History

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture, is like a tree without roots."

-Marcus Garvey

Recreation and parks were and still are important elements to the lives of the residents of the Conejo Valley. In November 1962, voters created the Conejo Recreation and Park District with more than 80% vote in favor of the District's formation as a Special District - a form of local government approved by the local community to meet this specific need.

In January 1963, the five newly-elected directors - Luther Schwich, Marvin Burrow, Roy Dehm, Joan McGillis, and Donald Roberts - held their first meeting at Parks Oaks School. The first five had a lot of work to do, including choosing a General Manager, adopting policies and guidelines, setting goals, preparing a budget and establishing a recreation program for the community. At the District's formation, it had only one property, Estella Park, a small 1.5-acre recreation area off Erbes Road between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Hillcrest Drive.

Over 50 years later, with the help of involved and caring citizens, dedicated and generous staff and volunteers, as well as government agencies, property owners, business and non-profit organizations working together, the Conejo Recreation and Park District has grown considerably with robust year-round recreation programming and over 1,000 acres of parkland.