Fillmore-Santa Paula Packing Houses

Historic Packinghouses and Other Industrial Structures
in Southern California

Virtual Tour of Fillmore and Santa Paula, CA
Ventura County

On April 18, 2007 Bob Chaparro and Jim Lancaster spent the day looking for packinghouses that still remain in Fillmore and Santa Paula, California. This web page summarizes what was found. It includes a few non-packinghouse buildings. Some of the buildings have been demolished and are listed for general interest.

Three references were used to identify the current and past names of the packinghouses:

The current Sunkist Packinghouse Directory

Sunkist packinghouses listed in the "Sunkist Growers, District Exchanges and Local Associations," dated December 20, 1957, plus a Sunkist map from the same time frame.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Fillmore (1939) and Santa Paula (1950)

Not every packinghouse appears in all three references. For example, some packinghouses are no longer a part of Sunkist. Others never were.

Photos of each PH are included. Links to additional photos are in the bullets.

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are by the author and may not be reproduced in any form (except for personal use) without permission.

Fillmore

Saticoy Lemon Association - Plant #2 (Ref. 1)
Fillmore Lemon Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Fillmore Lemon Ass'n Lemon PH (Ref. 3)
Address: 348 A Street

The packinghouse consists of the older building shown above (from the southwest) and a newer warehouse. Only the warehouse seemed to be in use.

The PH is a large concrete structure with multiple loading doors on the south side. These doors were covered by a canopy at one time.

The north side includes a cull bin and a receiving dock.

Here are closer views of the cull bin and the receiving dock.

The receiving dock is entered from Sespe St.

Bill Messecar photographed the PH in 2004 before the trees were as large as they are now. His photos include an overall view from the southwest, a closer view of the southwest corner, and the cull bin.

The Fillmore Lemon Ass'n also had a box and fertilizer warehouse south of the PH on the opposite side of the SP's Santa paula Branch. The building has been demolished and the location is now filled with houses.

For additional views of this PH when it still had the canopy over the loading doors, plus photos of Bob Smaus' model, see the earlier Fillmore PH web page.

Fillmore Citrus Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Fillmore Citrus Fruit Ass'n Orange PH (Ref. 3)
Address: 341 A St.

This does not seem to be an active PH. The view is of the north side.

The complex consists of two large buildings.
A closer view from the west end.
A classic Jeep station wagon was parked next to the PH.
One end of the PH was angled to accommodate A St.
The rail side has an atypical canopy over the loading doors.
Another view of the rail side plus a similar view from a slightly different angle.
Bill Messecar photographed the PH in 2004. His photo is from the southeast.

This sawtooth roof ex-PH is unidentified. The view is looking north. A right-of-way for a spur to the north side is clearly visible in a Google satellite image.

The cull bin (as seen through a fence) is on a lower level.

Villa Park Orchards Ass'n - #2 (Ref. 1)
Rancho Sespe PH (Ref. 2)
Sespe Lemon PH (Ref. 3)
Address: 960 3rd and Telegraph

This is an active packinghouse. The view is of the south side.

The complex includes an older arch-roofed section and a newer storage and delivery section.

They were busy packing oranges the day we were there. Here's another photo of the packing room.

Fillmore had another PH west of the Fillmore Lemon Ass'n Lemon PH. It was located at 311 Central Ave and has been demolished. In 1957 it was called the Ventura County Citrus Ass'n (Ref. 2) while earlier it was the Ventura County Orange & Lemon Ass'n (Ref. 3). The location is now an apartment house.

Santa Paula

Teague-McKevett Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Teague McKevett Co. Lemon & Orange PH (Ref. 3)
Location: 1 1/2 miles east of Santa Paula at intersection of Highway 126 and SP Railway

This ex-PH is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. This view is of the east side.

Trees and a fence make it difficult to get good photos.

Santa Paula Orange Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Santa Paula Orange Ass'n PH (Ref. 3)

Address: 215 N. Ojai

This does not seem to be an active PH. The image above is of the south and east sides.

There is still a sign on the building.
This view shows the tracks along the south side with the former SP depot in the left background.
A different view of the east end and the receiving area.

The complex includes a cull bin.
Bill Messecar photographed the southwest corner of the PH in 2004.

Southern Pacific Milling Company Grain and Bean Warehouse (Ref. 3)
Location: 1 block west and north of the SP depot

It's not a packing house but it's never-the-less an interesting old building. The view above is from the southwest.

The east end and north side are also interesting.

Union Ice Company (Ref. 3)

The painting of the Union Ice Company is part of a mural on the south side of the County building (see below). The building was just east of the SP Milling Co (see above). It has been demolished.

There's a Union Ice Co. sign at the Strathearn Museum in Simi Valley, CA.

Another building that's been demolished was the Santa Paula Walnut Ass'n PH (Ref. 3). It was located just west of the SP Milling Co.

Ventura County Agricultural Commission Fumigation Warehouse (Ref. 3)

This building has a large mural on the south side depicting the area around the Santa Paula depot in 1939.
A smaller mural shows citrus loading in 1915.

Ventura County Citrus Exchange (Ref. 2)
Address: 144 Davis St.

This single-story stucco and art deco building is listed simply as "Office" in Reference 3.

Mupu Citrus Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Mupu Citrus Ass'n Citrus Fruit Packing (Ref. 3)
Address: 114 Palm Ave

The view above shows the south side of the ex-PH.

Here's a closer view of the receiving dock on the west side.
It had a separate office (now a realty office) on the opposite side of the street.

The packing house name is still visible on the west side.

I conjectured the PH might have a sawtooth roof behind the façade. A Google satellite image verified this.
Closeup of a trackside loading door.
Bill Messecar took this photo from the southeast in 2004.

American Fruit Growers Orange PH (Ref. 3)

The view above is from the southwest. Some American Fruit Growers PHs packed under the Blue Goose brand.

We weren't sure this was an former PH when we first saw it but a Sanborn map verified that it was. A Google satellite image shows a partial-sawtooth roof behind the facade.

Limoneria Company (Ref. 1; name is misspelled)
Limoneira Co. (Ref. 2)
The Limoneira Co. (Ref. 3)
Address: 1141 Cummings Road (4-1/2 miles west of Santa Paula)

The view above shows the north side of the lemon PH.

This is a very large complex with both an active lemon PH and an inactive orange PH.

The complex includes numerous other buildings such as concrete and wood auxiliary structures, a garage and employee housing.

They were packing lemons while we were there and conveying the cartons to a large storage building.

The front of the lemon PH had interesting architectural elements.
This view shows the south side of the lemon PH with a conveyor for loading cull lemons into open trucks. Two sidings ran along this side of the building.
This view shows the east end of the lemon PH.
These views show the west end and north side of the orange PH and a closeup of a trackside loading door. The two sidings also ran along the north side of this building.
The grove on the west side of the lemon PH still has heaters between the rows of lemon trees.
A new grove northeast of the lemon PH also had heaters.
A pickup truck even had some heaters.

Santa Paula Citrus Fruit Ass'n (Ref. 2)

Santa Paula Citrus Fruit Ass'ns PH (Ref. 3)
Address: 500 Santa Barbara Ave

Reference 2 shows a PH at 500 Santa Barbara St. but we couldn't find it. Reference 3 shows that it was a very large, multi-building PH complex a little east of American Fruit Growers. A Google satellite view shows that it has been demolished.

Saticoy Lemon Association - Plant #3 (Ref. 1)
Briggs Lemon Ass'n (Ref. 2)
Briggs Lemon Ass'n (Ref. 3)
Address: 103 N. Peck Road

This is an active PH. We first thought it was a modern PH but later discovered it had an older, sawtooth-roof building in the center. Its location made it difficult to photograph.

Page created 4/19/07
Last Updated 4/23/07