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The idea for building a Port at point Hueneme was the direct result of a coastal exploration by Thomas Bard in 1867. Bard had learned of a freak submarine valley (Hueneme Canyon over 1000 feet deep that came within 300 feet of the proposed channel and how an underground river would keep the channel free of silt. Growing frustrations experienced by Ventura County’s early agricultural industry in getting its expanding grain surpluses to broader markets only tended to confirm Bard’s vision of a port to serve as an entrepot for the area’s vast agricultural potential. Taking advantage of Hueneme Canyon, a 1500-foot (Bard’s) wharf was constructed in 1872 to lighter goods between the coast and ships off shore