Patterns on the Land at the Ag

After a successful showing at City Hall, Patterns on the Land returns to exhibit at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula with additional maps and uncovered history to share!

The Museum of Ventura County installed a pop-up exhibit in May 2019 at Ventura’s City Hall. The exhibit, Patterns on the Land, showcased faithful reproductions of rare maps from the Museum’s Research Library and Archives collection. Patterns on the Land is returning to exhibit, this time at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula beginning January 24, 2020!

From rough, hand drawn diseño maps to meticulously detailed layouts for what was then a planned land development, the collection of maps on display tell the stories of the past and illustrate dreams of our forebears.  “This is just a small cross section of the map collection. We have maps depicting Ventura County from its earliest days, in all shapes and sizes,” says Research Library and Archives Director Deya Terrafranca. “Maps tell us what was in a place, how the people during that time viewed that place, what they felt was most important about it. They help us to see the evolution of land but also of our community’s priorities through the years.”

The Museum’s Research Library and Archives houses a comprehensive collection related to the county, the Channel Islands, and the region. With over 8,000 maps, the collection is a robust resource for anyone researching historical boundaries, land use, or property ownership. The Library and Archives also houses over 45,000 historical photographs, 5,000 books, 50 manuscript collections, and innumerable clipping and ephemeral resources. “We are very happy to be able to partner with the city to make our collections more readily accessible to the public. And this particular exhibit being housed in the Planning Division’s public office is just perfect,” says Executive Director Elena Brokaw.