The Conejo Valley from 36,000 feet, May 13, 1967. The 23 freeway was not yet built, and the 101 is visible at the bottom of the photo.

The Local History Collection includes images of historical interest for the Conejo Valley, and some nearby areas of Ventura County, from the 1890s to the present.

A sampling of the Local History Collection and News Chronicle Collection can be seen on our Digital Collections Website. As we continue to work with the collections, more images will be added to the online collection.

Some of our important Collections:

The Ed Lawrence Collection

Over 15,000 images of life in the Conejo Valley from 1959. Through a partnership between the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, the City of Thousand Oaks, Conejo Recreation and Park District, and California Lutheran University, the Ed Lawrence Collection is now a permanent part of the Thousand Oaks Library archives. Ed Lawrence takes us through a journey of the history of Thousand Oaks with his "Impressions of the Conejo Valley" in this video.

The News Chronicle Photos

The News Chronicle Collection contains more than 100,000 images of everyday life, special events, and other newsworthy occurrences in the Conejo Valley in the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle from 1965 to 1994, and the Thousand Oaks Star from 1994-2000. Where possible, we have included the original caption for the photograph. A sampling of the News Chronicle Photographs is available in Thousand Oaks Library Digital Collections.

The Frank Knight Collection

Frank Knight was a professional photographer who worked in the Conejo Valley from the 1960s to 1980s. The Frank Knight Collection of negatives was donated to the Thousand Oaks Library in 1984 by Mr. and Mrs. Knight. This collection contains aerial views of the Conejo Valley in the 1960s, parades and other events.

Herb Noseworthy Collection

Herb Noseworthy is a professional photographer who photographed the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas from 1965 to 1971. Many of these images appeared in the News Chronicle.

Scott Harrison Collection

Scott Harrison is a professional photographer who worked for the News Chronicle in the 1980s. In 2012 he donated his News Chronicle image collection to the Thousand Oaks Library.

Conejo Through the Lens

Conejo Through the Lens was a grant funded local history photo project in 2010 working with local agencies and members of the public. 

Digital copies of some of the photos from the Conejo Through the Lens project can be seen on www.flickr.com

Go to ConejoThruTheLens' photostream

You can also see copies of the photos on our Calisphere collection.

How you can help

• Can you help us identify some of the people, places and events in these photographs?
• Are you aware of an error in the information we have provided for a photograph?
• Do you have photographs or other materials pertaining to the history of Thousand Oaks that you would like to donate to the Thousand Oaks Library?

If so, please contact Special Collections on our Ask-a-Librarian page.