Bakersfield (pop. 372,320GR2) is the county seat of Kern County, California, USA. It is one of the fastest-growing, large-population cities in the United States. As of 2007, the population was estimated at 372,320 within the city limits, making it the 11th largest municipality in California and 59th largest city in the nation according to U.S. Census estimates. The greater Bakersfield area has a population of around 468,000, including unincorporated areas, according to local municipal sources. It is California's third largest inland city, after Fresno and Sacramento. The city's economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction, and refinement industries.
FoundingIn 1863, former Iowa militia member and former California state senator, Colonel Thomas Baker, moved into the Kern Island area to champion the cause of land reclamation. He settled into a tule-reed thatched log cabin near present-day Truxtun Avenue and R Street. Baker, who had experience as a surveyor and was reputed to be one of the few government officials not corrupted by big business, was recommended to survey and lay out the town of Visalia in the late 1850s. He was also known for his hospitality.
Baker grew a field of alfalfa, near the modern Amtrak station, for travelers to feed their horses. Newspapers as far away as San Francisco advised travelers to visit Baker's field and use his field of alfalfa to feed their stock.
As more families moved to the area, Baker subsidized development out of his own pocket. He constructed public sawmills, helped other pioneers drain their land, and surveyed the land. Baker was asked to plot out a new town after a flood of the Kern River rerouted the river channel to the north. At the founding ceremony in 1869, residents surprised Baker by naming the town Bakersfield, in his honor.
Baker died of typhoid fever in 1872, and is buried at Union Cemetery.
Population growthThe town continued to grow and reached a population of about 801 by 1880, and 2,626 by 1890.[1] In 1900, its population was approximately 4,836. The town continued to grow despite major floods in 1867 and 1893, and fires in 1889 and 1919.
In 1874, the Southern Pacific Railroad established itself in the area, but was unpopular because of its high fare rate. On May 27, 1898, the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (popularly known as 'The People's Railroad'), now the Santa Fe Railroad, arrived in Bakersfield, greatly boosting the population.
In the 1930s, the Great Plains drought and dust storms (commonly called the Dust Bowl) precipitated a large influx of refugees from Arkansas and Oklahoma, who mostly found work in the agriculture and oil industries. The overwhelming number of refugees caused considerable social strife. After World War II, the city's population grew slowly and steadily.
Migration from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and southern California brought new residents, who were mostly employed by the oil industry. By 1980, Bakersfield's population was about 105,000. During the next 20 years, Bakersfield's population exploded and surpassed 250,000 by 2000. When the price of homes, violence, and gangs increased in the larger cities nearby, hundreds of families chose the area for its affordability and its relative proximity to southern California.
1952 EarthquakeOn July 22,1952 an earthquake struck at 4:52 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The earthquake, which was felt from San Francisco to the Mexican border, destroyed the nearby communities of Tehachapi and Arvin. The earthquake’s destructive force also bent cotton fields into U shapes, slid a shoulder of the Tehachapi Mountains across all four lanes of the Ridge Route, collapsed a water tower creating a flash flood, and destroyed the railroad tunnels in the mountain chain. Luckily, Bakersfield was spared, experiencing minor architectural damage without loss of life.
The first aftershock came on July 29, and did minor architectural damage, but raised fears that the flow of the Friant-Kern Canal could be dangerously altered, potentially flooding the city and surrounding areas.
Aftershocks, for the next month, had become normal to Bakersfield residents, until at 3:42 p.m August 22 a 6.5 earthquake struck directly under the town's epicenter in the most densely populated area of the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The town did have some good fortune, however, as the quake struck late on a Friday afternoon when businesses were already closed down or beginning to close down. Four people died in the aftershock, and many of the town's historic structures were permanently lost.
Historic buildingsThe great earthquake of July 21, 1952 changed the appearance of Bakersfield and led to the flat, sprawling building style which dominates the city today. The quake, centered near Bear Mountain, was the second largest quake in California history. Very few historic buildings survived the earthquake. It leveled most of downtown Bakersfield's historic Victorian brick businesses and hotels (including the once famous Southern Hotel), the historic Chinatown area on the eastern side of downtown, and turn-of-the-century buildings, including the once-ornate County Court Building.
Geography and climateBakersfield is located at (35.357276, -119.031661)GR1, and at 120 m (400 ft) elevation. It lies near the southern 'horseshoe' end of the San Joaquin Valley, with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevadas just to the east. The city limits extend to the Sequoia National Forest, at the foot of the Greenhorn Mountain Range and at the entrance to the Kern Canyon. To the south, the Tehachapi Mountains feature the historic Tejon Ranch. To the west, the Temblor Range, which features the Carrizo Plain National Monument and the San Andreas Fault, is approximately 35 miles across the valley floor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 296.3 km² (114.4 mi²). Of this, 292.9 km² (113.1 mi²) is land and 3.4 km² (1.3 mi²) is water (1.14%).
Bakersfield lies approximately 160 km (100 mi) north of Los Angeles (about a 1.5-hour drive on I-5 and State Route 99) and about 500 km (300 mi) southeast of the state capital, Sacramento (about a 4.5-hour drive on State Route 99).
Bakersfield's volume of winter tule fog is among the worst on the West Coast; visibility sometimes drops to less than 10 ft. (3 m).
The American Lung Association ranked Bakersfield as the most ozone-polluted city in the nation in 2006.[2] It was also ranked as the second-most polluted city in terms of both short-term and year-round particle pollution.[3][4]
PopulationBakersfield is a politically conservative city with complicated racial and socio-economic equity issues.
Much of the city’s population can trace its roots to the 'Okies' and 'Arkies' who immigrated to California to find work during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. More recently, Bakersfield and Kern County field and farm workers have come from Mexico, South America, and Central America. Bakersfield also has an influential Chinese community and a large Basque community.
Historically a lower-middle class city, much of Bakersfield’s community currently has an above-average teen birth rate and below-average literacy rate. In addition, gang activity and drug use, particularly of methamphetamine, has increased apace with the growing population of this area.
DemographicsAs of the 2000 census,GR2 247,057 people, 83,441 households, and 60,995 families resided in Bakersfield. The population density was 843.4/km² (2,184.4/mi²). There were 88,262 housing units at an average density of 301.3/km² (780.4/mi²).
The racial makeup of the city was 61.87% White, 9.16% Black or African American, 1.40% Native American, 4.33% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 18.68% from other races, and 4.43% from two or more races. 32.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
52.1% of households were married couples living together, 15.5% were female householders with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.5% of households consisted of a single individual; 7.2% were additionally age 65 or older. 42.5% of households claimed children under age 18. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.41.
32.7% of the population was under age 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were age 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. The total male-female ration was 94.6:100; the male-female ratio among adults age 18 or older was 90.8:100.
The median income was $39,982, while it was $45,556 among families. The medium income was $38,834 for males and $27,148 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,678. About 14.6% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government and economyThe Kern County seat, established in 1866 in the mountain town of Havilah, was moved to Bakersfield in 1874. Bakersfield has been incorporated twice in its history. It was first incorporated in 1874, but subsequently disbanded in 1876 with the purpose of deposing an unruly city marshall. The city was incorporated again in 1898. Currently, Bakersfield is governed by a city council and manager system, with a mayor acting as the presiding officer.
Bakersfield is home to the largest carrot-producing operations in the world, Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms. In addition, one of the nation's largest and oldest farming co-ops, the California Cotton Cooperative Association (CalCot), was founded in Bakersfield in 1927.
Other crops harvested in Bakersfield include table grapes, almonds, pistachios, citrus fruits, wheat, garlic, and potatoes.
In 1899, the Kern River Oil Field was uncovered at the Discovery Well by two brothers digging in a pit along the Kern River, about one-mile east of Gordon's Ferry (where, in the 1850s, the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoaches had once crossed the Kern River). Advances in steam-injection of oil wells rejuvenated the oil field in the early 1960s. The oilfield is still active today and is one of the nation's highest yielding fields of all time. Other local oil fields include the Midway-Sunset field, the former Naval Petroleum Reserve at Elk Hills, the Kern Front field, and the Belridge field. Oil is still important to the local economy, although the area's oil economy is dwindling.
Bakersfield's primary airport is Meadows Field Airport, which was renovated in 2006.
EducationTwo of the earliest schools founded in Kern County were Mrs. Thomas Baker's school, opened in 1863 at the Baker home (near present-day 19th and N Streets); and a Catholic parochial school opened by Reverend Father Daniel Dade in 1865 in Havilah (then the county seat). In 1880, Norris School was established. The land for this school was donated by William Norris, a local farmer. Thirteen to twenty students were taught in its one classroom during the 1880s. In 1915, the Norris School was rebuilt to accommodate a growing number of students. It was torn down and reconstructed in 1950, and once again in 1980. Today the Norris School District is growing very steadily thanks to extremely fast-growing home developments in northwest Bakersfield, and is recognized for the quality of its students and education. However, it is still smaller than the huge Bakersfield City School District (BCSD), the state's largest elementary school district. The BCSD serves most of the schools on the east side of town. Other Bakersfield area elementary school districts include Panama-Buena Vista, Rosedale, and Fruitvale. The first high school in Bakersfield, Kern County Union High School, opened in 1893. It was renamed Bakersfield High School after World War II.
The site at California Avenue and F Street is the location of the first campus of Bakersfield College, which was established in 1913 and relocated in 1956 to its current location overlooking the Panorama Bluffs in northeast Bakersfield. Bakersfield College has a yearly enrollment of 12,000 to 14,000 students. To serve a growing baby-boomer population after World War II, the Kern High School District has steadily expanded to eighteen campuses and more than 35,000 students, making it the largest high school district in the state. In 1965, a university in the California State University system was founded in Bakersfield. California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) has approximately 7,800 students. It is an NCAA Division II sports powerhouse in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and some sports, including wrestling (PAC-10), competing in Division I. CSUB is currently attempting to join the Big West Conference and become a Division I athletic school.
Despite efforts to improve college-going rates in the community, Bakersfield still lags in that area. According to a March 2006 study by the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, the Bakersfield metropolitan area is one of the lowest college-educated communities in the nation. Calculated using 2000 US Census figures, the study shows that only 13.5% of adults in the Bakersfield area have a bachelor's degree or higher. This contrasts sharply with the state and the national figures of 28% and 24%, respectively.
Urban growthBakersfield continues to grow, and is known for its friendliness toward economic expansion and highly-diversified business community.
Housing and developmentBakersfield city limits continue to expand due to a 'hopscotch' pattern of housing development. Westward annexation, which could eventually subsume the area between the base of the Sierra Nevada range and the Temblor Range, has led some planners to consider incorporating a new city to govern the area of rapid growth to the west of the city.
The city of Shafter, a small farming town north of Bakersfield, has filed a suit to limit the northern expansion of Bakersfield's limits. Shafter has also annexed large pieces of farmland to its east and south to ensure that Bakersfield does not envelop its southern area.
The large bluff and plateau which lie east of Bakersfield—toward the Rio Bravo and Kern Canyon area—have been under development for the last sixty years. Because the steep, north-facing edge of the bluff provides a view of the foothills, mountains, oil fields, and Kern River, the city government has attempted to balance development and preservation in this area. In addition, city leaders recognize the possibility that extensive development may lead to erosion and landslides.
HighwaysBakersfield is the second largest city in the U.S that is not directly linked to an Interstate highway; second only to Fresno[1]
Though interest in extending Interstate 40 to Bakersfield has increased in recent years, lack of funding has prevented the proposed extension of I-40 to a neighboring city, San Luis Obispo.
Currently, plans for freeway alignments to the metropolitan Bakersfield area include three east-west connections on the northern, central, and southern parts of town. These connections would link Highways 58 and 178, the future downtown Centennial Corridor, and the future Kern River Westside Parkway to one another or to State Route 99. In addition, a north-south extension west of Rosedale would connect the southern, central, and northern alignments.[2]
Another plan proposes a link between the northern east-west alignment along 7th Standard Road and I-5. This new connection would be designated Highway 58. Congressional funding has been secured for this 25-35 year project; construction is scheduled to begin by 2010..[3][4]
Another proposal would upgrade and re-designate Highway 99 as an Interstate highway to be named Interstate 9[5].
CultureMany of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque,[5] including Woolgrowers, Maitia's, Noriega's, Pyrenees, Sandrini's, Benji's, Narducci's, and Italian Restaurant Luigi's.
Bakersfield has four movie theaters:
The Kern County Museum, located on Chester Avenue just north of downtown Bakersfield, boasts an extensive collection of regional artifacts. Permanent exhibits include: 'Black Gold: The Oil Experience', a hands-on modern approach at showing how oil is mined; and 'The Lori Brock Children's Discovery Museum', a hands-on children's museum and a display on the influential 'Bakersfield Sound' style of country music.
EventsEvery Spring, Bakersfield hosts one of California's Scottish Games and Clan Gathering. [6]
MusicIn the 1950s and -60s, local musicians such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Wynn Stewart helped invent a rock and roll-influenced country music style called the Bakersfield sound. Bakersfield country was notable for its simple production and straightforward, rock 'n' roll delivery. Today, Bakersfield is second only to Nashville, Tennessee, in country music fame, and Bakersfield continues to produce famous country music artists. Buck Owens' Crystal Palace is still one of the most respected concert venues, regularly showing off new recording artists, as well as established Country music stars. Buddy Allan(Buck's son), performs with The Buckaroos( Doyle Curtsinger,Jim Shaw,Terry Christoffersen and David Wulfekuehler)regularly.
In the early 1990's, a group of friends from the middle-class suburbs of Bakersfield known as KoЯn helped revitalize the faltering heavy metal genre. By employing low-tuned 7-string guitars and punchily-tuned drums and bass, KoЯn helped to create the nu metal movement, which, with the help of locals like Adema and Midnight Panic, would become identified in part with Bakersfield.
In the early 80s Burning Image, one of the most respected American goth/deathrock bands, also originated in Bakersfield.
Several gospel artists, such as Royal Ruckus and The Lighthouse Boys, also host performances in Bakersfield.
Sports and recreationBakersfield is home to a large population of off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts. As of May 2001, over 18,000 OHVs were registered in Kern County. [7] On May 26, 2005, the City of Bakersfield and the State of California Parks department obtained an assignable option, using a grant from the OHV Trust funds, to purchase a prospective 11,000 acre (45 km²) site for an OHV park.[8] Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks, remarked, 'This project responds to the needs of the Bakersfield community for increased recreation opportunities and will provide a cornerstone for the Central Valley Strategy.' Several programs, including National 4-H and California Off-Road PALS, exist to train youth in proper OHV recreation.[9].
Bakersfield also hosts various amateur sporting events, including shooting, cycling, boat drag, rugby, water skiing, soccer, youth baseball, tennis, horseshoes, and volleyball competitions. Other recreational opportunities include whitewater rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and skiing in the southern Sierras.
The city’s major civic center, the Rabobank Arena in downtown Bakersfield, is home to the Bakersfield Blitz; an af2 team, the Bakersfield Condors; an ECHL AA-level hockey team, the Bakersfield Jam and the NBA Developmental League. In addition, the arena hosts basketball teams of CSU Bakersfield, the California State High School Wrestling Championships, sporting, and entertainment conventions.
Other arenas include the McMurtrey Aquatic Center, which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool that hosts high-school events, a recreational pool with two waterslides, a smaller 'child safe' pool, lockers, showers, and much more. The Kern County Soccer Park is the largest soccer facility in California.
Bakersfield has been a stop for the Ben Hogan and Nike Golf Tours. It also hosts PGA qualifying events and NCAA Division II regionals and tournaments. Courses include the private Seven Oaks Country Club, the Bakersfield Country Club, the Rio Bravo Country Club and the public River Lakes Golf Club.
Fox Theatre is a restored movie theatre. It hosts movies, concerts and entertainers.
Football is the most prevalent sport in Bakersfield. The Bakersfield High School team has won more total games, sections, and state titles than any other California school and the Bakersfield College team has won four national championships. In addition, several notable NFL athletes, including Frank Gifford,Brent McClanahan,David Carr, Rashaan Shehee, Brock Marion, and Joey Porter first played football at one of the seventeen Bakersfield-area high schools.
The Bakersfield Speedway is a 1/3 mile banked clay oval track in Oildale. It hosts weekly Saturday-night racing, most notably the World of Outlaws. The Bakersfield Speedway is currently attempting to become a more nationally significant track by hosting races that feature out-of-state drivers.
After the destruction of the Mesa Marin Raceway, a new track, currently known as Kern County's New Home to NASCAR [6], was approved for construction by the Kern County Board of Supervisors in December, 2006. The track will be built west of Bakersfield at the Interstate-5/Highway 43 (Enos Lane) interchange near the Kern River, on what is now an almond orchard. Current designs indicate a 1/2 mile, high-banked oval, similar to its predecessor, which will allow speeds over 120 mph. It will be outfitted with luxury suites, modern facilities, a drag strip, SAFER barriers, Nextel Cup-quality surfacing, and lighting. The stadium will have a capacity of over 5,000. Marion Collins and his family will oversee the facility while the DeStefanis, who own the land, will put up most of the capital. The track is set to open for the 2008 racing season and will host local racing events, a popular high school racing series, and the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series events. The name of the track is being withheld in hopes of finding a corporate sponsor.
In addition, Bakersfield hosts the March Meets, a drag racing series, at the Famoso Drag Strip. The initial March Meets were started by the car club The Bakersfield Smokers, and included the legendary Swamp Rat machine driven by 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits. Garlits came from Florida to prove himself to the west coasters who claimed to have invented drag racing. This event, which originally cast legitimacy on the fledgling NHRA of the 1950s, is now a nostalgic drag racing event held every March.
Notable residents and former residents Science and medicineMany films and television shows are filmed in and around Bakersfield. This list represents a selection of those which feature specific references to the city.
Bakersfield has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
