Kern County, California - info, facts, communities on Key to the City

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Information & Facts about Kern County, California

Attractions & other Information - Climate - Economy - Genealogy - Geography -
Government - History - Libraries - Location - Organizations & Groups -
Other Facts & Figures - Population - Schools

Government

Kern County official website
1115 Truxtun Avenue, Fifth Floor
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 868-3140
FAX: (661) 868-3100

County Clerk
1115 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 868-3588

City of Bakersfield
1501 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield, California 93301
Phone: 661-326-3000

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Population:

1990 - 543,477
2000 - 661,645
2004 - 734,846
2005 - 771,300
2006 - 779,869
2010 - 871,600 (projection)

Housing Units
2000 - 231,564

Population Density
2000 - 81 persons per square mile

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Location:

The county extends east beyond the southern slope of the Eastern Sierra Nevada range into the Mojave Desert, and includes parts of the Western Indian Wells Valley, and Northern Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles County, an area larger than the state of Massachusetts. From the Sierra's the county extends across the floor of the San Joaquin Valley to the eastern edge of the Temblor Range, part of the Coastal Ranges. To the south the county extends over the ridge of the Tehachapi Mountains.

Kern County is in the central valley of California.
Surrounding counties are:
South: Los Angeles County and Ventura County
Southwest: Santa Barbara County
West: San Luis Obispo County
Northwest: Kings County
North: Tulare County
Northeast Inyo County
East: San Bernardino County

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Climate:

Average yearly rainfall: 5.72 inches

Average Annual Temperature: 65.5 Degrees (F)
Average Annual High Temperature: 77.8 Degrees (F)
Average Annual Low Temperature: 53.1 Degrees (F)

Kern County enjoys a moderate climate with generally mild temperatures throughout the year. 100+ temperatures occur about 38 days per year while below freezing temperatures only happen on twelve days per year. There are usually 223 sunny days every year. The county has several general climate areas including valley, mountain and high desert.

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Other Facts and Figures:

Median Household Income:
2000 - 35,446

2001 - $36,486

Mean Household Income:
2001 - $47,124

Per Capita Income:
2000 - $15,760

Median age:
2000 - 30.6 years

Median House Value
2000 - 93,300

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History:

In 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages was the first European to come to the area that had been claimed by the Spanish in 1769. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was enacted bringing California, Nevada and Utah into the United States. The county was created in 1866 but not much development occurred due to its swamps, lakes and diseases like malaria that went along with the terrain. Once hardy settlers arrived and began to drain the land for farming and making canals to direct the water, the area attracted more people. Before this time the major activity was mining but after the improvements, mostly completed by Chinese laborers, the community areas and their businesses, along with agriculture, began to take over as the major portions of the county's economy.

The first county seat was the mining town of Havilah in the mountains between Bakersfield and Tehachapi. The county seat was moved from Havilah to Bakersfield in 1874. For the most part, the new settlers and the native inhabitants of the area meshed together well, but a few incidents stand out. Most well-known was the slaughter of five Indians in 1856 and the Keyesville Massacre in 1863 where 35 Indians were killed by soldiers. Some of the native tribes were the Mohave, Paiute and Yokuts. The Yukuts have mostly disappeared and the Paiute live mainly in the mountain areas. There are no reservations in the county area..

When the county was created in 1866, it was carved out of portions of both Los Angeles and Tulare Counties. The name for the county came from the Kern River. The river was named for Edward Kern who was a topographer for the 1845 expedition of John C. Fremont. Fort Tejon was built at the top of the Grapevine Canyon in the early 1850's near what is now Lebec. It was built to protect the peaceful Indians in the area from the more hostile Mohave and Paiutes. Today is is a state historic park.

A large earthquake hit the area on 21 July 1952, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale. Twelve people were killed. Much damage occurred as well as numerous injuries. It was on the White Wolf Fault and was second in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The military and government-related industry in the county remains large. Edwards Air Force Base is the Air Force main flight test facility. The first landing of the Space Shuttle was here at Edwards. The Mojave Spaceport and the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station are also located here.

This page lists the names of communities and areas within the county, some of which don't even exist anymore except in memory. Some have been absorbed into larger cities and some are very tiny places.

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Geography:

Total area: 8,161 square miles
Total Land area: 8,141 square miles
Total water area: 20 square miles

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Genealogy:

US GenWeb page for Kern County

Cemeteries of Kern County

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Libraries:

Kern County Library

Kern County Law Library

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Schools:

Kern County Superintendent of Schools
1300 17th Street - CITY CENTRE
Bakersfield, CA 93301-4533
Phone: (661) 636-4000

California State University at Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Highway,
Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022 �
Phone: (661) 654-CSUB

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Economy:

Wind Energy:
The Tehachapi wind resources area generates almost half of the wind energy produced in the state of California, providing approximately 1% of the states overal electricity needs.

Employment in the area is provided by:

Educational, health and social services - 19.6%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining - 12.3%
Retail Trade - 10.7%

Kern Economic Development Center

The county has a large agricultural base and is a significant producer of oil, natural gas, hydro-electric power, wind-turbine power, and geothermal power. As of 2004, Kern remains California's top oil-producing county, with over 85% of the state's 43,000 oil wells. The county accounts for one-tenth of overall U.S. oil production, and three of the five largest U.S. oil fields are in Kern County. Kern is also noted for its mineral wealth, including gold, borite, and kernite. Edwards Air Force Base, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and Mojave Spaceport are located in Kern County (the latter being owned and operated by the county itself.)

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Organizations & Groups

Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
1725 Eye Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661)327-4421
Fax: (661)327-8751

Kern County Historical Society
PO Box 141
Bakersfield, CA 93302

Kern County Archaeological Society
PO Box 9793
Bakersfield, CA 93389

Kern County Division of Tourism
2101 Oak St.
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Toll-free: (800) 500-KERN
Phone: (661) 868-5376

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Attractions & Other Information

Air Force Flight Test Center Museum
405 S. Rosamond Boulevard
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards, CA 93523

Bakersfield Museum of Art
1930 R Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: 661-323-7219

Birding and more in Kern County

Boron Twenty Mule Team Museum
26962 Twenty Mule Team Road
Boron, CA 93516
Phone: 760-762-5810

Buena Vista Museum of Natural History
2018 Chester Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: 661-324-6350

Buck Owens Crystal Palace Museum
2800 Buck Owens Boulevard
Bakersfield, CA 93308
Phone: 661-328-7560

California Living Museum (CALM)
10500 Alfred Harrell Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93306
Phone: 661-872-2256

Cowboy Memorial and Library
40371 Cowboy Lane
Walker Basin Road
Caliente, CA 93518
Phone: 661-867-2410

Dryden Flight Research Center
PO Box 273
Edwards, CA 93523
661-276-3311

Fort Tejon State Historic Park
4201 Fort Tejon Road
Lebec, CA
661-248-6692

Kern County Museum
3801 Chester Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 852-5000
Fax: (661) 322-6415
Founded in 1941 and located north of downtown Bakersfield

Kern Valley Museum
49 Big Blue Road
PO Box 651
Kernville, CA 93238
760-376-6683

Maturango Museum of the Indian Wells Valley
100 E. Las Flores
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
760-375-6900

Meadows Field Airport
Terminal: 3701 Wings Way Bakersfield, CA 93308
Administration: 3701 Wings Way Ste. 300 Bakersfield, CA 93308
Phone: (661) 391-1800

Minter Field Air Museum
401 Vultree Street
PO Box 445
Shafter, CA 93263
661-393-0291

Red Rock Canyon State Park
25 miles northeast of Mojave on Highway 14
661-942-0662

Ridge Route Communities Museum
6930 Lake Place
Frazier Park, CA
661-245-7747

Shafter Depot Museum
150 N. Central Valley Highway
Shafter, CA 93263
Phone: 661-746-1557

Tehachapi Museum
310 South Green Street
Tehachapi, CA 93561
Phone: 661-822-8152

Trees of Kern County

U. S. Naval Museum of Armament & Technology
China Lake Naval Weapons Center
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
760-939-3530

Wasco Museum
918 6th Street
Wasco, CA
661-758-8948

West Kern Oil Museum
1168 Wood Street
Taft, CA 93268
Phone: 661-765-6664

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This page was created on 25 August 2006 and was last updated on 28 July 2011 at 10:49 pm