Rancho Santa Clara Del Norte
Rancho Santa Clara del Norte, originally 13,989-acres, was granted to Juan María Sánchez by the Mexican government to farm cattle in 1837, It is one of the oldest continuously farmed properties in Ventura County, and has been owned and managed by the Lloyd-Butler family since 1864.
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Bordering the property is the Santa Clara River, and west of that, one of the largest ancient Chumash settlements in the area, Sa’aqtik’oy, which means "sheltered from the wind” in the Chumash Ventureño language.
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The Santa Clara River is 83 miles long, and the only wild river in Southern California. The watershed is habitat for a wide array of native plants and animals and has historically supplied humans with water, fish, and fertile farmland.
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The Lloyd-Butler Botanical Garden
In 2022, Tom Lloyd-Butler began managing the ranch. He revived the grounds surrounding the main house, expanding on his mother's interest in cultivars, rare and endangered plants, and social gatherings on the property.
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In 2023, he added a stumpery with exotic ferns, cyads and palms. He established many collections of plant species and began farming regeneratively to help support the rich ecosystem of the Santa Clara River delta and South Mountain.
