Kern History

When Colonel Thomas Baker’s bones were laid to rest in 1872, they were placed in a very specific location. That’s because Baker, himself, selected the site for his eternal resting place...

Like an eerie ghost ship sailing on a sandy sea, the Muroc-Maru was a full-scale wood, chicken wire, and tar model of a Japanese navy cruiser that stretched over 600 feet. Bombardiers and pilots, alike, used the mock-up for strafing, identification, and skip bombing practice...

The Old West was a time of outlaws, sheriffs, and cowboys roaming the countryside on their trusty horses and saving the occasional damsel in distress. This highly romanticized era has gotten more than its fair share of playtime (“Cowboys and Indians,” anyone?), and it’s also spent a lot of time on the silver screen...

This is the second part of our story on Kern’s earliest residents: the Native American people who first called this area home.

Long before our written history began, and years before a plough ever touched the fertile soil of our county, the land we now call home was enjoyed and revered by its first residents.

There was a time in Bakersfield’s history that was defined not by constant advances in technology, but by simple people and simple pleasures. For all the places one could stop in for a whiskey, there were just as many places one could stop in to have another need sated.

The history of American public education is fascinating and it can be seen in the chronicles of our own area’s rich history.

Tales of ghoulish apparitions, creaky houses, and floating spirits are about as prevalent during the month of October as chocolate is on Valentine’s Day. After all, people like to be spooked—that rush of adrenaline is addictive...

In the early days of our fair city, the fire department was comprised of three different companies...

The Roaring ‘20s changed the face of the bustling little oil and farming city known as Bakersfield...