“An Old Fashioned Fair” Remembers Don Adolfo Camarillo

“An Old Fashioned Fair” hopes to bring to mind the Fairs of yesteryears--before the Fair was in Ventura, before the 101 was a bustling freeway, before cattle were replaced by crops in Ventura County.

“An Old Fashioned Fair” hopes to bring to mind the Fairs of yesteryears--before the Fair was in Ventura, before the 101 was a bustling freeway, before cattle were replaced by crops in Ventura County. The Museums of Ventura County have exhibit boxes in the Agriculture Building at the 2007 Ventura County Fair which depict area history. The exhibit created by Camarillo Ranch is titled, “An Old Fashioned Family A-fair,” and showcases the family for which the City of Camarillo is named. Ventura County would certainly not be the same if it weren’t for the efforts of Adolfo Camarillo who was known among other names as “The Last Spanish Don” and “King of the Fair.” In 1880, Don Camarillo inherited the Camarillo Ranch from his father, and in the course of the 68 years he operated the ranch, he changed the cattle ranch into a producer of lima beans, barley, corn, alfalfa, walnuts, and citrus. These crops are still the ones often associated with the Ventura County area and are a few of the many crops shown off at the annual Ventura County Fair. Don Camarillo was a leader in the development of many area organizations, among them the Ventura County Fair Board as well as the California State aFair Board. A huge supporter and benefactor of Ventura County, Adolfo Camarillo believed in the Fair’s ability to bring the community together.