Local presenter traces Ventura County’s lima-bean boom, mechanization and decline

An unidentified presenter at a community historical-society event in Ventura County traced the local lima-bean industry from 19th-century ranchos to a much smaller modern footprint, saying her family has farmed in the area for five generations and that "I grew up here at 1566 5th Place."

The presenter told the audience that early settlers and large rancho purchases in the 1860s paved the way for dry farming on the Oxnard Plain. Barley, she said, dominated early production because it required little water; she described a later pivot to lima beans and highlighted growers who developed durable dry-lima varieties for the East Coast market. "Henry Lewis started experimenting and keeping the good beans," she said, crediting him with the variety commonly called the 'Lewis lima.'

Why it matters: the talk framed the crop as both a regional economic engine and a cultural heritage item. The presenter recounted how local…