Ventura County Landmark No. 103: Whale Rock Ranch
Background of Whale Rock
Whale Rock is a giant outcropping of rock in the shape of a whale that forms a dramatic background to the Ojai Valley’s Whale Rock Ranch. Measuring 75 feet across and more than 50 feet high, Whale Rock may have been partially carved by the local Chumash people over 1,000 years ago, which would make it the largest example of Chumash rock art in the world. The location may have been a historical shrine for important Chumash rituals due to its perceived association with supernatural entities.
Whale Rock Ranch
The main house at Whale Rock Ranch was originally a honeymoon retreat built in 1916 for Harry M. Gorham and Florence Halliday Rogers. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Gorham, a miner from Virginia City, Nevada, had moved to Santa Monica about the turn of the century and became president of California Bank” (Williams, 1991).
The house was built of stone and contains a 15-foot beamed ceiling; additions were made in 1932 and 1969. As told by the Los Angeles Times, “the stone house has a balcony that commands a wide view of the Ojai Valley and the citrus orchards planted on the original ranch” (Williams, 1991). A second stucco house with a tile roof and casement windows was designed for the ranch by Ojai architect Austen Pierpont in 1948.
In 1937, novelist and screenwriter James Hilton, inspired by the view from the top of Dennison Grade while visiting Whale Rock Ranch, chose the area for shooting exterior locations for the film version of “Lost Horizon,” his 1933 novel about Shangri-La, a fictional Tibetan land of peace and perpetual youth.
As of the early 1990s, the ranch belonged to fourth-generation Gorham family members (Williams, 1991).
Additional Reading
References
Williams, Kathleen. (1991, September 13). “Whale-Shaped Rock Looms at Ranch.” Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-13-me-2370-story.html.
Date Designated: September 1986
Location: 2116 and 2114 McNell Road, Ojai
Photos:
