Parallel Histories: Ventura County during the US Revolution

As the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Parallel Histories explores what was unfolding at the same time in Ventura County. While British colonialism and the Revolutionary War reshaped the East Coast, California, not yet part of the United States, was being transformed by Spanish colonial expansion.

In Ventura County, the establishment of missions and the imposition of new social and cultural systems created lasting change, particularly for Indigenous communities. The exhibition centers on the experiences and resilience of the Chumash, whose culture long predates colonization and continues to endure today.

Through maps, mission objects, local artifacts, and historical documents, the exhibition examines how the age of European colonialism shaped this region and continues to influence our community. Parallel Histories invites visitors to consider how the choices of the past shape the world we live in now.