Kern County, California


Kern County is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, metropolitan statistical area. The county spans the southern end of the Central Valley. Covering, it ranges west to the southern slope of the Coast Ranges, and east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, at the city of Ridgecrest. Its northernmost city is Delano, and its southern reach extends to just beyond Frazier Park, and the northern extremity of the parallel Antelope Valley.
The county's economy is heavily linked to agriculture and petroleum extraction. Also, a strong aviation, space, and military industry is present, such as Edwards Air Force Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the Mojave Air and Space Port.
With a population that is 54.9% Hispanic as of 2020, Kern is California's third-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the sixth-largest nationwide.

History

Indigenous Era

Native Americans lived in this region for hundreds of years: Chumash, tribes grouped together under the settler name Yokuts, and others.

Spanish era

Spain claimed the area in 1769. Entering from Grapevine Canyon to the south in 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages became the first European known to set foot in the area.
The Battle of San Emigdio took place in Kern County in March 1824. The Chumash Native Americans of Mission Santa Barbara rebelled against the Mexican government and its taking over mission property and ejecting the natives. The battle occurred in the canyon where San Emigdio Creek flows down San Emigdio Mountain and the Blue Ridge, south of Bakersfield near today's Highway 166. Mexican forces from Monterey were commanded by Carlos Carrillo and the conflict was a low-casualty encounter, with only four Native Americans being killed and no Mexicans. The surviving Native Americans were pacified and brought back to Santa Barbara in June 1824 after a pursuit and negotiation, in which many were allowed to keep their arms for the return march over the mountains.

American era

In the beginning, what was to become Kern County was dominated by mining in the mountains and in the desert. In 1855, the California legislature attempted to form a county in the area by giving the southeastern territory of Tulare County on the west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Buena Vista County. it was never officially organized prior to 1859, though, when the enabling legislation expired. The south of Tulare County was later organized as Kern County in 1866, with additions from Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. Its first county seat was the mining town of Havilah, in the mountains east of Bakersfield and north of Tehachapi.
Settlers considered the flat land of the valley inhospitable and impassable at the time due to swamps, lakes, tule reeds, and diseases such as malaria. This changed when residents started draining land for farming and constructing canals, most dug by hired Chinese laborers. Within 10 years, the valley surpassed the mining areas as the economic power of the county, and as a result, the county seat was moved from Havilah to Bakersfield in 1874.
In 1899, the discovery well of the Kern River Oil Field was dug by hand, and soon the towns of Oil City, Oil Center, and Oildale came into existence.

Etymology

The county derives its name from the Kern River, which was named for Edward Kern, cartographer for General John C. Frémont's 1845 expedition, which crossed Walker Pass. The Kern River was originally named Rio Bravo de San Felipe by Father Francisco Garcés when he explored the area in 1776.

Earthquakes

Throughout recorded history, severe earthquakes have struck Kern County, including the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake.
On July 21, 1952, an earthquake occurred with the epicenter about south of Bakersfield. It measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and killed 12 people. In addition to the deaths, it was responsible for hundreds of injuries and more than $60 million in property damage. The main shock was felt over much of California and as far away as Phoenix, Arizona, and Reno, Nevada. The earthquake occurred on the White Wolf Fault and was the strongest to occur in California since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Tehachapi suffered the greatest damage and loss of life from the earthquake, though its effects were widely felt throughout central and southern California. The event had a significant aftershock sequence that persisted into July and August, with the strongest coming on August 22, an M5.8 event with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII and resulted in two additional deaths and an additional $10 million in property damage. Repercussions of the sequence of earthquakes were still being felt in the heavily damaged downtown area of Bakersfield well into the 1990s, as city leaders attempted to improve safety of the surviving unreinforced masonry buildings.
Following the event, a field survey was conducted along the fault zone, with the goal of estimating the peak ground acceleration of the shock based on visually evaluating rock formations and other indicators. Ground disturbances that were created by the earthquakes were also surveyed, both in the valley and in the foothills, with both vertical and horizontal displacements present in the epicenter area. The motion records that were acquired from the event were significant, and a reconnaissance report was recognized for its coverage of the event, and its setting a standard for similar engineering or scientific papers.

Abuse trials

Between 1983 and 1986, several ritual sex ring child-abuse cases occurred in Kern County, resulting in numerous long prison sentences, all of which were overturned—some of them decades later, because the prosecutors had coerced false testimonies from the purported child victims. The details of these false accusations are covered extensively in the 2008 documentary Witch Hunt, narrated by Sean Penn.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is covered by water. It is the third-largest county by area in California. The tallest peak in the county is Sawmill Mountain with an elevation of 8822 ft. Its area is nearly the size of the state of New Hampshire; it extends:
Kern County suffers from severe air pollution. Particulates cause poor visibility, especially in the winter. Western Kern County lies in the San Joaquin Valley and the topography traps pollutants. Although the topography is not as unfavorable in eastern Kern County, it is a non-attainment area for particulates. Air pollution caused by particulates is "in the unhealthy range an average of 40 days a year, according to the American Lung Association's 2018 State of the Air Report.

Vegetation

comprises a considerable portion of the natural area within Kern County; the species diversity within these chaparral habitats, however, is considerably less than in many other regions of California. Whitethorn is a prominent example of chaparral species on the rocky slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the Inner Coastal Ranges. California buckeye is a notable tree found in both chaparral and forests and whose southern range terminates in Kern County.

National protected areas

Kern County was the 11th-largest county by population in California. The center of population of California is located in Kern County, in the town of Buttonwillow.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 909,235. The median age was 32.8 years. 28.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 40.9% White, 5.5% Black or African American, 2.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.1% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 30.2% from some other race, and 16.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 54.9% of the population.
86.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 281,498 households in the county, of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 301,009 housing units, of which 6.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 59.2% were owner-occupied and 40.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Racial / Ethnic Profile of places in Kern County, California

Racial / Ethnic Profile of places in Kern County, California --
Following is a table of cities and census-designated places in Kern County. Data for the United States, the state of California, and Orange County itself have been included for comparison purposes.
The majority racial/ethnic group is coded per the key below.