[5][6][7] The original wharf was built to serve the new farmers on the Oxnard Plain and became the largest grain shipping port south of San Francisco.

[12] European immigrants began farming on the Oxnard Plain in the 1860s but the area was isolated due to the difficult overland routes.

Thomas R. Bard chose Point Hueneme[13] as the site of a wharf to take advantage of the naturally occurring depth of a submarine canyon.

[17] Three- and four-masted wooden schooners brought lumber from the north and carried grain, lima beans and sheep to markets in San Francisco.

Hoping to connect the new wharf with ore mines in Inyo County, Bard launched a campaign to build a road through the Santa Clara River Valley.

In 1898, the railroad line that had connected Ventura to Los Angeles crossed the Santa Clara River at El Rio on a new bridge.

[1] The U.S. military took control of the entire harbor after the outbreak of World War II and significantly enlarged the deep water port.

[24] Several other large properties adjacent to port were also acquired to establish the Advance Base Depot which began operating May 18, 1942 to provide support for the Naval Construction Force, commonly called the Seabees.

[26] In 2008 the port repaired the 3,050-foot seawall (930 m) on the south side of the entrance that protects the shoreline and marine terminals from coastal erosion.

The ports want to be more competitive and more attractive by sharing knowledge, policies and best practices on training, facilities development, engineering and technical services, security, supply chain logistics and environmental protection.

[28][29] The port formed a partnership with global container shipping line, SeaLand, in 2016 for their West Coast Central America route.

The new route allowed products to arrive in Ventura County sooner and provided a convenient point to import and export goods from Central and South America for local companies.

[38] The additional land and buildings helped stage the backlog of containers and get commodities to market which enabled the port to take on more cargo and avoid congestion.

[50] The port provides a stream of delivery to auto dealers in a dozen western states, Canada, and Mexico via locomotives and car carrier trucks.

This resulted from foreign automakers starting to build factories on U.S. soil in the early 1980s and domestic manufacturers seeking expansion in the international market.

NBVC:Port Hueneme and OHD have a Joint Use Agreement that provides up to 25 acres (10 ha) of secondary parcels for staging.

There is more than 300 acres (120 ha) of lay-down space with portside access for 16 miles (26 km) of rail for on- and off-loading military freight for the various branches of service.

[6] Response to any "on water" hazardous materials spill is provided by Navy Port Operations personnel as they are first responder qualified.

A ceremony at the harbor placed the following ships into active service The five deep-water berths are equipped with shore-side power capacity for vessels to plug in.

[11] Two refrigerated container vessels, owned by Fresh Del Monte Produce, plug into the system when docked at the port.

[64] The Oxnard Harbor District acquired the Ventura County Railway Company LLC, a 12.9-mile (20.8 km) short line railroad, in 2003.

[69][70] The new interchange at Highway 101 and Rice Avenue was dedicated in 2014 after being improved and expanded from a two-lane overpass with narrow freeway ramps that required sharp difficult turns for trucks.

[9] The interchange and road improvements also made Rice Avenue, rather than Oxnard Boulevard, the main thoroughfare between the Ventura Freeway and the Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1).

Funding is being allocated for design with a desire by local officials to eventually get the estimated $35 million need for this grade separation project.

[74] The commissioners must live within the district and LAFCO agreed with the cities that the boundary should match the area that is most influenced by actions taken by the port.

[77][78][79] Voters rejected the measure and elected two new city council members who were on good terms with harbor district leaders.

Once a month, volunteers trap cats that are new to the colony, take them to a spay and neuter clinic to be sterilized, given shots to prevent feline diseases, and get their right ears clipped so they can be identified.

[82] The biggest problem with the colony is that other people feed the animals and throw the population out of balance with the harbor rodents the cats are there to control.

[83] MV Conception, a dive boat that caught fire and sank, was brought to the port from Santa Cruz Island overnight on September 13, 2019 to provide a secure location for the investigation.

[84] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the port partnered with various organizations such as World Central Kitchen, local restaurants, and other groups to feed essential workers.