In 1887, Robert W. Poindexter was granted title to the present site of Moorpark. Conveniently located in the southeastern part of Ventura County, just 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Moorpark is the natural choice for residency and to raise a family. Moorpark is recognized for having the lowest number of serious crimes committed in Ventura County and is one of the safest cities of its size in the United States.
The origin of the name “Moorpark” is unknown, but most sources agree that the town was named after the Moorpark apricot, which used to grow in the area (hence the apricot flower on the town’s seal and flag).
The apricot, in turn, was named for Admiral Lord Anson’s estate Moor Park in Hertfordshire, England, the apricot was introduced in 1688.
Chumash people were the first to inhabit what is now known as Moorpark. A Chumash village, known as Quimisac, was located in today’s Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park. They were hunters and gatherers who often traveled between villages to trade.
The village of Quimisac once controlled the local trade of fused shale in the region. The area was later part of the large Rancho Simi land grant given in 1795 to the Pico brothers by Governor Diego de Borica of Alta California.
Robert W. Poindexter, the secretary of the Simi Land and Water Company, received the land when the association was disbanded. A map showing the townsite was prepared in November 1900. It was a resubdivision of the large lot subdivision known as Fremont or Fremontville. An application for a post office was submitted on June 1, 1900, and approved by August of that year. The application noted that the town had a railroad depot.
The town grew after the 1904 completion of a 7,369-foot (2,246 m) tunnel through the Santa Susana Mountains. Moorpark was then on the main route of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Coast Line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The depot remained in operation until it was closed in 1958. It was eventually torn down around 1965.
