EL ROBLARO

When the Spanish arrived in Simi Valley, they found the eastern end of the valley, that is the area roughly east of present day Stearns Street, covered with an oak grass woodland, dominated by mature valley oaks (Quercus lobata). That woodland was referred to as El Roblaro. The name is probably a translation from the Chumash into Spanish by those early vaqueros and sheepherders, who were Chumash Indians. The significance of the name to the Chumash, if any, is not known. However, it is directly descriptive. The great abundance of place names such as Canada Aliso, Canada de los Alisos, and Canada de los Alamos, that refer to trees, most certainly reflect a Chumash concern rather than a Spanish preoccupation.

The Spanish and Mexican settlers primarily occupied the “Tapo” and what is now Strathearn Historical Park. Land use pressure was confined largely to grazing of sheep and cattle. The cattle no doubt destroyed seedling oaks, but they would have had little impact on the mature oaks.

The event of Anglo-American farmers was accompanied by a demand for fuel wood - both for cooking and heating. Oaks, willows, cottonwoods and sycamore trees were just about the only trees in the valley.  Of those trees, both valley and coast live oaks were the most numerous by far and represented the highest quality fuel. Clearing of the land for crop production also resulted in the cutting of oak trees.

By the time that the great boom in suburbanization came along in the late-1950s and early 1960s, the number of remaining large valley oaks where El Roblaro once stood was probably fewer than 100. Today, no more than a few dozen of those trees remain. Where the old “Ten Oaks” trailer park once stood, only five of the old monarchs are still there. Other trees have fallen victim to new roads, subdivisions, old age, and mismanagement. El Roblaro is no more.

Mike Kuhn

11-13-04