rural and housing so short following WWII that it became necessary to furnish on site housing to the custodian/bus driver. Mr. Thompson and his family first lived in a converted bungalow. His wife, Cecil, managed the cafeteria and helped clean the school. The cafeteria was started right after WWII by a mother's group wanting hot lunches for the students. Busing was a service by 1937 and probably earlier. The school library was begun by the Mother's club in the '60's and its current home was built in 1992. Instrumental music instruction began in the late '40's. Kindergarten was added in '49 during Helen Doolin's years as principal, with Ailene Mahan as the teacher for kindergarten during the mornings. In the late afternoon Mrs. Mahan taught grades 7 & 8 to relieve Mrs. Doolin's half day for administrative duties.
The old auditorium became the Discovery Room in the late '60's while Charles Jones was superintendent/principal and housed classes in photography, cooking using the old cafeteria stove, pottery, plant propagation, wood working, and science under the direction of teacher Gary Scofield. The Discovery Room was active housing teachers Tom Buhring, Ruth Toops and Debbie Keever until new science portable buildings were built in 1997 under Superintendent Richard J. Malfatti. The discovery room became the home of the Somis Independent Study program and the new Somis Academy, run by Pam Owens and Carol Andersen.
Mr. Jones served the district as superintendent for 27 years followed by Dale Forgey serving the district as superintendent for 12 years, followed by Thelma Edmundson serving the position for 4 years and currently serving the position is Mary H McKee. Long time school secretary Jean Tillotson retired in December 1994, after 31 years with district.