Title supplied by cataloger. Rancho San Miguel, originally granted to Raymundo Olivas on July 6, 1841, formed the eastern boundary line of San Buenaventura and contained 4,693 acres. Rancher and investor Dixie Thompson came into possession of the west half of the ranch - 2,400 acres lying nearest San Buenaventura, and this soon came to be known as the Thompson Ranch. Thompson set aside 1,700 acres for cultivation, mostly for lima beans, which in time would be described as the largest lima bean ranch in the world. In order to pave the way for eastern expansion, Thompson authorized the construction of Thompson Boulevard (named in his honor) through his ranch; but sadly, he would pass away just a few months later, in April 1903. While settling his estate, Thompson's heirs were forced to put the ranch on the market and in November 1905, the Adam Philips Company purchased over 600 acres of the land, which they quickly subdivided into forty-acre to 100-acre tracts that were sold for approximately $400. per acre. On April 10, 1906, the city voted to annex 627 acres of remaining Thompson Ranch land, along with additional land east of the town, and expanded its territory to encompass 1,900 acres. Today, the remaining land has since been sold and divided, and a large section of it has been embraced in the boundary lines of the city of Ventura and is being built upon rapidly. Lima beans are being harvested on the Dixie Thompson Ranch, circa 1900. A steam engine on a tractor is used, by means of a long belt drive, to power the threshing machinery, as men sitting in horse-drawn wagons wait around the machinery.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Agricultural machinery--California--Ventura County Horse-drawn vehicles--California--Ventura County Threshing machines--California--Ventura County Agriculture--California--Ventura County Harvesting--California--Ventura County Lima bean--California--Ventura County Ranches--California--Ventura County Horses--California--Ventura County Thompson, Dixie W Dixie Thompson Ranch (Ventura County, Calif.) Rancho San Miguel Ventura County (Calif.)
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