Piru, California

This article is about the town in California. For other uses, see Piru (disambiguation).

Piru, California
Census-designated place
Location in the State of California and in Ventura County.
Coordinates: 34°24′26″N 118°47′59″W / 34.40722°N 118.79972°W / 34.40722; -118.79972Coordinates: 34°24′26″N 118°47′59″W / 34.40722°N 118.79972°W / 34.40722; -118.79972
Country	United States
State	California
County	Ventura
Town established	1887
Government
• Type	N/A
• Senate	Sharon Runner (R)
• Assembly	Jeff Gorell (R)
• U. S. Congress	Elton Gallegly (R)
Area[1]
• Total	2.836 sq mi (7.343 km2)
• Land	2.820 sq mi (7.303 km2)
• Water	0.016 sq mi (0.040 km2)  0.55%
Elevation	709 ft (216 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,063
• Density	730/sq mi (280/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93040
Area code(s)	805
FIPS code	06-57372
GNIS feature ID	1652775

Piru (/ˈpaɪruː/ "Pie-roo") is a small unincorporated census-designated town located in eastern Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about seven miles (11 km) east of Fillmore and about 13 miles (21 km) west of Interstate 5. The population was 2,063 at the 2010 census, up from 1,196 when the 2000 census was enumerated. Lake Piru, in the Los Padres National Forest, is the main recreational attraction.

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Tataviam Indians. They left information about themselves chiseled into and painted on rocky overhangs and secreted caves throughout the local mountains. By all accounts a peaceful tribe, the Tataviam were Christianized under the San Fernando Mission. Later they worked on large Spanish ranchos such as Rancho Camulos.

The name Piru (originally pronounced "Pea-roo" by the Indians) comes from the Tataviam word for the tule reeds growing along Piru Creek that were used in making baskets.

The town was founded in 1887 by David C. Cook, a wealthy publisher of Sunday School tracts and supplies from Elgin, Illinois, who bought the Rancho Temescal Mexican land grant from the sons of Ygnacio del Valle. Wanting to establish a "Second Garden of Eden" in this part of the Santa Clara River Valley, Cook specified, tradition says, that the acreage be planted with fruits identified with the Biblical garden—apricots, dates, figs, grapes, olives and pomegranates. That same year, he built his first home, a Colonial Revival structure, at the southwest corner of Main and Center Streets.

The U.S. Post Office Department established the Piru Post Office on June 14, 1888.^[2] Legend has it that the change in pronunciation was brought about by conductors of Southern Pacific Railroad trains, who would shout out, "Pie-roo!" when pulling into town. Another story tells of a Piru restaurant known for good pies. The owner hung a sign proclaiming, "We Put The Pie In Piru."

In 1890, Cook built a lavish Queen Anne Style home a few blocks northwest of his original home, which came to be known as the Piru Mansion. A strict Methodist, he provided for construction of a church on the north side of Center Street, just west of Main. His home at Main and Center became the Piru Hotel.

For her novel Ramona (1884), Helen Hunt Jackson had used nearby Rancho Camulos as one of the settings. Portions of the 1910 silent movie, Ramona, starring Mary Pickford were shot there. During the production, Pickford, D.W. Griffith and others of the cast and crew, stayed at the Piru Hotel. The hotel later became known as the Mountain View Hotel. The name was later changed to the Round Rock Hotel, because of a large, round boulder located in the northeast corner of the front yard.

Juan José Fustero (b. ca. 1836), who called himself "the last full-blooded Piru Indian," died on June 30, 1921. In 1961, a plaque to honor him was placed in Piru Canyon near the place where he lived most of his life.

On December 17, 1922, Jenks Harris, a would-be cowboy actor, and a gang of partners in crime, robbed the bank in Piru of $11,000. He said, when later caught in Los Angeles, that he conceived of the idea while on location at Piru with the film company Universal.^[3][4][5]

In the 1950s, the Round Rock Hotel became the Round Rock Rest Home for elderly tenants, which it remained until 1989. It then became the Heritage Valley Inn. It is no longer functioning as an inn.

Filming location

Piru has been used for shooting countless film and television productions over the years, including Desert Fury (1947) starring Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak and Burt Lancaster, with Mary Astor and Wendell Corey. Location scenes were shot with the northwest side of Center Street, at Main, used as the exterior of Fritzi Haller's saloon and casino; the Piru Mansion was used as the Haller home and the historic Piru bridge, crossing Piru Creek on the east side of town, was used as the locale of the car crash. (Some of the exterior scenes were also filmed in the Old Town section of Cottonwood, Arizona, especially where Burt Lancaster enters the Old Town jail, extant though enlarged.) Piru was also used in the scene in A Star Is Born (1954) starring Judy Garland and James Mason where Jack Carson's character, Libby, finds them after they are married.

Piru stood in for Clarksburg, California, in the 1974 TV movie, The California Kid. It was used for exterior shots in the 1975 Filmation children's series The Ghost Busters. Scenes in The Dukes of Hazzard were sometimes filmed on location in Piru, as were scenes in Murder, She Wrote.

In Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), the scenes of the rest home in the "Kick the Can" segment were filmed at the historic building that is now the Heritage Valley Inn. Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone filmed scenes for their movie, Rhinestone (1984), in Piru. With the exception of a few scenes, the entire comedy Happy, Texas (1999) was filmed in Piru. It was also used for scenes of Bubble Boy and the exterior of Piru United Methodist Church was used in Big Momma's House (2001). The chase scene in Enough (2002) starring Jennifer Lopez was filmed in Piru along with scenes from Torque (2004) and the final scene for Van Helsing (2004).

The 2005 movie The Amateurs starring Jeff Bridges was largely filmed in Piru — as was much of the television movie The Love War (1970) starring Jeff's father Lloyd Bridges, with Angie Dickinson (with Piru serving as location and setting). The town has also served for some of the scenes on TV's Reno 911! and for scenes set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, in True Blood.

In the Disney movie Race to Witch Mountain (2009) starring Dwayne Johnson, "The Rock," scenes where he and the alien boy and girl go into a small town, Stony Creek, where they have repairs done on his taxi and go to a restaurant/country music club, were actually shot in Piru, which continues to be a popular location with film companies.

Piru Mansion was used as the home of Ellis Wyatt in Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the first segment in a three-part movie adaptation of the novel by Ayn Rand.

Piru was also used to film the 2011 music video Don't Stop (Colour On The Walls), from the band Foster the People and featuring actress Gabourey Sidibe.

The 2013 music video Wake Me Up, by Avicii, was shot in Piru.

Disasters

Piru was struck by two major disasters in the 20th century. On the night of March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam, to the east in Los Angeles County, broke, sending a torrent of water through the Santa Clara River Valley and causing the deaths of 400 people, many in Piru. The Northridge earthquake of January 17, 1994, destroyed several buildings in the historic downtown area.

Geography

Piru is located at 34°24′26″N 118°47′59″W / 34.40722°N 118.79972°W / 34.40722; -118.79972 (34.407297, -118.799675)^[6].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), of which 99.45% of it is land and 0.55% is water.

Elevation: 692 feet (211 m).

Piru is located in the Santa Clara River Valley.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[7] reported that Piru had a population of 2,063. The population density was 727.6 people per square mile (280.9/km²). The racial makeup of Piru was 1,063 (51.5%) White, 16 (0.8%) African American, 43 (2.1%) Native American, 11 (0.5%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 830 (40.2%) from other races, and 100 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,748 persons (84.7%).

The Census reported that 2,063 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 523 households, out of which 292 (55.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 329 (62.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 69 (13.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 39 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (5.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 67 households (12.8%) were made up of individuals and 25 (4.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.94. There were 437 families (83.6% of all households); the average family size was 4.34.

The population was spread out with 676 people (32.8%) under the age of 18, 243 people (11.8%) aged 18 to 24, 569 people (27.6%) aged 25 to 44, 420 people (20.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 155 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.4 years. For every 100 females there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.2 males.

There were 561 housing units at an average density of 197.9 per square mile (76.4/km²), of which 302 (57.7%) were owner-occupied, and 221 (42.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 1,202 people (58.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 861 people (41.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[8] of 2000, there were 1,196 people, 308 households, and 263 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 514.5 people per square mile (199.0/km²). There were 328 housing units at an average density of 141.1 per square mile (54.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 53.51% White, 0.25% African American, 3.01% Native American, 1.67% Asian, 38.38% from other races, and 3.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.89% of the population.

There were 308 households out of which 52.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.3% were non-families. 9.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.88 and the average family size was 4.11.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 35.1% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $41,490, and the median income for a family was $40,703. Males had a median income of $32,303 versus $17,159 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,337. About 16.4% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.5% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• HeritageValley.net – City of Piru
• Heritage Valley Inn – Piru, CA
• TrainWeb.org – First Train to Piru in Years!

v t e Municipalities and communities of Ventura County, California, United States County seat: Ventura Cities Camarillo Fillmore Moorpark Ojai Oxnard Port Hueneme Santa Paula Simi Valley Thousand Oaks Ventura CDPs Bell Canyon Casa Conejo Channel Islands Beach El Rio Lake Sherwood Meiners Oaks Mira Monte Oak Park Oak View Piru Santa Rosa Valley Santa Susana Saticoy Unincorporated communities Bardsdale Buckhorn Casitas Springs Cuddy Canyon Dulah Faria La Conchita Lockwood Valley Mussel Shoals Newbury Park Ojala Ortonville Point Mugu Scheideck Sea Cliff Somis Upper Ojai Wadstrom Weldons