Manuel de Terra Faria

California has long served as a destination and permanent home to people from around the world, and the state’s vibrant communities represent many cultures.

Portuguese first came to the United States in the 19th century. 90% of Portuguese immigrants to the United States came from the Azorean islands. The Azores is an archipelago of nine distinct islands, approximately seven hundred miles west of Portugal. Southern New England and California were popular landing points, where many Azorean immigrants were recruited on whaling ships. Despite not being a maritime culture, they were in demand because they could be hired for low wages by whaling companies. Participating in shore whaling, Azoreans were privy to news of the discovery of gold in California and were among the state’s earliest gold-seekers.

The Portuguese were drawn immediately to Ventura County because the land resembled the home they had left behind in Portugal: mountains, beaches, and warm, dry weather. In the late 1800s, Ventura County became a landing spot for many Portuguese immigrants. Among those earlier hard-working immigrants was Manuel da Terra Faria.

Manuel de Terra Faria was born about 1877 in the Azores. In 1901, at age 24, he arrived in Boston, working as a bricklayer for his uncle to save money to fulfill his desire to move to California, where he dreamed of owning land to farm. In 1903, Faria arrived in Ventura County. Farming and ranching attracted more settlers to Ventura County than any other industry. Manuel settled in a Portuguese community in Oxnard and got a job at the Patterson Ranch, a large lima bean grower. One day, Manuel borrowed a horse and rode up the coastline on horseback. He was particularly interested in being by the ocean. As he rode past Ventura, he appeared up on the coastline and looked over to his left as he was riding up the beach, and he said, 

“My goodness, am I dreaming, or what? There’s Anacapa, and there is Santa Cruz, and that’s just like the Azores and the Pico Islands.”

As he went on a little further, he saw a ranch and was very interested. He said, “One of these days, I’m going to purchase this ranch.” The stretch of land reminded him of his home in the Azores. 

In 1907, 1000 years after the Chumash Village of Los Pitos, Manuel Faria purchased 325 acres of land in the Rincon area West of Ventura, including 22 acres on the beach.

In 1910, Faria married Maria Marciel, also a Portuguese immigrant. The Farias raised three children, Virginia, Frank, and Joseph, on the ranch. Growing up, the children had a part in helping out at the ranch, as well as a shared love of the ocean. They often spent their summers exploring the coastline and learning about the local marine life. This connection to the land and sea would later inspire their contributions to the community.

The Faria land was considered “less favorable” farmland, with much of it on the hillside and without any access to water. Mr. Faria dry-farmed crops, which meant growing produce without irrigation. His focus was on dry-farmed lima beans. At the time, many Portuguese grew Lima beans under contract with the Federal Government during WWI, when the United States fed half the world with beans. Most became very successful, even after their contracts ended when the war ended.

 

Around 1917, Ojai, Santa Paula, and Piru farmers who were friends of the Farias started using the Faria land as a Summer retreat. These families would use his beach land to tent camp and enjoy the mild beach weather in the hot summers of their inland ranches. As hard as it is to grasp, in the 1930’s, no one would be caught dead in a beach community in the wintertime. They were strictly summer colonies. Summer after summer, as regulars returned, they began to build small shacks and cottages along the beach. This would be the beginning of the Faria Beach Colony.

 

In the 1930s, Manuel Faria started leasing Summer cabins. The Faria Colony’s popularity led to families returning yearly to their leased individual plots. The first lease was for $25 a year. The original beach cabins were bare, with no running water or electricity. They had one or two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a fireplace and were built with materials found on the farms.

Through the 1930s, improvements continued to modernize the cabins as families returned year after year. Bathrooms and rooms were added, electricity was brought in, and one story became two. Ventura City water was brought into the area in the 1960s, and the Rincon Causeway evolved into the Ventura Freeway.

 

 

It was in the 1970s that the Farias formally created plots of land as designated tracts within the County of Ventura for the Faria Beach Colony. Virgina Baptist, the eldest daughter, and family matriarch, directed who was given the opportunity to purchase plots based on their previous history and standing within the family. By 1981, 130 homes were in the Faria Beach Colony, and the Faria family was ready to sell the individual parcels. The years of memories and the homes that were lovingly created and were officially able to call their own. It is incredible to see how many original farming families are still a part of the colony and continue to respect the land’s heritage.

Over the years, the Faria family, a symbol of hard work and dedication, continued to work the ranch, converting most of the land to citrus and avocado trees. When Virginia passed in 2005, her first daughter, Roberta, managed the ranch until she passed in 2022. The 315-acre ranch remains in the Faria family but is currently for sale, marking the end of an era but also a testament to the enduring legacy of the Faria family.

 

From the Chumash lands into the hands of the Faria family, the land is full of dedication, passion, and hard work. The history and knowledge will be cherished as Faria Beach continues to evolve.