Best Buys In Ojai/Team Deckert – Our daily blog spotlighting the best in Ojai Valley real estate!

September 15, 2026

Quote of the Day

Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.

~ Carl Jung

This Day in History

September 15, 1858: The first transcontinental mail service to San Francisco begins. On this day in 1858, the new Overland Mail Company sends out its first two stages, inaugurating government mail service between the eastern and western regions of the nation.

With California booming, thanks to the 1849 Gold Rush, Americans east and west had been clamoring for faster and surer transcontinental mail service for years. Finally, in March 1857, the U.S. Congress passed an act authorizing an overland mail delivery service and a $600,000 yearly subsidy for whatever company could succeed in reliably transporting the mail twice a week from St. Louis to San Francisco in less than 25 days. The postmaster general awarded the first government contract and subsidy to the Overland Mail Company. Under the guidance of a board of directors that included John Butterfield and William Fargo, the Overland Mail Company spent $1 million improving its winding 2,800-mile route and building way stations at 10-15 mile intervals. Teams of thundering horses soon raced across the wide open spaces of the West, pulling custom-built Concord coaches with seats for nine passengers and a rear boot for the mail.

Though other faster mail delivery services soon came to compete with the Overland Mail Company – most famously the Pony Express – the nation’s first regular trans-western mail service continued to operate as a part of the larger Wells, Fargo and Company operation until May 10, 1869, the day the first transcontinental railroad was completed. On that day the U.S. government cancelled its last overland mail contract.

Ojai Weather

Mostly sunny – High 82 / Low 55

Total precipitation for the season – .04 inches

Lake Casitas water capacity – 95.7%

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

9:45 a.m.

One new listing has come to the market since Friday:

2045 S. Rice Road – $1,639,000

Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”

12400 Ojai Santa Paula Road – $3,995,000. (This isn’t new, rather additional acreage was added to the listing that was previously separate.)

Pic of the Day

To sustain its high metabolism, the humminghorse must consume twice its body weight in calories each day.

(I realize this might be a donkey, but “hummingdonkey” didn’t have quite the same ring to it.)

Friday, September 11, 2026

11:15 a.m.

There are four new listings on the market:

479 W. Lomita Avenue – $979,000

601 Foothill Road – $6,200,000

1230 Foothill Road – $2,095,000

(This property was already in escrow when it was listed in the MLS)

Calle Moreno land parcel – $1,200,000

Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”

1225 Shippee Lane – $10,900,000 (this had recently been cancelled on 9/8). As of this writing, there are no photos for the current listing. Here’s a link to the old listing that has photos.