History
Agoura - the word itself, literally meaning open market, belies the bittersweet history of this area near the Calabasas, California. On top of the west side of Los Angeles County, in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains - Agoura is located just forty-five minutes (by current travel standards) from busy Los Angeles. It is a land rich in rolling hills and awe-inspiring canyons.

The great gold rush of 1848, after the discovery of gold in Sutter's Mill, had people believing that their fortunes were to be found in California. However, not everyone who came for gold got what they were looking for. With no gold and shattered dreams of avarice, the settlers were forced to look for inexpensive property far from the more prosperous towns.

By 1862, the Homestead Act made it possible to own 160 acres of land in the area by simply living there, building a home and raising a family. To extend your land in Agoura in those days, one simply had to pay $1.25 to an acre.

Back then, the Agoura area was better known for the Vejar Junction - a stagecoach and wagon stop located 3 days from Los Angeles - in the Conejo Valley Rancho. A lot of good wells were accessible to travelers in those days. An example is the one in what is now Grape Arbor Park and yet another where Cornell intersects Agoura road. In fact, early written records state Agoura simply as "a place with water".

Water was of course one of the reasons why Agoura was first peopled by the Chumash Indians, before they were dispersed off the Santa Monica mountains in 1850. Travelers enjoyed the beautiful landmark of Ladyface Mountain which, history tells us, was one of the lookouts used by the Chumash Indians. Local lore claims Ladyface Mountain was given its name because of the profile resembling a lady lying on her back and searching the heavens for the return of her lover.

The Chumash were a peaceful people whose subsistence consisted mostly of fowl, fish and other game. They did not cultivate grain nor any form of plants but lived off hunting on wildlife or catching marine animals including fish, shellfish, whales, seals, sea otters, shark, sea birds, albacore, tuna, sardines, deer, wild game, grizzly and black bear, mountain lions or puma, fox, coyote, badgers, quails, pigeons, and doves. Another major staple was acorn. They would grind this nut into a paste which they ate with regularity.

The Chumash Indians had many legends about the creation of man, and how the earth was made and also of “The Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island" in which a woman was left on an island for twenty years until about 1835. When she was brought to Santa Barbara where she stayed until the time of her death seven weeks later when she contracted dysentery. The Chumash Indians did handicrafts like weaving baskets and gathered nuts, fruits, and plants for rituals and spiritual healing. These "healings" would be performed by a doctor of the tribe and he would "heal" the Indians that would be sick or need spiritual healing.

The Chumash Indians of Agoura lived in domed houses approximately 30 feet in diameter. The Franciscan Friars came and established the California missions along the El Camino Real (formerly a Chumash trail from Los Angeles to San Francisco) in the hope that the friars could convert the Indians to their way of life and belief. Sadly, the advent of the missionaries around the 1700s saw the dwindling of the Chumash from 10 to 20 thousand to about two hundred people.

In 1901, George Lewis and his family came into the area and built their ranch on present-day Agoura. It was located beside the original road that formed the basis for the Ventura Freeway.

In 1924, the area known today as Old Agoura was named Independence Acres by the Colodny Brothers (who bought the land from George Lewis). By this time, land in Agoura sold for $800 per acre. It became known for egg production, rich soil, good drainage, daily sea breezes, no city taxes, scenic beauty, good streets (specially after the building of a major state highway through Agoura), electricity and - ironically, due to the flocks of people seeking a less costly place to buy their lands with lots of water - the area became well-known for water shortages.

The first Agoura postmaster, Bob Boyd recalled that there were "about 28 more families than the local water resources could supply".

By 1928, the name Independence Acres was overwritten by Picture City. The movies have come to town as Paramount Studios bought the Agoura area. The said motion pictures giant bought the Agoura area for the great diversity of geography available in the area, making it the perfect natural collection of backdrops that became featured in many a film from that bygone era.

It was then that some local entrepreneurs joined together to form the Picture City Chamber of Commerce. One of the first major and well-known petitions of this group was for Picture City to have its own post office. The postal department requested a list of 10 names with which their city was to be named by for them to have their own post office.

One of the suggested names was Agoure, after a successful French immigrant who came to California in the late 1800's. His name was Pierre Agoure.

Pierre Agoure was the son of a rich farmer and stockman in Bassess-Pyrennes, France. He came to America in 1871 at the young age of 17. Aguore worked in his father's farm, in Conejo Valley, as a dairyman and later as a shepherd.

In 1875 he began venturing into raising his own animals, starting with just 400 sheep. He gradually improved this until he had 25,000 head of sheep and cattle. Agoure was one of the region's most successful livestock farmers in Conejo Valley. By 1906, he had 16,880 acres of Conejo Valley grazing land to his name.

It was his name that was chosen by the postal department because - as local folklore says - it was the shortest name proposed. The final "e" was changed to "a" for reasons yet undisclosed. Some say that it was due to the phonetical ease Agoura can be pronounced over Agoure. Others say that it was a simple misspelling on the Agoura postal office. But for whatever reason, the name that stands today is Agoura.

In 1955 the people of Agoura met to form a permanent source of water for the Las Virgenes area. This move gave birth to the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which 4 years later made it possible for water to start flowing into the Las Virgenes area.

In 1963, the Colorado River started flowing into the district. This increased potable water supply and helped the Agoura fire fighters more effective.

The city just started to boom in the late 60's. This was about the time when the first housing tracts started to appear in Agoura. These were the Hillrise, Liberty Canyon and Lake Lindero.

Growth continued at a rapid rate in the 1970's. Schools started mushrooming all over the area. Shopping centers followed suit not long after. The area suddenly became extremely attractive as the Las Virgenes Unified School District served the area. The schools located in the Las Virgenes Unified School District within the city boundaries are Willow Elementary School, Sumac Elementary School, and Yerba Buena Elementary School, as well as Lindero Canyon Middle School and Agoura High School.

1978, and the residents got together to ask Sacramento to widen the Kanan bridge. The residents won and soon the widening of the Kanan Road bridge overpass, over the Ventura Freeway, from two lanes to four lanes began in earnest. In 1982, the people of Agoura Hills voted in favor of city hood by a 68% majority. Agoura became the 83rd city in Los Angeles County. Three years later, the general plan for the City of Agoura Hills was approved, followed 2 years later. 1986 saw the opening of the Reyes Adobe and Forest Cove Parks. In 1987, the new Zoning ordinance was passed. The Morrison Park was opened in 1993, followed by the award winning Old Agoura Park in 1996.

By 1999, Agoura Hills has opened its own Community Center out of the bounties that it has enjoyed through the years. This Community Center of Agoura was a joint project with the neighboring City of Calabasas. This cooperative venture was repeated in 2001 in the new Civic Center and Library. At present, Agoura is home to 20,537 people in 6,874 households and 5,588 families (according to the 2000 census). Of these 6,874 households, 47.3% have children under 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.30. Agoura's median age is 38 years, where 30.5% of the people are under 18, 6.3% are 18 to 24, 27.6% are 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64 and 6.2% are 65 years of age and beyond. The normal Agoura family earns $95,765 a year - with males taking a median at $72,081 as compared to $42,656 for females. About 3.5% of the population are below the poverty line.

As of 2000, there are 969.4 people for every square kilometer who are 86.96% Caucasian, 1.32% African American, 0.25% Native American, 6.5% Asian, 6.85% Hispanic, 0.10% Polynesian and 2.09% from other races. Of these, 97.58% are employed wholly by the civilian sector. The mean time to commute to work is 30.5 minutes. There are 6,993 housing units spread out at 330.1 houses per square kilometer.

One of the famous businesses to arise internationally in the music scene hails from Agoura. In fact, they still hold their main offices there:

Line 6, Inc.
29901 Agoura Rd.
Agoura Hills, CA 91301-2513

Being the musical area that it is Agoura also boasts 2 famous alternative/rap-rock bands who have members who lived in and started honing their musical talents in Agoura: they are Linkin Park's Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, and Mike Shinoda and Hoobastank's Douglas Robb. The Calling also traces part of their roots in Agoura. Jonathan Lipnicki of "Like Mike" and "Stuart Little" fame goes to Agoura High. Malcolm in the Middle's Justin Berfield also calls Agoura his home. The famous Erin Brockovich (the inspiration for the film with the same name) lives in Agoura.

Schools
The Las Virgenes Unified School District's largest K-12 school - the Agoura High School - can obviously be found in the Agoura region. It houses approximately 2,400 students and was ranked #900 in Newsweek’s 1000 best high schools in 2004. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, a main thoroughfare that goes through key cities in the area, terminates at Agoura High. Behind the school is a large hill that supports a large stone "A" - thus earning it the moniker "A Hill".

The Agoura High School can be found at the following address:
28545 West Driver Avenue
Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin Park, members of Hoobastank, actress Heather Graham, JOnathan Lipnicki, Justin Berfield, Carl Micheal Lindner of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, National Football League lineman Todd Steussie, and Marathon runner Deena Kastor all have gone through Agora High's prestigious halls.

Recreation
Some of the more popular landmarks in Agoura are the parks. Park locations add such aesthesics to the city. Examples can be found in the list below:

Agoura's Chumash Park
5550 Medea Valley Drive
Agoura Hills, CA

Ballfield/Children's Play Area
Picnic Area/Restrooms

Old Agoura Park
5301 Chesebro Road
Agoura Hills, CA

Baseball field/Children's Play Area
Equestrian Trial/Equestrian Warm-Up Arena
Western Style Equestrian Arena

Aside from going around on walks in the park, there are also other sources of recreation in Agoura. Such as the Agoura Hills Recreation Center found in:

30610 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Agoura Hills, CA 91301

The Agoura Hills Recreation Center is a 1800 sq. ft. multi-purpose facility which can hold up to 120 people. The Center is equipped with a kitchenette, handicapped accessible restroom facilities, inviting foyer and shaded patio area. The Center hosts a wide variety of activities throughout the year and can be rented for private functions.

You can also volunteer for various work around Agoura if you are thus inclined. This is a great way to make use of time and energy.

The city boasts of a Graffiti Removal Program where you have the people of Agoura reporting all graffiti that they see promptly to (818) 597-7355. Concerned citizens are reminded that it is important to leave the date and time of their call and the exact location of the graffiti. This drive's goal is to remove any graffiti on public property within 24 hours or the next business day.

There is also a feeding program called Meals-On-Wheels. The Meals-On-Wheels program serves residents in the Agoura Hills and Agoura areas. Those eligible to receive Meals-On-Wheels are people who are unable to prepare their own meals because they are home-bound, temporarily or permanently disabled, and have no one to cook for them.

Sports leagues within the communities are also not unheard of. There are coed, men's, women's and teen events in Softball and Basketball. If you are as musically inclined as most Agoura residents, you can join Concerts in the Park. If you are in the mood for some culture and nostalgia, then the Reyes Adobe Historical Home is the place to be!

Built around the 1850's, the Agoura Hill's first home can show you 150 exciting years of Californian history. This history includes the acquisition of the documented stories and artifacts from the families that have called the Reyes Adobe home over the years.

This house's rich history starts in 1845 when a widow with 14 children purchased the ranch. Maria and Jose Reyes’ son Jose Paulino built the adobe home in approximately 1850 during the state’s rancho period. Reyes ownership lasted into the next century. From 1916 to 1983 the property transferred to owners who shared a common interest in preserving the landmark adobe home located in the beautiful foothills beneath Ladyface Mountain.

The said house can be found on:
Reyes Adobe Historical Site
5464 Reyes Adobe Road
Agoura Hills, CA 91303

Take 101 Fwy to Reyes Adobe Road
Go north to Rainbow Crest.
Go left into Reyes Adobe Park.

and operates:
2nd Tuesday of every month
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

All tours are lead by docents.
2nd Saturday of every month
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
All tours are lead by docents.

The Agora has the best of both worlds in being a city while maintaining a friendly, rural, small-town atmosphere. The City is the gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Today, as people leisurely find their way home on the 101 Freeway, the oak studded hillsides and Ladyface Mountain welcome residents home.

DR. JOHN CHAVES
5312 Comercio Lane, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone 818-999-2707
Fax 818-703-1998
appointment@cosmeticdentalservices.com