Since 1978, our nonprofit student club has managed the historic West Campus Stables as a resource for UCSB students, faculty and staff. Horses have lived at the stables for at least a century. A major goal of our club is to run an environmentally sensitive, affordable stables for UCSB students and their horses. To restore and enhance native habitats and wildlife, we are developing a comprehensive restoration plan for the West Campus Stables area.

Proposal: Our stables is a nesting area for many birds, including Great-Horned Owls, Barn Owls, Red-shouldered Hawks and hundreds of Cliff Swallows. The eucalyptus trees surrounding the stables are roosts and nest sites for these birds. We propose to restore native riparian woodlands and assure continued habitat for these birds by planting native trees to gradually replace the aging exotic eucalyptus. We will plant Western Sycamore in the degraded riparian corridor which connects the IVPRD Camino Corto property and the north finger of Devereux Slough. To enhance biodiversity of wildlife in the area and provide potential habitat for California Quail (recently extinct at Del Sol Vernal Pools), we will plant Elderberry, Wild Rose and Wild Blackberry to increase the cover, food and native shrub diversity of the north facing slope of the property above the riparian corridor.

Status of Project:
On May 20, 2001 native plants of local stocks of Western Sycamore, Elderberry, Wild Rose and Wild Blackberry were purchased from Growing Solutions (a local non-profit native plant nursery) and planted. Drip irrigation was installed and used as needed through the summer months. Weeds were controlled using mulch and hand labor. By Fall of 2003, the plants were thriving and already providing habitat for native birds. Through an additional grant, we purchased many more plants of the same species and also added cottonwood.

This project was made possible through generous grants from the Shoreline Preservation Fund.

Proposal: The distinctive red Campbell barn overlooks West Campus Stables, and the HBA would like to help restore the historic building to its old splendor. In order to do this, structural repairs are necessary, and the roof needs to be replaced. As you might imagine, these repairs will be fairly expensive. We are currently postponing this part of the project until we find a UCSB sponsor and the necessary funds.

Status of Project: In the spring of 2001, HBA member Jenny Dugan, a research biologist at UCSB, and Anita Guerrini, a history and environmental studies professor at UCSB, worked together to secure a grant to study the history of the Campbell barn and ranch. Hopefully, learning more about the history of the barn and the ranch will allow us to greater appreciate this historical structure, and help raise awareness in the community in order to save such a unique and beautiful building.
In the summer of 2001 a $24,880 grant was awarded by the UCSB Pearl Chase fund for Dr. Anita Guerrini and collegues to study the barn and its historical significance through June 2003.
In May 2002 we were told by the advisory board of architectural historians that the Campbell barn met all the criteria for landmark status, but it doesn't have any official historical status as of yet.

History: The majestic Campbell Barn is the oldest building left standing on the UCSB campus. It was once part of the Campbell Ranch in western Goleta Valley which encompassed 500 acres including the entire Coal Oil Point area, today the UCSB's West Campus and Coal Oil Point Reserve, and a separate 250 acre parcel on the south side of Hollister Avenue. What once was the winding hand-built entry road to the estate is now the main road on UCSB's West Campus. The Campbell family built a large rambling mansion, many outbuildings, guest cottages, a bunkhouse, and the barn.

Today, only remnants of the ranch remain, but a few of the surviving buildings are still in daily use. The scenic original road provides all or part of the access to the University Child Care Center, West Campus Faculty Housing, the West Campus Stables, the Cliff House, Coal Oil Point Reserve and the Devereux Foundation's campus. The grounds and ranch were landscaped with rows of olive, eucalyptus and cypress trees, many of which still stand today. A polo field that later became an airstrip for Campbell's son is now the site of West Campus Point faculty housing. The Campbell's mansion is used as part of the Devereux Foundation Campus and was renovated in the late 1980's.

The English Polo Barn architecture of the Campbell barn is unique to the region and may be the only surviving example on the south coast. The wooden barn was closed for use following damage to the foundation in the 1978 earthquake. The spacious red barn housed horses, feed and equipment until that time.

The Campbell Ranch Research Project

Historical information compiled by Jenny Dugan, using "In the Grand Manor, the Story of Devereux Hall" by Gary Coombs and Phyllis Olsen.