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                  Tree ordinance still needs pruning
                  by David Mason, OVN contributor

                  "Why, it is to be another Montecito, that means that
                  the very rich are going to flock to the Ojai Valley
                  to live, they will build fine homes and improve the
                  valley. Hurrah for the Ojai, bless her, she is
                  entitled to all that she is to receive."
                  - Editor, (Ventura) Free Press, September 1916

                  Note: The photos in this report were taken during a
                  rare snowsotrm in 1949.

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                  To tell the story of The Ojai without recognition of
                  Edward Libbey's Arbolada would create a missing
                  chapter.
                  Edward D. Libbey, Ojai benefactor and cut glass
                  manufacturer, was born in 1854 in the Boston suburb
                  of Chelsea. The descendant of an old New England
                  family, he enrolled in Kents Hill School at Kents
                  Hill, Maine, where he studied the classical course of
                  Latin, Greek and related subjects. He was a member of
                  the school's Calliopean Society, an informal
                  fraternity devoted to creative writing, public
                  speaking and poetry. He leaned toward a career in the
                  ministry, but gave up the idea because his voice was
                  not suitable for a clergyman.
                  After two years, Libbey left Kents Hill       [Image]
                  School in 1876 to work as a clerk at the New
                  England Glass Company, which his father, William L.
                  Libbey, had leased by 1878. In 1880, young Edward
                  became a partner and the firm name was changed to New
                  England Glass Works, W.L. Libbey and Son,
                  Proprietors.
                  When William Libbey died in 1883, young Libbey took
                  over the company at the age of 29 and guided it from
                  one financial crisis through another for the next few
                  years. The company would eventually become a success
                  because of his promotional sales ability. In 1888,
                  the company was moved to Toledo, Ohio and in 1892,
                  the company name was changed to the Libbey Glass
                  Company.
                  [Image] Taking a bold financial risk, Mr. Libbey
                          obtained exclusive rights to build and
                  operate a complete glass factory at the 1893 World's
                  Columbian Exposition in Chicago. By the close of the
                  fair, more than two million people had visited the
                  Libbey Pavilion. The World's Fair factory made Libbey
                  famous from coast to coast as a maker of fine
                  glassware.
                  Without the love for the Ojai Valley by this man from
                  Toledo, Ohio, and his ability to visualize what is
                  pleasing, we would probably not enjoy all the beauty
                  that surrounds us today.
                  The year was 1916, and Libbey already owned 200 acres
                  across from his Foothill Road home, when he was
                  informed that the adjoining 360 acres were about to
                  be sold to a saw mill for the purpose of using the
                  trees to fuel the engines for the railroad. Libbey
                  bought the additional tract of land to prevent this
                  destruction.
                  One of the first priorities was to move the
                  slaughterhouse which was operating on part of the
                  ranch and to lay out five miles of rock-lined winding
                  roads, being extremely careful not to disturb any of
                  the existing trees. He brought in a water line from
                  his well that was located several miles to the east,
                  planted truckloads of ornamental trees and shrubs,
                  and installed iron gates with an arched trellis on
                  Foothill Road to make the entrance to what he called
                  Arbolada Park.
                  The park was then subdivided into parcels that were
                  of sufficient size to permit a complete setting for a
                  home without any unnecessary ground. In the Arbolada,
                  the size of the lot was not of great importance, for
                  the entire area was to resemble a large park, with
                  the lots all running together without the need for
                  separate lot boundaries.
                  The grounds were, for the most part, left natural,
                  with no manicured lawns or flower beds like the
                  subdivisions in other towns. Nature's handiwork
                  caused the area to often be referred to as the most
                  beautiful housing development in California.
                  Libbey did not try to restrict the type of
                  architecture allowed in his park, but he had high
                  hopes that the Spanish design might be found
                  favorable. To show how the Spanish architecture would
                  work well in the rural setting, he hired the famous
                  Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith to
                  design three model homes. Smith had received wide
                  recognition for many of his fine buildings. He
                  designed the Lobero Theater and the Santa Barbara
                  News-Press building in Santa Barbara, along with many
                  of the area's finest homes.
                  Libbey had the three houses built in 1922, so that
                  future home builders might be influenced by this
                  style. The Dunn family of Ojai had purchased one of
                  the lots and was in the process of starting the trend
                  by building a large Spanish Revival mansion just
                  north of where Libbey planned to erect his models.
                  One of the model homes was built in the same location
                  where the slaughterhouse had originally stood, thus,
                  the street was named "El Toro Road."
                  The Arbolada was not to be a money-making venture,
                  but rather, it was to create another spot of beauty
                  in the Ojai Valley that Libbey loved. The lots were
                  not being given away, but were sold at Libbey's cost.
                  He would even help in securing the finest architects
                  to design the homes for the new owners.
                  The Ojai Valley School received part of the Arbolada
                  land as a gift from Libbey for the purpose of
                  building their school.
                  The Arbolada lots did not sell as quickly as Libbey
                  had expected. The model homes sat unsold for many
                  years and new homes were not being built. When Edward
                  Drummond Libbey died Nov. 13, 1925, Rawson B. Harmon,
                  a Detroit Realtor, was brought to the Ojai Valley to
                  dispose of the rest of the Arbolada lots for the
                  Libbey estate. It took Harmon until 1958 to sell the
                  final lot.
                  Driving through the Arbolada today, one often gets
                  confused as to which turn to make. The charm is still
                  in abundance and the beautiful homes by George
                  Washington Smith are still being enjoyed by their
                  owners. Looking around this landmark area, you can
                  enjoy the stately oak trees that started the whole
                  neighborhood.
                  © 1999 The Ojai Valley News

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