Foundations of Human Activity

As I stated before Simi Valley was first inhabited by Native American Chumash Indians. Native American prescense in Simi Valley extends as far back as 10,000-12,000 years ago. They lived on what nature provided, inland in valleys like Simi Valley, they ate the seeds from sage, acorns from the oak trees, and whatever small game animals were available. Simi Valley's name is said to originate from the Chumash word Shimiyi, which refers to the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region.

One of the few remaining evidences of the Chumash Indian living in Simi are the pictorgraphs in the Burro Flats Painted Caves, located in the Santa Monica Mountains between Chatsworth and Simi Valley. These caves paintings are now protected and are on private property owned by Boeing.

View of the caves at Burro Flats

Cave paintings at Burro Flats

In my first post I talked about the Spanish occupations of Simi Valley, and the coming of El Rancho Simi. In 1795 the land was given as a Spanish colonial land grant to the Pico family.

Simi Adobe was built at the beginning of the Spanish period, likely soon after the grant in 1795, as the local residents had to have some place to live while they operated the rancho.

Simi Adobe-Strathearn House, the headquarters of Rancho Simi

Many Anglo-Americans arrived to settle lands into farms, orchards and groves dominated the valley's landscape until the 1970s. The city incorporated as Simi Valley in 1969, with only 10,000 people.

Present Population

According to the 2010 US Census, Simi Valley has a population of 124,237.

The racial makeup of Simi Valley was 93,597 (75.3%) White, 1,739 (1.4%) African American, 761 (0.6%) Native American, 11,555 (9.3%) Asian (2.7% Indian, 2.2% Filipino, 1.2% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.5% Japanese, 0.2% Thai, 0.1% Pakistani), 178 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 10,685 (8.6%) from other races, and 5,722 (4.6%) from two or more races.

Credit:
http://www.ohranger.com/ca/chumash-painted-cave/poi/burro-flats-painted-cave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burro_Flats_Painted_Cave
Simi Valley A Journey Through Time, by Patricia Havens, 1997