Abstract The Blanchard family of Santa Paula dates back to when Nathan Weston Blanchard, Sr., arrived in Ventura County in 1872. The Blanchards purchased part of the Saticoy y Santa Paula land grant from E.B. Higgins where they would eventually establish a citrus orchard, the Limoneira Company, in 1893. The Blanchard family was involved in many aspects of local history and life. Dean Hobbs Blanchard features prominently in the collection, with a particular emphasis on his work as an ornithologist and...

Abstract The Nathan W. Blanchard collection consists of photographs, illustrations, papers, diaries, letters and other ephemera regarding the Blanchard family from the 1860s to the 1970s. Nathan W. Blanchard (1831-1917), who would later be a co-founder the Limoneira Company and oversee the successful planting and harvesting of over 50,000 citrus trees in the county, is best known for establishing the town of Santa Paula with E. L. Bradley in 1873. This collection also contains genealogical maps and...