Description

Port Hueneme is a city of 25,000 residents surrounded on three sides by the City of Oxnard, with the Pacific Ocean as its western front. Port Hueneme's identity and character have endured valiantly despite the outside influences of the much larger city, a sometimes violent ocean, and the world's greatest armada. The U.S. Navy arrived in an enormous way at Port Hueneme during World War II to take command of the only deep-water port between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The servicemen stayed during the Korean War, maintaining an abiding relationship with the community. And still, the town itself has the strength of longevity, being three decades older than Oxnard and with a pioneering legacy of farmers, fishermen, merchants, and families. They survived, repeating the requisite spelling and pronunciation ("Y-nee-mee") of their city's name, which is Chumash Indian for "halfway" or "resting place" between Point Mugu and the estuary of the Santa Clara River.