The American Beet Sugar Factory was built in 1898 on a 100-acre site between 5th Street and Wooley Road at a cost of $2,000,000 by sugar industrialists Henry, James, Robert and Benjamin Oxnard. It was the second largest sugar beet factory in the world and had a capacity of 2,000 tons daily. It processed over one million 100-pound bags of sugar per season. Albert F. Maulhardt was instrumental in bringing the factory to this area, and Major J. A. Driffill was the first General Manager. At one time, 40,000 acres of sugar beets were grown in Ventura County. The factory was demolished in 1959.