Kern County CA Archives History - Books .....County Seat Is Moved 1934 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 19, 2006, 6:32 pm Book Title: Where Rolls The Kern CHAPTER XI. County Seat Is Moved. THE year 1870 found the mines slackening their yield of the golden treasure, and with agriculture far from being established on a profitable commercial basis, county funds appear to have been somewhat scarce, just as they are in a number of counties today. It would appear that the County Judge had been meeting with difficulties in obtaining his monthly stipend, and so serious this matter had evidently become that the State Legislature took official steps to relieve His Honor of further worries along that line. February 4, 1870, the following act was officially approved: SECTION 1.—The Board of Supervisors of Kern County are hereby authorized and required annually, at their meeting in February to transfer and set apart from the General Fund of said County, an amount of money equal to the yearly salary of the County Judge of said County for the purpose of creating a special fund, which shall be known as the County Judge's Salary Fund of Kern County, and the said fund shall be devoted exclusively to the payment of the salary of said County Judge, provided, that in the year A. D. One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy the said Board shall so transfer and set apart the money herein specified prior to the first Monday in April. SECTION 2.—The Auditor shall draw his warrant for the payment of the salary of the County Judge of said County upon said County Judge's Salary Fund, in monthly installments on the first Monday of each and every month. SECTION 3.—All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. SECTION 4.—This act shall take effect on and after its passage. This interesting little sidelight on the public financial affairs of that day serves to give fairly good proof that the mining section of the county, still dominant from the standpoint of population, was no longer experiencing the flush times that obtained in its earlier days, and as we view it in retrospect it was then "on its way out," to use a more modern expression. At least one historian tells us that in this year—1870—the California State Legislature passed a bill to change the county seat from Havilah to Bakersfield, but that Governor Haight did not sign the bill and it failed to become a law. However, this writer has failed to find any official record of such a bill. Not later than the following year, however, the ambitious citizens of the young town of Bakersfield made an open display of having designs on the county seat, and a move was set in motion in that year, that was eventually, after a long hard struggle, to result in Bakers-field's obtaining the coveted prize. March 11, 1871, the first Bakersfield Club was formed with George Chester, President; John Howlett, Vice President; J. Leopold, Secretary, and. Julius Chester, Treasurer. This Bakersfield Club was quite likely the early day forerunner of the present day Chamber of Commerce, and it is quite possible that within the councils of this Club the first concrete move for the transfer of the seat of County government took place. In any event The Kern County Courier of December 16,' 1871, tells us that a petition was in circulation for the removal of the county seat from Havilah to Bakersfield. Nothing definite came from the circulation of this petition, but it undoubtedly served to cause an agitation that was to result eventually in the accomplishment of the purpose intended. An earlier issue of The Courier—October, 1871—informs us that Havilah residents were beginning to come to Bakersfield, bringing their houses with them. In fact a review of The Courier files for the years 1871 and 1872 shows that a number of progressive moves were made. In the earlier part of 1871 the paper reported that alfalfa was proving a great success on the island. It reported that the Santa Barbara Press was boosting for a railroad from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, a project that the Press shouted for for many a long year. May 13, 1871, we are informed that "Citizens subscribed $3200 for a town hall and lodge room for the Masons and I. O. O. F. An effort is being made to raise money for a church building and an express office soon to be opened." October, 1871: "Bishop Amat and Father Cade called the Catholics together to discuss the subject of building a church and school. Julius Chester, Pablo Galtes and Alexis Godey were named to raise funds." About the time of its removal from Havilah to Bakersfield, The Courier switched from the support of the Democratic to the Republican cause. This switch, however, appears to have been coincident with a change in editors; and on December 16, 1871, we find it reporting that "J. S. Brittain lands here to found a Democratic paper—The Southern Californian" May 22, 1872, the formation of a hotel association was recorded, the plan being to sell stock for the purpose of obtaining funds with which to build a first class hostelry. August, 1872, we are informed that "Drs. Baker of Visalia and Howard of San Francisco are here to look at the new coal mines and petroleum deposits at the base of the Coast Range, West of Bakersfield. The San Francisco Gas Company is planning to make gas of crude oil." November, 1872, The Courier informs us that "Colonel Baker makes the first successful attempt to burn a kiln of brick." This undoubtedly marked the energetic Colonel's last commercial effort, for he died this same month. The Great Register of 1872 contains the names of 785 voters, and shows the Bakers-field Precinct to have taken the lead in voting strength, with Linn's Valley taking second place, Tehachapi third, and Havilah, the county seat, occupying fourth position. The figures for each of the County's Precincts are as follows: Bakersfield, 245; Linn's Valley, 140; Tehachapi, 90; Havilah, 85; Kernville, 60; South Fork, 40; Sageland, 35; Bear Valley, 30; Tejon, 25; Walker's Basin, 15; Long Tom, 10. A glance at the above figures might lead the reader to believe that a ballot box contest to remove the county seat from Havilah to Bakersfield would now be little more than a matter of form; but such was far from the case. Although Havilah's voting strength had waned considerably, there was still a near preponderance of population in the mining districts; and scattered throughout the county, save Bakersfield itself, were many residents who sincerely believed that the site of Bakersfield was no fit place for human habitation, and that if the population did not all die off, it would only be a matter of time until the survivors would move to other and healthier climes. In January, 1873, a petition demanding the calling of a special election to vote on this all-important question was circulated) the necessary signatures were obtained, and the election was held February IS, 1873, prior to which a political battle royal was staged. It goes without saying that Havilah was up in arms at the prospect of losing the lone thing that enabled it to retain its claim to being the County's chief town, and many moons were to pass before it was finally going to surrender this most important of its possessions—the court house. The residents of Havilah to a man, as the vote will show, were for the retention of the prize, and as the members of the county's official family were mostly Havilah residents, it quite naturally harbored some of the best political talent of the day. Among its most aggressive and most capable supporters was Dr. L. Brown, the County Physician. Dr. Brown steadfastly claimed, and as was proven by his subsequent acts, sincerely believed, that Bakersfield was entirely unfit for human habitation and that eventually, due to this fact, there would be no town there. He "wrote pieces for the paper" and otherwise publicized his views to such an extent that, coupled with his professional and political standing, his part in the momentous contest is well worthy of special mention. Of course there were others who did their full share in Havilah's behalf; and, too, Bakersfield was not without its tireless and able workers, although, strange to relate, five residents of Bakersfield actually voted against the removal of the county seat. Whether this was due to sentimental reasons, belief in the claims of the Havilah proponents, or just pure cussedness, of course, there is no way of telling. One of the arguments advanced by the Havilah partisans with more or less telling effect was the expense of providing suitable quarters at the proposed new seat of government. To offset this argument, Morris Jacoby gave a bond with F. A. Tracy and Solomon Jewett as surities, that he would build a brick jail and lease it to the county for five years for one dollar; and Julius Chester agreed to lease a brick building to the county for offices for one dollar a year. These are only a few examples of the many tactics employed by the two bitterly contesting sides. but they serve to show that each town and its backers had the courage of their convictions, and that the eventual winner was going to know that it had been a participant in a political scrap of something more than minor proportions. Both sides to the controversy put in their best licks right up to the time of the closing of the polls The first count showed Bakersfield the victor by the scant margin of twelve votes; but Havilah was not going to give up as easily as that. At the official canvass of the vote on February 24, Supervisors Craig and Brite, constituting a majority of the Board, and both staunch Havilah adherents, voted to reject the returns from Hudson, Bear Valley and Walker Basin Precincts, claiming irregularities in the vote of those precincts, and this left Havilah the choice of the voters by a vote of 328 to 318. Now it was Bakersfield's turn to do something, and they took the matter to court, where the action of the Supervisors was sustained. The decision was appealed. Judge Deeming, sitting in the District Court in Visalia, ordered that the votes all be counted. In accordance with the court order they were finally canvassed January 26, 1874, and Bakersfield won the last round of the battle by the none too safe margin of twenty-two votes. Following was the vote by precincts: Havilah—Havilah, 97; Bakersfield, 0. South Fork—Havilah, 33; Bakersfield, 1. Hudson-Rosemyer—Havilah, 0; Bakersfield, 14. Kern Island (Bakersfield)—Havilah, 5; Bakersfield, 265. Long Tom—Havilah, 0; Bakersfield, 10. Tehachapi—Havilah, 40; Bakersfield, 18. Bear Valley—Havilah, 4; Bakersfield, 22. Sageland—Havilah, 22; Bakersfield, 1. Linn's Valley—Havilah, 38; Bakersfield, 23. Kernville—Havilah, 72; Bakersfield, 0. Claraville—Havilah, 21; Bakersfield, 0. Totals—Havilah, 332; Bakersfield, 354. No election was held in Alpine Precinct, and for some reason the vote from Walker's Basin was not included in the official count. This marked the official end of the long and bitter struggle, and thus, in 1874, the county seat was finally removed to Bakersfield, the town hall there becoming the official building of the county until the completion of a new court house which was completed in 1876. September 1, 1874, George B. Chester gave the county a deed to a block of ground that was then in the center of the town, and it was upon this plot of ground that the first county-owned Bakersfield court house was erected. The old court house at Havilah was sold to an individual, who tore it down, removed it to Bakersfield and rebuilt it as a dwelling, where it did service in this capacity for many years. It goes without saying that the contest over the removal being a most bitter one, left many sore spots that were slew to heal; but long after the smoke of battle had cleared away, many of the Havilah proponents said that they realized that the day was to come when that town would surely lose the county seat, but that they were sincere in their belief that Bakersfield, due to its location on low ground, would never permanently succeed as a city, and that it was their hope to retain the capital until such time as a town might be established in a more suitable location with the consequent better opportunities for permanent success. So sincere was Dr. Brown in his claims against the Bakersfield location that he refused to move there with the other members of the official family, and continued to reside in the more healthful mountains, where he died within a few years. Strange to relate, his widow removed to Bakersfield when she remarried, and lived to a ripe old age. The final removal of the county seat definitely marks the beginning of the era in which the valley sections of the county were to become the center of interest, but before our story is brought up to the present day, we will have to journey back to the mountains occasionally, for from time to time they have been the scene of activity of more than ordinary commercial importance. Even old Havilah, although it has never since enjoyed the greatness it enjoyed while serving as the seat of government, has had occasional partial "come backs," and even at this late day, there is quite a little activity up there due to the present attractive price of virgin gold. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Where Rolls the Kern A History of Kern County, California By Herbert G. Comfort MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA: The ENTERPRISE Press 1934 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/kern/history/1934/whererol/countyse277nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 14.0 Kb