QUIMISAC

At the time of Spanish contact with the Chumash Indians in the Simi (a territory that included both the Little Simi and Simi valleys) there were three Indian village. They were Ta’apu, Simi’ and Quimisac. Quimisac was located in what is now Happy Camp Canyon west of Moorpark College. The village is said to have controlled much of the “fused shale” trade in the region. Fused shale is formed by the burning of petroleum underground in the geological formation in which the petroleum occurs. In this area, it is called the Modelo Formation. Elsewhere, it is generally referred to as the Monterey Formation. Depending on how hot the material gets, i.e., the degree of fusion, colors may vary from yellow, orange, red or black. The  black form is glassy, similar to obsidian. Fused shale was an important stone tool material for the Chumash and other Indian of the region.

Prior to 1,000 years ago, the fused shale from Grimes Canyon is said to have been the primary source in the area. Larger pieces of fused shale were available from the Grimes Canyon source than from Happy Camp Canyon. Points for atlatl darts required larger pieces of raw material than did the more diminutive arrowheads. With the diffusion of the bow and arrow into this area about 1,000 years ago, Happy Camp Canyon seems to have become a more important source of fused shale. The small pieces of fused shale that could be found there were adequate for the manufacture of arrowheads.

About half of the baptisms listings which cite Quimisac (or other spellings) occurred at the San Buenaventura Mission and about half at the San Fernando Mission. Based upon the number of baptisms from the village recorded at the two missions, Quimisac seems to have been about the same size as the village of Simi’. Quimisac apparently ceased to exist by the end of the first decade of the 19^th Century. The various spelling of the name of the village, as reflected in the baptismal records of the San Fernando Mission, are Quimisac, Quimisa, and Quimissac. The Spanish language does not include words that end in a hard “c” sound, so Quimisa is the form most often found in the records. John Peabody Harrington, the noted linguist and anthropologist, listed the name as kimichaq. (The mission priest cannot be counted on to have had good linguistic ears.)

The Chumash trail from Simi’ to Quimisac was called the Quimisac trail. Later, the trail/road from the headquarters of El Rancho Simi at the western end of Simi Valley to the west along the Arroyo Simi was called the Quimisa Road. (Spanish report on the precinct of the presidio of Santa Barbara – 1834). However, according to City Historian Patricia Havens, during the early Ango-American period of settlement no road existed along the arroyo west of Simi Valley. The land had been subdivided into individual ranches and fences had been erected. Nonetheless, the short little public road between Los Avenue and Oak Park, west of the County Animal Control Facility, still carries the name “Quimisa Drive” – truly an echo of the past.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Mike Kuhn

9-11-04