The Old Mill Stream

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

Built on over 300 acres of land in 1920, and promoted by Supervisor John Hart, Kern River Park was to be “The People’s Playground.”

That may be why over 12,000 people attended the opening of the park in May of 1929. The momentous occasion marked years of planning, fund-raising, and labor. Yet work would continue throughout the ‘30s for local laborers.

Howard Gilkey, the landscape architect commissioned to design the park, included plans for a water mill in his original blue prints, but it wasn’t until 1932 that local civil engineer R. E. White designed the waterwheel itself. Construction began in late 1932 using Works Project Administration money and locally donated funds. It took only five weeks for workers to complete the wheel, which measured 21 feet in diameter. Originally, it was held together by hundreds of wooden pegs (much like the 17th century Italian waterwheels it was modeled after). The paddle boards had been hand-painted with linseed oil every day for six weeks to make the wood waterproof. It was artfully designed and skillfully crafted.

A flood in February of 1937 washed the mill off its foundation and substantially damaged the structure. Thankfully, the mill and waterwheel were rebuilt in 1938. Rather than replace the wooden pegs, builders used 20,728 brass screws to hold the structure together. It’s estimated that $20,000 was spent on jobs for the rebuild.

The wheel itself developed a rated horsepower of 38 as it revolved seven times a minute (with a six-foot head of water). Additional gears helped multiply those revolutions 200 times, making the pump shaft turn at 1,400 revolutions per minute. Water was pumped for park usage, but the energy could also be converted to power an electric generator.

The mill and waterwheel deteriorated beyond the point of use. Today, 77 years after it was built, many local historians are pushing to have the water mill restored. The sound of water splashing through the paddles, and turning such a great wooden structure is vividly remembered by many Bakersfieldians—it’s a sound not easily forgotten.

Article appeared in our 27-2 Issue - June 2010