Historic Santa Paula Mill building ceremony set for November 13

The public is invited to attend a ceremony marking completion of the Mill Building renovation in Santa Paula, on Friday, November 13 at 10 a.m. At the Mill.

The public is invited to attend a ceremony marking completion of the Mill Building renovation in Santa Paula, on Friday, November 13 at 10 a.m. At the Mill. Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long and representatives from the Ventura County Transportation Commission will participate in the 120 year-old building’s turnover to its new tenant, the Museum of Ventura County. The museum will then begin work on converting the Mill into its new Farm Museum, slated to open next year in the heart of one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country. The Mill building is on Railroad Avenue, near the intersection of 10th Street, in Santa Paula.The Mill was built in 1888 by the Southern Pacific Milling Co. as a warehouse for agricultural products. It served that purpose for many years, then became a feed and grain outlet, and finally an antique mall in recent years. The structural stabilization and renovation of the building was overseen by its owner, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, as part of the $2.2 million Santa Paula Mill and Depot Rehabilitation Project. McCarthy Companies of Oxnard was the general contractor. The renovation retained the historic character and features of the original building while adding accessible entrances and exits, insulation, heating and cooling systems and modern bathrooms. The Museum, a nonprofit organization in operation since 1913, plans to use the building to showcase the many aspects of the history, and the future, of farming in the County.