PAST PRESENT IN RIVER REGION.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

Just off the busy highway connecting booming Santa Clarita and coastal Ventura is a world of days gone by - when steam engines chugged through expansive citrus groves, the town bell tower chimed the hour and children learned their lessons in a little red schoolhouse.

This is Heritage Valley, a 25-mile stretch through the Santa Clara River basin and the target of a tourism campaign launched in spring 1997 that is expected to cost $17.2 million for marketing and improvements by 2000.

Officials hope to recoup their investment by enticing big-city visitors hoping to get a glimpse of small-town America.

``Cultural and historical tourism was a natural fit for this area,'' said Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long. ``We're trying to let people outside the area know what a beautiful spot it is. But we're not trying to change it so that it destroys what is naturally there.''

Supporters say the success of the campaign hinges on residents and businesses working together to heighten the area's appeal.

``We hope that businesses get inspired to invest in their businesses and spruce them up to support the tourism outreach,'' Long said. ``We'd also like to see some new businesses out there.''

Local business owners seem open to the idea of filling turn-of-the-century storefronts with new shops, creating museums and offering tours of various landmarks.

``I want to see it before I die,'' said Moses Hernandez, who owns Elva Center Liquor Store in Piru. ``I want to see more modern things. It's like the country right now.''

In the early 1990s, some of the valley's communities were looking for ways to improve their local economy, but not in any coordinated fashion. Then the Northridge Earthquake hit in 1994, practically destroying downtown Fillmore and heavily damaging neighboring towns.

An infusion of state and federal disaster money brought some relief to the region. But it was a study financed by $500,000 from the federal Economic Development Association that gave local officials the idea for Heritage Valley - a way to increase the economic vitality of the region, while maintaining its agricultural and historical identity.

The focal point of the campaign is Rancho Camulos, a 135-year-old compound about half a mile east of Piru that represents the heyday of Mexican landholdings and the birth of the region's citrus industry.

Its owners already have spent $1 million restoring the central adobe and historians and preservationists from across the state will meet in September to determine the best way to restore the rancho and open it as a museum.

``Camulos is really the centerpiece for interpreting the valley,'' said Mitch Stone, an historical consultant with San Buenaventura Historical Associates. ``It's one of the main anchors for understanding the valley's history and really understanding Southern California's history.''

Farther down the newly widened Highway 126 is Piru, with only one main intersection, a hodgepodge of houses, two liquor stores - and its own mansion.

Built in 1850 for David Cook, the founder of Piru, the Cook Mansion is a fine example of Queen Anne architecture. Scott and Ruth Newhall, descendants of the pioneering Newhall family, later bought the house and rebuilt it after a 1981 fire. Ruth Newhall sold the mansion last year, and its new owners plan to open their home for weddings and other gatherings.

Between Piru and Fillmore sits the state-run fish hatchery, which houses an average of 1.5 million rainbow trout bound for lakes and ponds throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. A dime will buy a handful of food that visitors can use to tempt the fish.

Jim Sadd and Roberta Pollock of Sierra Madre recently visited the hatchery with their young daughters, continuing a tradition that started when Sadd was just a boy.

`A`My father was quite a fisherman, he'd take us trout fishing in the Sierras,'' Sadd said. ``Us kids wondered where they came from and he brought us here.''

The rebuilt center of Fillmore harkens back to the 1930s and '40s, with neo-classical signage and architecture and a Historical Museum and Park. From the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, visitors can take a 2-1/2-hour excursion on an antique Fillmore & Western Railway Co. train to Santa Paula, through 10 miles of orange groves, avocado orchards and agricultural fields.

``I travel all over Ventura County and I see the trains all the time,'' said John O'Brien of Thousand Oaks, who recently took his 3-year-old grandson, Danny, on one of the treks. ``I thought I'd get him on one.''

The train has strong appeal for people looking for a ``kick-back, kick-up-your-feet, watch-the-scenery-go-by, kind of afternoon,'' said Dave Wilkinson, president of the railway.

Plans now call for extending the rail line from the edge of Piru into the center of town - a $1 million project set to start next spring - and eventually to Rancho Camulos.

``We're making big steps, but it's a massive project and it won't happen overnight,'' Wilkinson said. ``We have one good opportunity to do it, and we're going to do it right.''

Heading west toward Santa Paula, visitors pass the Santa Clara Schoolhouse, a county historical landmark built between 1869 and 1897. First- through sixth-graders from Santa Paula still attend classes there.

North of Santa Paula on 10th Street is the Union Oil Museum, a Queen Anne/Italianate-style building that was the first headquarters of the Union Oil Co. Converted to a museum in 1950, its exhibits depict the role oil drilling played in shaping the river valley.

In Santa Paula itself is the Odd Fellows' Clock Tower, installed in 1905. Now situated over a fabric store, it still chimes the hour with its cast bronze bell.

The last stop on a tour through time is the Santa Paula airport, just south of the highway, and established in 1930 by seven local farmers.

While it often has small aircraft flying in and out, its main attraction is a display of antique planes. It also is home to part-time aviators who lovingly work on their airplanes on the weekends.

``In its heyday, it was quite busy, but general aviation as a whole has dropped off a bit,'' said Pete Mason, a lifelong resident who restores antique aircraft. ``People that love planes come here. People that collect airplanes bring people here.''

Supporters of the Heritage Valley project say the area has something of interest for everyone, providing a glimpse of the area's history while offering the amenities of modern-day life.

``This is a significant slice of California landscape and national landscape,'' said Kim Hocking, senior planner for Ventura County's cultural heritage program. ``It's a unique agricultural area, representing the citrus industry. It's still a piece of history, it hasn't been destroyed.''

CAPTION(S):

9 Photos, Map

PHOTO (1--Color) Santa Paula's clock tower on Main Street.

(2--Color) The Santa Paula Union Oil Museum on Main Street.

(3--Color) Cook Mansion, also known as Piru Mansion, made popular by the movies.

(4--Color) Piru Cemetery dates back before 1922.

(5--Color) Fillmore Train Station conductor Steve Phares stops in Santa Paula.

(6--Color) Ralph's Garden Produce in Santa Paula.

(7--Color) Single-engine plane at Santa Paula Airport

(8--Color) Citrus groves line Heritage Valley along highway 126.

(9--Color) The Little Red Schoolhouse, built in 1896, is still in use.

MAP: HERITAGE VALLEY: A journey through history along Highway 126 between Saticoy and Piru. A $2.5 million project has revitalized tourism in the area.

Photos by John Lazar, Craig Mailloux, graphics by Gregg Miller