Ventura County Landmark No. 15: Naumann Eucalyptus Tree Rows
Historical Background
Eucalyptus trees have a rich, complicated history in Southern California. Originally native to Australia, Eucalyptus trees were brought to the state in the 1870s by Ellwood Cooper. They were primarily intended to serve as windbreaks on agricultural lands to save crops from being destroyed in the wind (Ballantine et al., 1981).
The Naumann Eucalyptus Trees were originally a part of the Hueneme Masonic Cemetery established in 1898 by the Hueneme Masonic Cemetery Association (HMCA) to create a cemetery for members of the Hueneme Masonic Lodge and the surrounding community. This row of blue gum Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus globulus), approximately 1,300 feet long, was planted by farming pioneer Gustav Naumann to act as a border and wind break for the Hueneme Masonic Cemetery. The row originally extended down Pleasant Valley Road for approximately 500 feet, turned south to Etting Road on the western side of the Masonic Cemetery, and continued along Etting Road for approximately 440 feet.
County Landmark No. 15 is considered a locally important historic resource for its association with HCMA members who were the founding fathers of Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Landmark No. 15 is also significant for its distinguished rural landscape design and layout; specifically, the use of naturalistic features such as a Eucalyptus wind row to shelter the cemetery.
Later Alterations
Since 2004, construction of road widening improvements and new residential development has encroached upon Landmark No. 15. In 2004, 41 trees were removed as part of the City of Oxnard’s Pleasant Valley Road widening. In 2014, several trees were removed on the former Naumann farm as part of the Pleasant Valley Road Apartments project to the east of the Masonic Cemetery. As a result of these projects, Landmark No. 15’s historical integrity of setting, feeling, association, and design have been reduced.
In 2017, the Cabrillo Farmworkers Project involved the development of a vacant 1.98-acre parcel in between the Masonic and Japanese cemeteries with low-income apartments. As part of this project, approximately 16 Eucalyptus trees out of a total of 32 trees were removed and sixteen Eucalyptus trees were pruned and retained along the property’s eastern edge. A certified arborist concluded that the Blue Gum Eucalyptus wind row had reached the end of its lifespan and some of the trees were considered a potential safety hazard. The project was conditioned to protect and preserve what remained of the site’s historic integrity and required planting of a similar-looking substitute tree species, Melaleuca quinqenervia, to offset the loss of trees and prevent the reduction of historical character or value to Landmark No. 15.
In February 2023, some trees along Pleasant Valley Road were heavily damaged and uprooted during a severe storm.
Hueneme Masonic Cemetery
The adjacent Hueneme Masonic Cemetery, while not included in the Landmark No. 15 designation, is the best remaining example of a 19th century rural community cemetery design in the County, and it is the only one of its type in the city. This cemetery was organized and operated by a voluntary association (Hueneme Masons) which sold plots to individual owners according to individual taste. This cemetery was designed using naturalistic features such as the eucalyptus trees (designated as Landmark No. 15), plot curbing, and a central turnaround for funeral carriages. The headstones themselves, through the names, occupations, dates and inscriptions, provide a largely unique social, literary. and economic record of the community (Doner, 2012).
The Hueneme Masonic Cemetery Association (HMCA) Corporation members consisted of several notable Oxnard and Hueneme men, including A. Levy, W. S. Saviers, l. Poggi, L. Lehmann, and numerous members of the Petit family. The HMCA members were founding fathers of Oxnard and Hueneme who significantly contributed to the culture and development of the area. This cemetery also contained the graves of a number of persons of outstanding importance, those whose activities determined the course of events in local history (W.S. Saviers, George Eastwood, Leroy Arnold, and Samuel Naumann, to name a few)(Doner, 2012).
The Hueneme Cemetery’s location is unique and significant as a rural community cemetery. Initially located on the outskirts of town, the original 9-acre cemetery was created as a triangular shaped parcel located between two main roads, Etting and Pleasant Valley, both of which lead directly to the Hueneme community. Rural cemeteries, from their inception, were landscaped as a park and designed for public use. Typical of a rural cemetery of this era, this site has been open to the public since its establishment in 1899 (Doner, 2012).
The HMCA also played a role in forming the Japanese Cemetery (designated as Ventura County Landmark No. 18). The adjacent Japanese Cemetery (originally a part of the 9-acre cemetery) began when the Hueneme Masons agreed to sell a portion of their cemetery land to the Buddhist Church for Japanese-American burials in 1908 (Doner, 2012).
Additional Reading
References
Ballantine, W., Camacho, M., Sakamoto, M., Snyder, D. (1981, September). Initial Study: 07-VEN-101 12.7/13.1 In Camarillo, Calleguas Creek to 0.2 miles South of Lewis Road Removal and Trimming of Eucalyptus Trees 07216 – 02703. California Department of Transportation. (Ventura County Planning Division, Cultural Heritage Site Files).
Doner, N. (2012 November 26). Oxnard Cultural Heritage Board Staff Report and Recommendations, Agenda of November 26, 2012, Item No. 5 [Recommendation regarding the designation of Hueneme Masonic Cemetery as a Ventura County Historical Landmark.]. Landmark Files. Ventura County Planning Division 800 S. Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93009.
Date Designated: June 1971
Location: East of Pleasant Valley and Etting Road, Oxnard
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