Ventura Farms, previously known as Deerwood Stock Farm and Kentucky Park Farms, lies in the Hidden Valley in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

.Schneider, Jerry L. (2015). ''Western Filming Locations Book 1''. CP Entertainment Books. Page 132. . The ranch has been featured in a number of

Western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and is still used for filming. The main activity has long been the raising of

thoroughbred horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are con ...

. It is situated at the east end of Lake Sherwood near the entrance to the Hidden Valley. The ranch consists of various gardens, such as an English Garden, Family Garden, Secret Garden, Arabian Division, etc. Also at the farm is a herd of

Santa Gertrudis cattle The Santa Gertrudis is an American list of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle. It is a taurine-indicine hybrid breed, descended from both zebu and European cattle. It was bred in the early twentieth century in Texas, and received official recog ...

, Kashmir sheep,

Reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

s, and around 800

Koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

. Architectural features include the Sound of Water Pavilion, Japanese Tea House, Chinese Scholar House, Poet’s House, and an conservatory housing 25,000 orchids. The Deerwood Stock Farm was owned by J. C. Dellinger from prior to 1944 until 1978, when

David Murdock David Howard Murdock (born April 11, 1923) is an American billionaire businessman, plant-based diet advocate and philanthropist. Early career Murdock was born on April 11, 1923, in Kansas City, Missouri. His father was a traveling salesman; his ...

, CEO of

Dole Corporation Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubuški, ...

, purchased it and renamed it Ventura Farms. The ranch may have been started by F. W. Matthiessen and given the original name Kentucky Park Farms. It was then property of Carleton F. Burke, California Horse Racing Board's first chairman.

In motion pictures and television

It was under Dellinger’s ownership that movies were first shot on the ranch. It has been featured in films and TV series such as: ; Movies * '' In Old Kentucky'' (1935) * ''

Under Fiesta Stars ''Under Fiesta Stars'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Carol Hughes. Based on a story by Karl Brown, the film is about a singing cowboy and rodeo champion who inherits a ...

'' (1941) * ''

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

'' (1944) * ''

My Pal Trigger ''My Pal Trigger'' is a 1946 American Western musical film directed by Frank McDonald. The screenplay by Jack Townley and John K. Butler was based upon a story by Paul Gangelin. The film stars Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George “Gabby” Hayes, ...

'' (1946) * ''

Trail to San Antone ''Trail to San Antone'' is a 1947 American Western (genre), Western film directed by John English (director), John English, written by Jack Natteford and Luci Ford, and starring Gene Autry, Peggy Stewart (actress), Peggy Stewart, Sterling Holl ...

'' (1947) * '' The Paleface'' (1948) * '' Never a Dull Moment'' (1950) * ''

Sons of New Mexico ''Sons of New Mexico'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by John English and written by Paul Gangelin. The film stars Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Robert Armstrong, Dick Jones, Frankie Darro and Irving Bacon. The film was released on De ...

'' (1950) ; Television * ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'' (2001 episode " The Gift") * '' 24'' (2006) * '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013-2020) * '' Crisis'' (2014) * '' Westworld'' (2016-) * '' 9-1-1 LoneStar'' (2021)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websites
Buildings and structures in Ventura County, California History of Ventura County, California Culture of Thousand Oaks, California Horse farms in the United States Movie ranches Ranches in California Cinema of Southern California Economy of Ventura County, California