Oak Park was formed from ranchland owned by Jim and Marian Jordan, stars of the radio show Fibber McGee and Molly. The land was purchased by Metropolitan Development Corporation in the 1940s and '50s and homes were developed after that. There was only one road into the community, from Agoura Hills, California in neighboring Los Angeles County. As such, the community was served by police and firefighters based in the nearest Ventura County city, Thousand Oaks, 10 miles (16 km) away, although L.A. County services did provide help when able.
In 1967, Ventura County officials who were worried about the isolated aspect of the community proposed a land swap with L.A. County, but they were rebuffed. The isolation also drove down the property values and homeowners found it near-impossible to sell. Oak Park residents created their own school district, Oak Park Unified School District.
They also elected a Municipal Advisory Council that persuaded the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to trim Metropolitan Development Corp.'s initial development plan from 20,000 homes. Today there are just over 5,300 homes.
In 1999, the United States Postal Service assigned Oak Park its own zip code, 91377.
|
