Joel McCrea's 1933 California Ranch Now a Wildlife Haven

The Santa Rosa Valley ranch bought by actor Joel McCrea in 1933 is now protected land near Thousand Oaks, after his family donated 74 acres.

A working farm that Hollywood western star Joel McCrea purchased in Santa Rosa Valley in 1933 has passed into public hands, safeguarding hundreds of acres of open country along the northern edge of Thousand Oaks, California. What began as a 3,000-acre cattle and grain operation now anchors a stretch of protected habitat, the result of land transfers and gifts arranged by the actor's family over several decades.

The family formally gave 74 acres to be held as a wildlife sanctuary and helped broker the public purchase of a further 220 acres, keeping that section as parkland and historic open space. Records held by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency describe the 74-acre preserve as a landscape of rocky cliffs, deep canyons and clusters of uncommon native vegetation. Tall sandstone bluffs give birds of prey places to nest and roost, and a stream that runs all year sustains local wildlife.

Entry to the smaller preserve is tightly controlled to shield its fragile terrain. It holds protected populations of the Conejo rock plant, a species that grows almost nowhere outside this corner of Ventura County.

The Byers ranch house and its historic buildings

The 220-acre tract holding the old ranch buildings moved into public stewardship under a deal struck between the McCrea family and area park officials. Accounts kept by the Los Angeles Times record that the arrangement let the Conejo Recreation and Park District take on the house and the ground around it, shielding it from later suburban building. A friendship between McCrea and Tex Ward, the district's general manager emeritus, smoothed the transfer and left the neighbouring hillsides untouched.

McCrea had bought the property at the urging of his friend and mentor Will Rogers, who often told young film actors to put money into farmland as a hedge against the instability of the movie trade. McCrea and his wife, the actress Frances Dee, put up their main house on the land in 1933 and raised three sons while running the farm.

The site joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Filings with the National Park Service count eight historic structures, among them a main residence by architect John Byers. Unlike the Spanish Colonial Revival work that made Byers known, the house reflected an early version of the plain California ranch style.

Growth of protected land in the Conejo Valley

As cities spread across Ventura County through the middle of the last century, the McCreas sold off portions of their holdings, contributing to the early footprint of Thousand Oaks. Other parcels went to non-profit groups, including ground used to set up the area's YMCA branch.

After McCrea died in 1990, relatives set out to secure the last 280 acres of the original estate. The park district went on to open a visitor centre there and now runs it alongside the Joel and Frances McCrea Ranch Foundation, offering classes, historic tours and outdoor activities.

Public bodies have kept adding to the buffer around the ranch. Officials later acquired a nearby 33-acre stretch of hillside grassland, and a separate housing agreement handed another 55 acres of steep ridgeline to conservation authorities.

The ranch complex sits at the base of the historic Norwegian Grade road and opens to visitors through scheduled programmes run by park staff. Repair work paid for by the foundation continues on the standing buildings, keeping both the valley's farming past and its natural setting intact.

Joel McCrea ranch, Conejo Valley conservation, Thousand Oaks wildlife sanctuary, Frances Dee, Conejo Recreation and Park District, Ventura County parkland, National Register of Historic Places, Conejo rock plant