Agricultural Trust Purchases Historic 27-Acre Tourist Farm

Faulkner Farms, a historic property that attracts thousands of people to its annual fall pumpkin patch festival, will remain part of Ventura County’s farming heritage following its purchase by a state-run agricultural trust.

The Hansen Trust recently spent about $1.5 million to buy the 27-acre Santa Paula area farm and its landmark 103-year-old main house, said Sheri Klittich, program trust administrator. The property, in the greenbelt between Ventura and Santa Paula, will be used as a research and education center.

The farm has been on the market intermittently since 1989 with an asking price as high as $2.35 million.

“We were very happy to sell it to the trust because they are going to continue what we started,” said Linda Ayers, who had owned the property with her husband, Allan, since 1982. “It will be the best use . . . and continue to be a part of Ventura County agriculture.”

The Ayers have signed a six-month lease with a renewal option that ensures that the fall festival, Christmas tree farm and their seven well-known Clydesdale horses will remain for the immediate future.

But the trust, which is administered by the University of California, does not plan to limit public access to the farm at Telegraph and Briggs roads. Indeed, the trust wants to capitalize on the farm’s high profile and freeway access to further its mission of sustaining agriculture in the county, Klittich said.

Established in 1993 with a $12-million endowment left by Thelma Hansen, the last surviving member of a Ventura County farming family, the trust will use the site to create what it will call the UC Hansen Agricultural Center at Faulkner Farms. Hansen often spoke of using her monetary legacy for a world-class center for agriculture that could encompass a rare working demonstration farm in Southern California, according to Klittich.

“We could build the site anywhere, but if people don’t come, we can’t educate,” she said. “We anticipate being able to offer the site for community events. . . . Our ultimate goal is that every Ventura County student would get to visit the farm at least twice during their time in the county.”

The Ayers, who both teach in Ventura middle schools, have spent 15 years restoring the 18-room Victorian mansion on the picturesque farm known for its distinctive red barns. Allan Ayers grew up on the farm next door, and the couple purchased the property after the death of his great-uncle, who owned it. The farm and house are named after Ayers’ great-grandfather, George Washington Faulkner, who moved to the county from Ohio in 1879.

But the time has come to move on, Linda Ayers said, although they plan to continue teaching.

“There’s no regrets leaving it,” she said. “We’re not really tied to this property. . . . We do look forward to a little privacy because when you’re here, you do feel you owe your place to the community.”