Oxnard (Ventura) is located on the the Central Coast 8.1 miles (13.04km) south of the city of Ventura and 61 miles (98.17 km) north of Los Angeles.

Early inhabitants were the Chumash Native Americans. In 1542 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Spanish explorer, claimed the area for Spain.

Oxnard received its name from the Oxnard brothers, Henry, Benjamin, James and Robert who operated a sugar beet factory in the area. The factory was in operation from 1899-1959. The town grew rapidly and by spring of 1898 a railroad station was in place serving the foreign factory laborers who arrived from China, Japan and Mexico. A strike interrupted progress in 1903, however, Oxnard was incorporated that same year on June 30, 1903.