Bakersfield's Sound

By 1890, the Kern County Land Company was in full-force, cultivating the surrounding areas of Bakersfield. The plan was to colonize sections of land within a few miles of town. One section, in particular, was called The Rosedale Colony...

What words come to mind when you think of Bakersfield? In the 1970s, they were “sun, fun, stay, and play.” These words marked the edges of town at the north and south ends on Highway 99. These bright, old signs harken back to an era when families still took road trips in the car (without a TV and Blu-ray player). Erected to promote passers-through to stop and support local businesses, the mammoth signs were 49 feet tall and 60 feet wide so drivers on the 99 couldn’t help but notice.

The mysterious message found carved into the bark of an oak tree read: “Peter Lebeck [sic] Killed by a X Bear Oct 17 1837.” The discovery of Lebec's famous epitaph by the Foxtail Rangers was not the first, but was definitive proof that Lebec once lived and was struck down by a grizzly and buried below the tree that bears (pun intended) the inscription...

What’s more exciting than fast cars and fireworks? In 1911, nothing.

When the discovery of Bakersfield’s oil in the early 1900s didn’t garner the national recognition that Kern River oilmen believed it deserved, they hatched a plan and brought it to the attention of the City of Bakersfield...

Bakersfield and Kern County have long had a romance with the rails. In the late 1800s, just a few decades after Cyrus K. Holliday started the Santa Fe Railway in 1859, the land in these parts was well-covered with steel tracks. With freight lines and passenger lines traveling north and south, east and west, the Kern County railroad industry was growing at an unprecedented rate...

For many in Bakersfield, the holiday season didn’t truly begin until they had driven by the Hopple’s house. Loading the family into the station wagon and cruising down Elm Street to view the festively-decorated home was as much a tradition as picking out a Christmas tree or roasting chestnuts...

If you’re wondering why you feel the intense desire to put on a cable-knit sweater, even though it’s not technically sweater-weather here in Bakersfield, it’s because you sense that ever-elusive phenomenon known as “fall” approaching. But fall is a big deal in our town and it always has been...for one reason, in particular.

Traveling along Julius Chester’s new stagecoach service from Bakersfield to Glennville and back was a 16-hour round trip over fairly rough terrain. So, John Elden got the idea...

A visit to “The People's Playground,” where the famous waterwheel has captivated so many in our history.

During the tumultuous 1920s, Bakersfield police were having to enforce new local laws—but they had a secret weapon...