WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Raise the Farmhouse
When Gottfried and Sophie Maulhardt first arrived in the area in 1867, they stayed with the Christian Borchard family in the Gonzales(z) Adobe located near the Santa Clara River.
By 1869 Gottfried along with Caspar Borchard began renting over 1,000 acres from Juan Camarillo. As a brick mason in Germany, Gottfried built the 2 story brick building. By the next year he was joined by the Jacob Maulhardt family and they built the 1 ½ Victorian Folk residence.
The building became vacant from the 1960s until Bob’s passing in 2002. Shortly after, Jeff Maulhardt approached the Developer John Laing Homes about saving the old structures. Jeff formed the Oxnard Historic Farm Park Foundation. We’ve brought in utilities, gathered vintage implements, created a library/office/bathroom area, built an implement barn and shade structures, restored the vineyard, added citrus, avocados and local crop samples, improved the winery building and we are hard at work raising money and restoring the farmhouse. In 2025, we added a new foundation. The work continues with work on the porch, the roof, painting and the entry room/parlor, originally sponsored by Aren Jimenez; the Donlon room is finished and the kitchen, sponsored by Dean and Toni Maulhardt, has been painted and floor restored. Same with the Caspar Borchard sponsored room.
The Maulhardt Winery
QUICK FACTS
Built in 1869 by Gottfried Maulhardt.
Originally used as a residence with the bottom floor used for food and wine storage.
Restoration: Underwent brick facade restoration and building reinforcement from 2003 to 2009. In 2025 we restored the upstairs and added 4 stain glass windows with an image of the 4 early crops of the area: grapes, barley, lima beans and sugar beets.
This building was built by Gottfried Maulhardt in 1869. Gottfried was born in Mingerode, Lower Saxony, Germany. He learned the trade of brick mason in his village. In 1867, he and his wife Sophie and Caspar Borchard arrived in Ventura County. They originally stayed in the Gonzalez Adobe, located on 1000 acres purchased by Christian Borchard and situated near the Santa Clara River near the present-day River Ridge area.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Joe Pfeiler, we are bringing back the story of Horace the Alligator.
Back in 1942, Bob Pfeiler received a small velveeta box of cheese from a friend. Turns out the cheese was replaced with a baby Alligator. Bob gave him the name of Horace and created a pond for him next to the winery building. Curious of its new habitat, Horace went on a few adventures including in 1948 when he ended up at the Will Hartman ranch near the corner of Oxnard Blvd and Gonzales Rd. Horace was taken into custody and was soon released for good behavior after taking a photo op with Chief of Police Bill Clark.
With help of Alex Camacho, no relation to Sam, we put together a plan for a new home for a new alligator. Jeff has wrestled in a replacement reptile and soon we’ll have a display to tell the story of Horace the Alligator.
Horace the Alligator
Expand the Fence
This project will be attacked once we finish the farmhouse renovation.
In honor of our old friend and supporter Chuck Covarrubias, this fund will help us expand our fence line and add new exhibitions to our site.