Below you will find detailed information, biographies and stories of the home, the land and the people who lived and worked there.

Shortly before the United States entered World War I, Tom and Mabel Gould commissioned the Greene & Greene Architectural firm of Pasadena to design a family home for them. It was planned the house would be located on approximately ten acres on the hillside above Poli, east of Crimea Street. The property was a portion of one-fourth of a block at Crimea and Poli that Tom’s parents purchased in 1890. The ten acres were given to Tom and Mabel at the time of their marriage (1911). The view was magnificent. The design of the house was equally magnificent; much larger and more sophisticated than the Lynn Drive house. In fact, Mabel expressed concern that people would think they were "toney". Henry Greene also expressed some concern in letters to the Goulds in which he advised the young couple to carefully consider the size of the rooms and upkeep of the house. These letters are a part of the memorabilia stored in the house.

The project was first put on hold due to failure of the bean crop planted on land east of town in an area known as “the Mound” that Tom and Mabel had purchased in 1912. By 1923, after the Goulds had acquired additional acreage, the “ranch” consisted of approximately 60 acres. The property was bounded on the south by what is now Loma Vista Road (but was then the original or old Foothill Road). The northern boundary was slightly above what is the present Foothill Road (constructed by WPA workers during the Depression). It was bounded on the west by the County Hospital. Its eastern boundary followed the barranca from Foothill between today’s Willowick and Dorothy Sts., then cut westward above the Glen Ellen subdivision and south along the eastern edge of the current Loma Vista School property.

Access was from ranch roads from today’s Loma Vista Rd. and along the present Foothill Road. The project was again put on hold in the spring of 1920 when the family decided they would like to try country living and moved from their home on Poli Street on June 22, 1921, to live in an old frame house on “the ranch”. They were satisfied they liked country living, so they abandoned the Crimea project and in 1923 called upon Henry to design a house for them that would be comfortable, not "toney" and would reflect their country lifestyle while modestly expressing the Greenes' rich architectural vocabulary.

In late spring of 1923 Henry Greene spent a weekend with the family in order to become acquainted with their “country lifestyle” and to assist in the selection of the building site. Mabel often said how nervous she was to have Henry Greene as a house guest, as he had by that time become a prominent architect. All went well however, and they enjoyed a warm relationship for many years.

(It is interesting to note that it was not uncommon for either Charles or Henry to spend considerable time visiting with clients before they undertook a project. They both strongly believed that the lifestyle, personalities, tastes and interests of their clients should be reflected in the design as well as the furnishings. They were so successful in portraying the characteristics of their clients that long after the original owners no longer occupy the house their presence remains.)

The property offered a number of attractive locations for the house. Throughout the spring and summer Henry spent many days metering the light at various times of day, monitoring the breezes and taking into account various vista corridors before he positioned the house or sketched the design. He was particularly concerned about providing the maximum light for the interior as well as capturing the play of light and shadow on exterior post and beams. He was also as determined as the Goulds to capture the best views of the sea and islands.

While Henry was giving his careful attention to the selection of the site, Mabel was busy drawing floor plans. According to Tom she had as much to say about the floor plan as Henry. On July 21, 1924, Henry Greene placed the stakes for the new home eventually built as you see here.

Henry supervised Clark Still, a Ventura contractor. Tom Gould often spoke about the fact that Henry insisted the workmen wear soft gloves when removing rocks from the site, in order not to disturb the lichens attached to the rocks. Tom also remarked that as a consequence of the amount of tedious hand-sanding of wood trim Henry demanded the workmen would have to take a few days off to heal their hands.

Mabel was pleased that Henry used butterflies and hummingbirds in the motif of the leaded glass doors of the China case in the dining room. Henry carved the molding and drawer pulls, adding a tint of color to his carvings. The niche on the stairway was designed for the mirror Henry designed. It was constructed in the Peter Hall workshop in Pasadena. Randell Makinson claims that Henry’s design of the mirror and his carvings and design of the China case leaded glass panels demonstrate that Charles was not the only artist in the Greene firm. Henry also designed the light fixtures still in the living room and the wall light fixtures (sconces) by the mirror in the stair landing and on either side of the fireplace in the sun room.

Tom, Mabel and their two children, Richard, twelve and Margaret, nine, moved into the house in January of 1925. The upstairs was not completed as the cost of the house had been more than the Goulds anticipated. Consequently the north side of the upstairs, planned for sleeping porches and dressing rooms was not built. Instead, the north side ended with a hallway that provided access to the two bedrooms, and a walk-in storage room. The bathroom plumbing was roughed in. The lower level provided more than adequate space for the family.

Around 1943 Mabel's sister, Effie Bartlett Daly, a widow, came to live with the family. Effie had been living in a large mansion she had built at the current corner of Fir and Thompson, which she had dismantled, theoretically so "no one else would live in "her" home." Effie brought with her some of the light fixtures and beautiful beveled/leaded glass windows from the mansion to incorporate into the house on Lynn. Effie occupied the east upstairs bedroom. The bathroom was completed, and the bedroom wood trim was painted. The west bedroom was used by granddaughter Jean as a playroom for her dolls and then for storage of family furniture and other treasures.

Theodore Payne was commissioned to do the landscaping. Mabel, an avid gardener and Stanford Botany student, was a joy to Mr. Payne as they had the same compelling interest in promoting native gardens. The Goulds’ relationship with Theodore Payne went back to at least 1914, according to an entry dated Dec. 22, 1914, in the Goulds’ Seed Ledger, kept by Tom. Receipts from the Payne Nurseries and letters from Mr. Payne and his landscape architect are among the memorabilia stored in the house. Tom claimed the addition of the three giant native California Oaks as he transplanted them as saplings from beds of the Sespe River.

When the Goulds bought the Foothill property they inherited “Old Doi” a Japanese immigrant who lived in an old house on the ranch. He and Mabel were the gardeners. Old Doi, Tom, and Richard hauled rocks, fitted and balanced them against one another to form the rock walls of the terraces. Old Doi remained in the family until the United States’ entry into war with Japan. By this time, Doi was an old man who had lost all contact with his Japanese family. Nonetheless, immigration officials insisted he return to Japan. This action injured his pride, broke his heart, and he died soon after his arrival in Japan.

Access to the house roughly followed the present alignment of Lynn Drive. The family parked their cars in the barn with the tractor and horse tackle.  The horse corrals were accessible from the back door. People approached the house from the driveway up narrow stone steps and a narrow flagstone walkway on the upper terrace along the front of the house. The present walkway along the lower terrace was part of the "face lift" and was done in part because the growth of the sycamore (planted sometime in the 1940s) was such that people could no longer duck under its branches to reach the front porch.

In 1921, the Goulds sold 5 acres of land to L. J. Brown who built a home located at the current northwest corner of Lynn Dr. and Gale Way. In 1950 (after the city council, some years earlier, had voted to annex the property into the city) the Gould’s sold 10 acres that had been their walnut orchard east of today’s Lynn Dr. and north of Loma Vista Rd. to the Ventura Elementary School District for the new Loma Vista School. In 1952, the Goulds sold the property located directly below the county ditch that runs below and in front of the house, east of their driveway, and extending to the north boundary of the Loma Vista School to Ruby and Oma Freeman. In 1954-1955, the city approved Gould’s plans to develop first a nine-home subdivision names the Cairns tract and then a 15-lot subdivision, Foothill Estates No. 3. These pieces constituted the remaining farmland (their avocado orchard) to the west and northwest of the house and the barranca that ran from the house north into the foothills between Foothill Rd., the hospital, and Gale Way. By the mid-1950s only slightly less than 2 acres remained of the original acreage. The house, garage and gardens occupy approximately three-quarters of an acre. The remainder of the area has not been developed and serves as a buffer on the north and east portions of the property.

Following Tom’s death in 1981, Richard and Virginia decided to move into the house and give the house a Face Lift. The Face Lift Project took approximately seven months. It was a very happy and educational experience.

DAY FAMILY - James Allen Day (1828-1915) and Sarah Jane Warner Day (1834-1904)

James Allen Day (b. 3 July 1828, Chateauguy, NY; d. 2 Jan. 1915, Ventura, age 87) and his wife, Sarah Jane Warner Day (b. 25 June 1834, New Milford, CT; m. 14 Nov. 1856, Waterbury, CT; d. 28 Dec. 1904, Ventura, age 70) lived for a brief time in Bristol, CT after their marriage, then moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In May 1874, they joined a group of former Oshkosh men in Ventura, arriving in town on May 21st. Sarah bore six children, four of whom survived infancy: Alice Maria (b. 1858, Oshkosh); Bera Cecil (b. 1867, Oshkosh; married Louis Durfee in Ventura); Mark Elmer (b. 1872, Oshkosh; m. Margaret McGonigle in Ventura), and Lillian Ventura (b. June, 1874, Ventura; m. Maximilian J. Weber then Thomas A. Crawford, Ventura). The oldest child, Alice Maria, was sixteen when the family moved to Ventura. Alice became the mother of Mabel Bartlett Gould.

James A. Day was a descendant of Robert Day (the family was of Welsh descent; the name was originally Dee) who in April 1634 at age 30 emigrated to America from Ipswich, England in the bark Elizabeth with his 28-year-old wife, Mary who died shortly after they arrived in America. They first settled in Newton (now Cambridge). In 1639 he was a resident of Hartford, Connecticut. James and his second wife, M. Edith Stebbins of Hartford, had four children. David Day (1758-1845), a fifth generation descendant of Robert Day, served in the Revolutionary army from 1776-1783 (a copy of his discharge paper, signed by George Washington, is among the Gould family documents). James Allen Day, the fifth of ten children born to Orada Day (1791-1867) of Bombay NY and Eliza Allen (1800-1841), was an eighth generation descendant of Robert Day.

Sarah Jane Warner was a seventh generation descendant of Andrew Warner who migrated from Hatfield England to Cambridge, MA in1630. In 1639 he was a landed proprietor in Hartford, CT. Sarah was the 6^th child born to Orange Warner (b. 23 Jan.1799, d. 11 Jan. 1871) and Apphia Edwards (b. 12 Aug. 1804, d. 28 Sept. 1855) of New Milford, CT. Sarah Jane spent most of her time bearing and rearing a family, however, she was also a musician and avid reader as evidenced in the piano sheet music and books she passed on to subsequent generations.

In Oshkosh, James founded a lime and building materials business, J. A. Day & Co. In 1860, his brother-in-law, Ossian Cook, joined him in the business. Day sold his interest in the business in 1874 and the firm became the Cook & Brown Co. After moving to Ventura, Day purchased 250 acres on Telephone Road. The family home, a fine salt box two-story house known today as the O. P. Cook place, continues to be occupied. A successful farmer, builder, and entrepreneur, James raised apricots, apples, lemons, limes, oranges, walnuts, and some guavas and persimmons. He was one of the first to plant an apricot orchard in Ventura County and the first to build an apricot dryer. Instead of shipping fresh produce, he dried his fruit or used some to make a fruit brandy that rivaled the “Otard and Cognac of France.” Apricot growers throughout the county brought their apricots to be dried and processed in sheds at the Day ranch for many years. Reportedly, James and Nathan Blanchard brought the first lemon trees to Ventura. One of Day’s first Eureka lemon trees was still producing in 1949 - the only survivor of the original four experimental stock. After he sold his ranch in 1884, Day invested in downtown real estate, built the first Masonic Hall, then later renovated a building that housed the Masonic lodge upstairs and his grocery business in its lower floor, and invested in various mining ventures in southern California (all of which went broke before his death). Contemporaries praised the quality of the downtown property he built. Day, who was admitted to the Masonic Order in 1860, was a Past Master of the Blue Lodge (Ventura) and a Past Commander in the Knights Templars. After moving from his ranch, he lived in a small home on Ash Street (I believe).  In 1915, depressed by persistent ill health, Day committed suicide by shooting himself with his rifle.

GOULD FAMILY: Thomas Gould (1851-1934) and Ella Elizabeth Crane Gould (1852-1945)

Thomas Gould (b. 1851, Caldwell, NJ) moved to Ventura from Caldwell, NJ in 1887 to find a home for his extended family at the behest of his father-in-law, James *Hervey Crane (b. 7 Jan. 1824, Franklin, NJ; d. 1903, Ventura) [*Harvey in NJ burial plot records]. At the time, Gould and his wife, Ella Elizabeth Crane Gould (b. 8 July 1852, Caldwell, NJ; d. 21 May, 1945, Ventura) whom he had married April 23, 1880, their daughter, Olive Crane Gould (b. 1881), and their son, Thomas Crane Gould (commonly known as Thomas Gould, Jr.; b. Dec.12, 1885) resided with the Crane’s in their family homestead in Caldwell.

The California saga began some 30 years earlier. Bitten with Gold Rush fever, in February 1852, James H. Crane left his pregnant wife, Abby Dodd Harrison Crane (b. 1828, Caldwell, NJ; m. 1848) at her father’s home in Caldwell, NJ, and headed to the California. Traveling by ship to the Isthmus of Panama, then crossing Nicaragua via pack mule, he took a steamship to San Francisco and made his way to Placerville, east of Sacramento. For two years he traveled between Sacramento and the gold country, transferring un-minted gold and supplies for a mercantile company. In July 1852, Abby gave birth to a daughter, Ella Elizabeth. James returned to New Jersey in May 1854, bringing a special gift to his wife: twenty-five packets of various California native flower-seeds that he had purchased for twenty-five dollars in gold.

In December 1886, a bitter-cold winter in New Jersey, Ella Crane Gould recalled that her father James H. Crane announced at breakfast that he intended to spend the next winter in California “Alone if I must; with you if you decide to go with me.” So his son-in-law Thomas Gould left New Jersey in July 1887 for Ventura, where friends from Caldwell had settled. He purchased a quarter block at Crimea and Poli Streets, arranged to have a house built on the site, and returned to Caldwell to get the family. In October, 1887, an extended family group, consisting of James and Abby Crane, Thomas and Ella Gould and their two children (Olive and Tom, then 18 months old), and Thomas Gould’s brother Joseph Paxton Gould (1846-1897), his wife Elizabeth Vreeland (1846-1924), and their daughter Rachel (1887-1967) traveled by train to Ventura. (Joe Gould shortly thereafter bought a citrus farm in Santa Paula.)

Ancestors of the Gould and Crane (also spelled Crayne) families migrated to America in 1660s from England, and settled in New Jersey in the 1700s. Members of both families fought in Indian wars and many of their men fought in the American Revolution (facts proudly noted by Ella E. Crane Gould in her genealogy/family history book).

Thomas Gould and Elizabeth Crane Gould soon turned the property around their home into a thriving horticulture business. Mrs. Gould, in concert with her husband, developed numerous new strains of petunias, including single Ruffled Giants, the New Double Fringed Perfection, Large Flowering “Emperor” Grandiflora and Fringed Grandiflora. They also developed new Sweet Peas, including a New Black-Seeded White Early Flowering Sweet Pea and the “Earliest of All” Sweet Pea, both of which were introduced and sold by the Burpee Seed Company. The Gould’s sold their first seed of their new “Giants of California Petunia” in 1893 to the New York firm of Peter Henderson & Co. for $40 per ounce, a price they were told no one would pay. In 1898, Burpee’s ordered 3 ounces of their best Double Petunia at $100/ounce.  In 1905, Burpee’s paid $.25/lb and a bonus of $200 for seeds of the Black-Seeded White Early Sweet Pea. Their son Tom and his sister Olive helped in the seed business. 

Their gardens attracted famous seeds-men and horticulturists, including W. Atlee Burpee, Luther Burbank, and William Dreer of Philadelphia, and they sold seeds to Burpee’s, the J.M. Thorburn Co. of NY City, the Dreer Company, and others. Some of Ella Gould’s petunias were on display in the gardens at the Chicago World’s Fair (Columbian Exhibition) in 1893, with a sign: “Grown from seed of Ventura’s petunia grower, Mrs. Gould of Ventura, Calif.,” thanks to a gift packet of seeds sent by an unknown admirer to the Park Superintendent of Chicago. The horticulturist at the Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, praised the Goulds’ petunias and their advanced scientific methods of breeding new hybrids.

Thomas Gould also developed a new strain of corn, “Golden-Cream Sweet Corn” that was purchased and marketed by C. C. Morse & Co. of San Francisco. The corn was recommended by W. W. Tracy of the U.S. Agricultural Department as “best for canning.” In 1911 Gould introduced a new lima bean, grown in Peru, Manchuria and other foreign countries. In 1918, Tom, Jr. recorded in the seed ledger the first payment of $1,688.60 for their limas.

Thomas (Crane) Gould, Jr. (12 Dec. 1885-18 Sept. 1981) and Mabel Bartlett Gould (8 Mar. 1887-1 Dec. 1967)

After Tom graduated from the University of Michigan Law School (where he was inducted into the “Society of Barristers” and the legal fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta) and passed the Michigan Bar in 1908, he returned to Ventura and joined his parents in the seed business. He married his childhood sweetheart, Mabel Juanita Bartlett, in the living room of the Bartlett home on March 11, 1911. They started housekeeping at 1680 Poli St. in the former home of a distant New Jersey cousin, Joe Harrison. Tom recalled that he bought the house for $900 from his Aunt Lizzie Gould who had migrated to California with the Goulds in 1887. Mabel and Tom had two children, Richard Bartlett, b. 7 Aug. 1912, and Margaret Barbara, b. 27 Dec. 1914.

Tom was very proud of the fact that he and Mabel shared a common lineage. Both were related to Andrew Warner (ca.1595-1684) through their maternal grandmothers. As best I could decipher the somewhat confusing (& sometimes contradictory) information from various genealogy records, the links are as follows. Grampa’s lines:  Andrew’s and his first wife, Mary (Mercy) Purchase’s first child, Mary (or Mercy) married John Steele, Jr. in 1645. Their son Josiah (b. 35 Feb. 1724) married Elizabeth Colton (b. 9 Dec. 1728) in Dec. 1755. Their son, Josiah Steele, Jr. (b. 24 Aug. 1760) married Phebe Smith (b.1771, d. 1847) and gave birth to a daughter Phebe Steele (b. 1799, d. 1841) who married Caleb Dodd Harrison (b.24 Jan. 1797) on 3 Jan.1823. Their daughter, Abby Dodd Harrison (b. 1828) married James Hervey Crane (b. 1824). They were the parents of Tom’s mother, Ella Elizabeth Crane. 

Nana descended from the 9^th child of Andrew Warner (and his second wife Esther). Their son, Jacob Warner and his second wife Elizabeth Goodman gave birth to Orange Warner (b.1745-6, d. 1831) who married Abigail Prindle (d. 1830) in1765. Their 4^th child, Cyrus (1773-1858) and his wife Polly Weller (m. ?). Cyrus’ and Polly’s first child, Orange Warner (1799-1871) married Apphia Edwards (1804-1855) in 1822. Their sixth child, Sarah Jane Warner (1834-1904) who married James Allen Day (1828-1915) in 1856, was the mother of Alice Maria Day Bartlett, Mabel’s mother.

Interestingly, both Andrew Warner (and his family) and John Steele, his wife Rachel Talcott, and 3 children came to America in 1630 aboard the ship Lyon. They were among the first English migrants to New England in what historians call “the Great Migration” of Puritans/Protestants who fled England with the accession of the pro-Catholic Stuarts.

Mabel Bartlett was a devoted homemaker and an avid gardener who devoted much of her time to raising native flowers and plants. She was a botany major while a student at Stanford University. She was in her freshman dormitory when the San Francisco earthquake hit on April 18, 1096 and destroyed many campus buildings.  Her gardens were a showcase of the philosophy (and plants) of Theodore Payne, horticulturist and nurseryman of southern California who led the movement to preserve and perpetuate California’s native flora. Her gardens were also designed to attract birds, and it was not unusual to see a humming bird approach her in the garden and pull out her beautiful hair to use in its nest! She also had a sewing circle for many years that engaged in philanthropic work. Nana was beloved by all as a superb hostess whose home was a gathering place for family members of all generations and their friends, whose meals were unsurpassed, and whose hand-made table decorations for birthdays, parties and special dinners brought delight to all ages. Her artistry is evident in the intricate doll clothes she made for her daughter Margaret and granddaughter Jean.

Tom worked in the seed business, farmed lima beans on his father’s property, and developed the ranch he had purchased in 1912 in what was known as “the Mound” on the east side of Ventura. By 1923, he had acquired additional adjoining land, bringing the total ranch size to around 65 acres. In December 1923, Tom formed a law partnership, the firm of Pierce and Gould, with Judge W. L. Pierce, retired judge of the superior court of San Diego. In 1932, they moved to a new office at 468 Main Street. They continued to practice law until after World War II, when both retired from practice. Thomas Gould, Jr. was a member of the Elks and an elected trustee of the Presbyterian Church. He was also a member of the board of Ventura’s Athene Dance Club. In 1924, he was elected to the Ventura high school board of trustees and then was elected president of the Trustees’ and Principals’ Organization of Ventura. He was reelected president of the Ventura Union High school board of trustees at least through 1929. During his tenure, the schools inaugurated the 6-3-3 plan and established Ventura Junior College. In 1931, Tom was named to the Committee on Unemployment Relief for Ventura, Saticoy, Ojai and Mound District. While farming, Tom also acquired additional pieces of property in Ventura and pursued his favorite hobbies: breeding fine horses and polled Herefords. For a time, he also had a race horse (name) that competed at the Ventura race track and in Tijuana. Later, he purchased “retired” cow ponies for his grandchildren (Richard, Jean, and Robert) and taught them and their friends how to ride. If you fell or got bucked off, he insisted you get right back up in the saddle and show the horse who was boss.

Margaret Barbara Gould (28 Dec. 1914-28 Sept. 1977)

After graduating from the University of Arizona, Margaret married Allen Hansen (28 May 1938) and settled in Tucson where she became a connoisseur of Native American art and was active in the Junior League, the Red Cross, and the kennel club. They divorced in 1948. In 1949, she married Robert Troxel (1917-1960) and settled in Leucadia, California. They raised and showed Boxers and Robert judged dog shows as a hobby. In the mid-1970s Margaret moved to Ventura where she lived until her death with her third husband, William Griffin, a songwriter and composer. Margaret inherited some of the family’s musical genes, for she was a talented pianist. She had no offspring. 

Richard Bartlett Gould (7 Aug. 1912-15 Apr. 1991)

After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in economics/sociology in 1934, returned to Ventura and lived in the County until his death, April 15, 1991. On April 13, 1935, Richard married Louise Estelle Hudson (b. 21 Jan. 1912) of Watsonville, CA, who he had met at Stanford. They had three children, Richard Hudson (b. 1937), Jean Bartlett (b. 1939) and Robert Allen (b. 1942). Dick (as he was known to most) and Louise were divorced in 1956. Richard married Virginia Kerr Hibbs August 8, 1958. Virginia (b. 6 May 1916, Sheridan, WY; d. 20 Nov. 2002, Ventura) had three sons, Harry, John and James from her previous marriage.

Louise Hudson Gould (Stanford BA 1933 and MA 1934 in political science) was the organist, choir director, and youth director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for many years, and active in community affairs as a member of the PEO Sisterhood. She also taught English and Social Studies at Ventura High School in the 1950s. After a year of graduate study at Stanford University, 1957-58, she was a guidance counselor and vice principal at San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara in 1958-1959. After her marriage to Emmet H. Wilson of Los Angeles in June 1959, she taught at Beverly Hills High School until her retirement in 1975, at which time they moved to Ventura where she died, 11 Feb. 1997.

After graduating from Stanford, Dick returned to Ventura, worked at a Standard Oil Company gas station, and began planting lemons on acreage adjoining his parents’ ranch. Dick and Louise began married life living in the home of Thomas and Ella Gould Sr., then, in 1936, built a home on Foothill Road. Throughout his farming career, he and his father were partners. In 1949 Richard and Tom purchased 176 acres in Camarillo along Beardsley Road. Richard subdivided his Foothill Rd. lemon orchard (with the exception of the house) in 1953 and farmed only the Camarillo property until selling the property in 1977.

Richard was a prominent civic leader in Ventura County. He was a member of the Ventura Concert Series Association Board, the Boards of the County YMCA and Boy Scouts; and was past president of both the 20-30 Club and the Ventura Rotary Club, and a member of the Camarillo Rotary Club. He served on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Ventura for many years. He served on boards of the Anacapa Corp, the Cal-Farm Insurance Co., Calavo Growers, the Diamond Walnut Growers, the Saticoy and Alta Mutual Water Cos., the Saticoy Walnut Growers Association, the Ventura Citrus Association, Peoples Lumber Co, and the Real Estate Investment Trust of California. In addition to positions on the local board of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, he was state delegate to the California Farm Bureau for 11 years and served on the Southern California Agricultural Committee for the California State Chamber of Commerce. Gould was a member of the Ventura County Republican Assembly, the Republican State Central Committee, and the Ventura County Central Committee. He also served terms as president of the Mound Elementary School Board and the Ventura County School Trustees Association. Dick had also been chairman of the Ventura County American Red Cross, the Agricultural Division of the Ventura County Community Chest Drive, and the Ventura County Historical Society.

Virginia Kerr Gould was a member of the Assistance League of Ventura County for 26 years and was founder and director of the Assistance League School in Oxnard - a school that became a national model for the education of very young, developmentally-delayed children. She was recognized for her pioneering work, with a two-year advisory appointment to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Nixon administration. The Ventura County Commission for Women and the Ventura County Professional Women’s Network also recognized her as an outstanding woman of the county for her many years of community service and volunteer work. Virginia was also a supporter of the Ventura County Museum of History and Art, and an entrepreneur and political activist, who spearheaded several grassroots campaigns to shape the direction of development in downtown Ventura.

In 1977, Dick and Virginia moved to the Keys in Ventura. After the death of his father, Thomas Gould, in 1981, Dick and Virginia did some careful renovations of the Gould home. They lived there until their respective deaths in April 1991 and November 2002. After Virginia’s death, the Gould home passed on to Tom and Mabel’s grandchildren, Dick, Jean G. Bryant, and Robert.

Gould Family Photo Gallery

Alice in living room, 1929	pool, lower terrace 1925	Effie on the east porch October 1927
east porch 1930s	Effie & Charles Daly, lower terrace 1929	dining room Easter 1952
back of house from lily pond 1949	Breakfast room and tree fern, 1960	dining room view, 1960
Bartletts on east porch, 8/30	building the rock walls, 1926	living room 4/27
Dick, Tom & Margaret 1930	East porch Father's Day bbq, 1930	Alice Bartlett, late 1930s
Bob and high school friend Peggy by the upper fish pond ca 1959	Lower pool June 1929	Pool lower terrace ca 1925
Front walk 1937	Front walk 1951	Bartlett, Daly and Gould Families on the front porch except "nana", late 1925
	Jean and Bob in front pool 1949