Crowley House

Sold to the Conejo Recreation & Park District in the 1980s, the Crowley House (found within El Parque de la Paz) is the site of the District’s Therapeutics Unit’s Independent Living Skills (ILS) program for individuals with disabilities age 14-23. Designed to teach skills to help these young people transition to adulthood, the ILS program includes weeklong camps as well as household skills training, and occasional evening social gatherings.

The Crowley House was built in 1910 on what was then the Newbury Ranch for newlyweds Frank and Mae Casey Crowley. History recalls that the house earned the nickname "Mother of Thousand Oaks" because in the early 1920s it served as a real estate office for the first housing development in the Conejo Valley. Carloads of prospective buyers were brought from downtown Los Angeles, shown lots amongst huge oak trees, and given dinner in the Crowley House dining room before making the return trip.* Later, the facility served as a convalescent home and the home of Louis and Kathleen Goebel, and, more recently, the site of the Conejo Valley Neighborhood for Learning enterprise. The spacious, 2-story white frame, 5-bedroom house still has its hardwood floors, mahogany beams, and volcanic rock fireplace. It was designated as Ventura County Historical Landmark 109 in December 1986.