Forgotten Foster Park

Surrounded by steeply sloped hillsides, Foster Park was a tiny rural community that took shape during the oil boom of the 1920s. It was situated at a bend on Highway 33 adjacent to Foster Memorial Park, for which it was named. Among the 50 or so homes was a thriving business district that most notably included a dance hall hosting musical greats of the time—such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Everly Brothers—and a saloon equipped with a boxing ring. The Ventura River, once loaded ...