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Bakersfield, California
 
Bakersfield city logo
City nickname:"California's Country Music Capital"

County Kern County, California Area
 - Total
 - Water
296.3 km² (114.4 mi²)
3.4 km² (1.3 mi²) 1.14% Population  - Total (1/1/2006)
 - Density 311,824
843.4/km² Time zone Pacific: UTC-8 Latitude
Longitude
35°21'26' N
119°1'54' W Mayor: Harvey Hall City of Bakersfield Official Website

Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, California, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 247,057. The city's economy thrives on agriculture, petroleum extraction, and refining. It is one of the fastest growing of the larger cities of the United States. As of 2006 the population is estimated to be over 300,000 according to local municipal sources. It is California's third largest inland city after Fresno and Sacramento.

History

The Yokut Indians were the first people to settle in the San Joaquin Valley, some 8000 years ago. One source cites the English transliteration of the Yokuts place name for Bakersfield as as Woy Loo. In 1776, the Spanish missionary Father Francisco Garcés was the first European to reach the area. In 1851 gold was discovered in the Kern River, and in 1865 the first discovery of oil was made in the valley. Settlements grew up, and the place soon became known as "Colonel Baker's field", after one of the local settlers. When Colonel Tom Baker was given the assignment of surveying a township in 1869, the town was given the official name of "Bakersfield".

In 1880 the first school in Bakersfield was established, Norris School. The land was donated by local farmer, William Norris. About 13 to 20 kids were taught in one classroom during the 1880s. In 1915, the Norris School was rebuilt to accommodate an increase in students. In 1950 the school was torn down and reconstructed and once again in 1980. Today the Norris school district is still quite small, especially in comparison to the Bakersfield City Schools District, the state's largest.

In 1892 the first high school in Bakersfield was opened. Kern Valley High School, which was later renamed Bakersfield High School. The site is also the first campus of Bakersfield College which was relocated in the 1950s to its current location overlooking the Panorama Bluffs.

The town continued to grow, and reached a population of about 300 by 1869, and 800 by 1871. Adversities such as the floods of 1867 and 1893, and the fires of 1889 and 1919, did not reverse this trend. On May 27 1898, the San Joaquin Valley Railroad arrived in Bakersfield, giving a great boost to population. Then, in the 1930s, the Dust Bowl brought a great influx of migrant workers from the Great Plains, Arkansas and Oklahoma taking work mostly in agriculture and the oil industry. In later years, farm work in the area has mostly been conducted by Mexican immigrants.

The great earthquake of July 21, 1952, changed the appearance of Bakersfield, promoting the flat, sprawling style of building that dominates the city today.

In 1965, a university in the California State University system was founded in Bakersfield. California State University, Bakersfield today has some 7,700 students, with a special focus on business and administration.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren was raised in Bakersfield, and would later go on to decide such cases as Brown v. Board of Education and the Miranda decision.

President George W. Bush and President George H.W. Bush lived in Bakersfield while George H.W. Bush was working in the oil business in 1941.

Sources

  • Bailey, Richard C., Kern County Place Names, (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967).

Geography

Bakersfield is located at (35.357276, -119.031661), at 120 m (400 ft) in elevation. It lies near the southern tip of the San Joaquin Valley, and the southern tip of the Sierra Nevadas are just to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 296.3 km² (114.4 mi²). 292.9 km² (113.1 mi²) of it is land and 3.4 km² (1.3 mi²) of it (1.14%) is water.

The Kern River (dubbed the "Killer Kern" due to its dangerous swimming conditions) is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 250 km (155 miles) long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through the Kern River Valley and Lake Isabella, including the nearby towns of Lake Isabella, Wofford Heights, Onyx, Bodfish, Mountain Mesa and Kernville before continuing through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking. It formerly emptied into the now-dry Buena Vista Lake at the southern end of the Central Valley, but it is now entirely diverted for irrigation leaving it with no natural outlet.

Bakersfield lies approximately 160 km (100 mi) north of Los Angeles (about a 1.5-hour drive) and about 500 km (300 mi) southeast of the state capital, Sacramento (about a 4.5-hour drive).

Bakersfield is the second largest city in the United States (after Fresno) that is not directly linked to an Interstate highway, although Interstate 5 runs just west of it while another north-south freeway, State Highway 99, bisects the city. Recent years have brought increasing interest in extending Interstate 40 to Bakersfield, and on to I-5, from its western terminus at Interstate 15 in Barstow. Such an extension would almost certainly incorporate the existing State Highway 58 through the Mojave Desert and Tehachapi Mountains, much of which is already at interstate standards.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 247,057 people, 83,441 households, and 60,995 families residing in the city. 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.

There were 83,441 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,982, and the median income for a family was $45,556. Males had a median income of $38,834 versus $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.

Bakersfield is generally a politically conservative city with a large population that can trace its family roots to the western exodus of farmers from the American midwest during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. These individuals were know as "Okies" because so many of them hailed from Oklahoma which was hard hit by the dust bowl. John Steinbeck's masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath is an accurate illustration of their plight.

Local Amenities

Bakersfield is home to California State University, Bakersfield and Bakersfield College. The Kern County Museum, which boasts an extensive collection of regional artifacts, is located on Chester Avenue, just north of Downtown Bakersfield. Bakersfield is also home to the Bakersfield Blaze, a minor league baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers, who play at the historical Sam Lynn Ballpark. In downtown Bakersfield there is the major civic center, the Rabobank Arena. This arena hosts a symphony orchestra, an af2 team, the Bakersfield Blitz, and an ECHL hockey team, the Bakersfield Condors. Rabobank Arena also hosts the men's and women's basketball teams of CSU Bakersfield, who compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in Division II of the NCAA. The city is also home to the Premier Development League soccer team the Bakersfield Brigade who play at BCHS Stadium. Also downtown is Jerry's Pizza, which is known across the country for supporting the underground music scene much like the influential CBGB. Bakersfield's main airport is Meadows Field Airport, which just opened a new terminal, replacing the long outdated one. The increasing number of metropolitan amenities is due to the city's fast paced growth.

Culture

Bakersfield has a large Basque population in and around the city, and many of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque.

As is true of many cities in the Central Valley of California, a substantial number of Bakersfield residents have ancestors who migrated to the area from the Great Plains, Arkansas and Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. In John Steinbeck's historical novel The Grapes of Wrath, Bakersfield is one of the locations that the protagonists pass through. Jack Kerouac's On the Road deals with the conditions of migrant workers in this part of California.

In the 1950s, local country musicians such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Wynn Stewart helped invent a rock and roll-influenced country music style called the Bakersfield sound. Their influence was so great that Bakersfield is second only to Nashville, Tennessee, in country music fame. Bakersfield continues to produce famous country music artists.

Despite its country music fame, Bakersfield has also turned out its fair share of hard rock, most notably KoЯn, Burning Image and Adema.

The Christian community can also enjoy national performing Gospel artists, such as Flicker Records recording artist Royal Ruckus and Southern Gospel artist The Lighthouse Boys.

Off-road recreation is one of the more popular recreational activities among residents. Bakersfield has always been home to a large population of Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts. The California Department of Motor Vehicles reports as of May 2001, there are over 18,000 OHVs registered in Kern County Kern Off Highway Vehicle Association. 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. Site Located for State Vehicular Recreation Area"Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks State 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". Friends of Kern Open Space state that there are several educational programs available to train youth in proper OHV operation, including National 4-H and the California Off-Road PALS program. Friends of Kern Open Space.

Sister Cities

Bakersfield has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Sports

Club Sport League Venue Logo
Bakersfield Blaze Baseball California League; North Division Sam Lynn Ballpark
Bakersfield Condors Ice Hockey ECHL; Pacific Division Rabobank Arena
Bakersfield Blitz Indoor football af2; National Conference Rabobank Arena
Bakersfield Jam Basketball NBA Development League Rabobank Arena
Bakersfield Brigade Soccer USL Premier Development League Bakersfield Christian High School

Trivia

  • The Punk Rock band NOFX mentions burning down Bakersfield in their song "Leaving Jesusland" and also in their song "Instant Crassic"
  • The Grammy winning metal band, Korn is from Bakersfield.
  • The Rolling Stones sing of Bakersfield in "Far Away Eyes."
  • John Hiatt mentions the town in "Tennessee Plates."
  • The punk artist Henry Rollins mentions Bakersfield in "The Virtues of Black Sabbath" and "Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag".
  • Martina McBride's song "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road" opens with the line "I'm rolling out of Bakersfield."
  • Buck Owens' famous "Streets of Bakersfield", later performed with Dwight Yoakam, is about Bakersfield.
  • Johnny Cash mentions Bakersfield in his song "I've Been Everywhere."
  • The 1973 book The Onion Field, by Joseph Wambaugh, is a true story about a pair of Los Angeles Police Department officers abducted and killed in farmland near Bakersfield. The Onion Field was made into a movie in 1979.
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a book about the Joad family who migrated to California in search of work during the Dust Bowl. They settle in the "Hoovervilles" in the vicinity of Bakersfield, near Arvin. In fact, over half the book is set in the southern San Joaquin Valley.''
  • Country music legend Buck Owens lived in Bakersfield until his death, and his Crystal Palace nightclub is located on Buck Owens Blvd.
  • Daniel Amos has a song called "Bakersfield" on their Bibleland album. It deals with the death of Terry Taylor's grandfather.
  • The Fox Network broadcast "Bakersfield P.D." (1993), a sitcom about police officers in Bakersfield (one an African-American transplant from Washington, D.C., the other a local white officer) which was critically acclaimed but only lasted 17 episodes.
  • The movie The Running Man opens with the Bakersfield Food Riots, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's character is framed as "The Butcher of Bakersfield."
  • One film shot in Bakersfield is The Cell. This blockbuster is about a serial killer that videotapes his victims before drowning them. The equipment used in the victims' demise has a plate stamped "Made in Bakersfield".
  • Other films shot in and around Bakersfield include:
    • "The X-Files" (1998)
    • "K-PAX" (2001)
    • "North by Northwest" (1959)
    • "Thelma & Louise" (1991)
    • "Wag the Dog" (1997)
    • "The Break Up" (1998)
    • "Prime Target" (1989)
    • "Psycho" (1960).
  • In the movie Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, the porta-potty outhouse that washes up on the island has "Bakersfield" written on its wall.
  • In the movie Where the Heart Is, the characters in the beginning are en route to Bakersfield before stopping at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma.
  • The 1993 film Fearless opens with the aftermath of an airline crash in a corn field outside of Bakersfield and features the now defunct Golden Empire Ambulance service.
  • Any reference to Bakersfield by the writer Stephen King usually does not end up in a positive light.
  • Bakersfield is notorious for some of the worst wintertime tule fog in the entire West Coast region, with visibility sometimes dropping to 3 m (10 ft).
  • Bakersfield now has the worst air quality in North America (April, 2006).
  • In the "CRPG Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game", the ruins of Bakersfield are called Necropolis and are inhabited with ghouls, human beings mutated horribly by radiation.
  • Twin sisters from Bakersfield, Lynx and Lamb Gaede, make up the recording duo Prussian Blue.
  • Four-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears began his racing career as a resident of Bakersfield, racing in area competitions including motorcycles, off-road 4x4 and stock cars.
  • In 2005, Garth Brooks proposed to country star girlfriend Trisha Yearwood at a Buck Owens event in Bakersfield.
  • On February 26, 2006, The Bakersfield Californian included a section on Wikipedia and on the Wikipedia article about Bakersfield, providing information on the city word for word from this page and also word for word using the trivia facts provided above.
  • In the Dreamcast and PS2 game "Headhunter", the city makes an appearance (figuratively speaking) as the fictional city of "Quakersfield."
  • In The Simpsons's episode Take My Wife, Sleaze the fictional biker group, Hell's Satans, are from Bakersfield.
  • The TV series Clueless featured a storyline with two episodes in Season 3 ("Bakersfield Blues" and "Back From Bakersfield") where the main character, Cher, and her father move to Bakersfield, which is portrayed as a backward town of farmers and cowboys.
  • The webcam videos at the center of the Justin Berry story were first produced by Berry in his bedroom in suburban Bakersfield.

Famous Residents

Kern County, California

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