Kern County CA Archives History - Books .....Kern County Today 1934
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Book Title: Where Rolls The Kern

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Kern County Today.

   JUST as the last lines of this work are being written in the latter part of
May, 1934, plans are under way in Kern County for the celebration, June 2d, of
the completion of the last link of the Golden State Highway through the city of
Bakersfield, the leading features of the link being a $500,000 bridge at the
North entrance to the city, and a $50,000 traffic circle and an underpass just
North of the city. The half million dollar bridge provides the means of passage
over Kern River, succeeding after an interval of many years—though not many
historically speaking—the ferry of J. E Stine at Telegraph Crossing, which was
operated in the late '60's at a toll of $2.00 for a wagon and two horses, and
fifty cents for a horse and rider.

   Over this great Golden State Highway pass thousands of cars a day, as against
a horse-drawn stage or two a week, and a few private conveyances of the '60's;
and this is only one of several major highways that traverse the County. In
addition there is El Camino Sierra running from Mojave through Eastern Kern
County to the Inyo-Mono Summer playground. There is another from Bakersfield
going through the Sequoia National Forest and connecting with the last mentioned
via Walker's Pass. Then there is another East and West highway extending from
Famosa to Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County. Add to these a system of County
highways and only a small part of the transportation facilities of the County
are accounted for.

   The Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe Railroads and the Pacific Greyhound
Stages maintain regular and frequent schedules, with another mode of travel
growing by leaps and bounds—air travel. There are eight airports in the County.
Just North of Bakersfield there is a port occupying 160 acres, ranking as one of
the best in the nation, with a runway of 3,700 feet. It is said to be the first
county-owned airport in the world.

   It is generally conceded that the development of transportation facilities is
a true index to community growth. Granting this to be true, which it undoubtedly
is, just compare the transportation facilities enumerated above with those of
the days when agriculture failed of commercial success because of inadequate
means of transportation, and you may get at least a faint impression of the
tremendous change that has taken place in Kern County, almost within the memory
of men now living. Speaking of agricultural failures, it will be remembered that
the Jewett Brothers made a failure of commercial cotton growing back in 1865.
Today Kern County produces enough cotton and wool to clothe 100,000 persons, and
cotton is only one of innumerable commercial crops.

   For instance, an Associated Press dispatch from Bakersfield, under date of
April 12, this year, says: "Harvest of Kern County's potato crop, valued at
$1,377,000, has begun here with the shipment of 800 lugs to San Francisco markets.

   "L. A. Burtch, agricultural commissioner, estimated growers of the County
would ship 4,590 carloads this year, as compared with 3,524 cars last year.

   "Wages for harvesting this year's potato acreage of 6,888 will approximate
$350,000."

   Potatoes, too, are only one of many major crops. The official census figures
on Kern County production are almost staggering, especially when early day
efforts are kept in mind. Here are some statistics from the census report:

   There were 31 acres in lettuce; 122 acres in string beans; 233 acres in
onions; 117 acres in cantaloupes and musk-melons;  149 acres in sweet corn; 107
acres in green peas. Local estimates fix the average potato yield at
eighty-seven sacks to the acre: onions. 100 crates; beans, ten sacks. In
addition to the vegetables mentioned above, celery, berries, eggplant, cabbage,
carrots and cucumbers are grown commercially.

   Cotton ranks as the County's fifth industry. The 1930 output was valued at
$4,500,00, with approximately 66,000 acres in crop. In the County there are
eighteen cotton gins, a cotton mill and a cotton compress.

   Oranges, apples, apricots, figs, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranates and
quinces aggregated 421 carloads, in addition to hundreds of truckloads that were
taken to market. The grape crop of 1929 was valued at $3,600,000. Fruit,
vegetables and grapes required 8,263 cars in 1930, with the output valued at
approximately $6,000^000. San Emidio oranges rank high in the market and are
constantly increasing their popularity. Jasmin, Tejon Ranch and Edison ship
about 400 cars of oranges annually. The varieties of grapes total thirty-nine.

   The 1930 census fixed the value of Kern County field and orchard crops at
$12,086,575 —an average of more than a million dollars a month—the returns being
segregated as follows: Cereals, $540,075; other grains and seeds, $25,481; hay
and forage, $1,695,465; vegetables, $747,843; fruits and nuts, $2,778,915; other
field crops, $6,298,796

   Domestic animals, chickens and bees brought a return of $7,006,724; cattle,
$5,-290,657; sheep and lambs, $771,209; dairy products, $1,262,727.

   The County ranks second in mineral production in the entire State, more than
fifty per cent, of the oil producing area of California being located within the
County's borders. Twenty-five million cubic feet of gas are conveyed by
pipe-line to Los Angeles daily, and another pipe-line takes a large amount of
the same commodity to San Francisco.

   The 1930 mineral production figures total $42,987,977. In addition to
petroleum, the minerals include asbestos, barytes. chromite, clay, copper, gems,
gold, iron, molybdenum, limestone, quartz crystals, quicksilver, slate,
soapstone, silver and miscellaneous stone. Here are some figures on the returns:
Borax, $2,335,190; clay, $117,834; gold, $165,435; natural gas, $1,290,090;
petroleum, $37,015,-139; silver, $1,757; miscellaneous stone, $450,351; and
other minerals, including brick, cement, copper, feldspar, fuller's earth, gems
(rose quartz), gypsum, lead, quicksilver, salt and volcanic ash, $1,612,181. The
petroleum production totaled 44,170,810 barrels.

   Manufactured products had a value of $7,000,000, with a payroll for their
production of $1,600,000, and included soap, potato chips, gasoline, irrigation
pipe, cottonseed oil, cotton oil by-products, furniture and wood products.

   One might gain from the above the idea that the commercial side of life is
the dominant one in the Kern County of today: but such is not the case. There
are 112 school districts, with 140 buildings, and a $9,000,000 investment. There
are twenty-four kindergartens, 112 elementary schools, six high schools, and a
junior college. Over ninety 'buses are engaged in the transportation of students
in the rural districts of the County.

   The Kern County Free Library ranks as the third largest of its kind in
California, with 238 distributing centers and eleven individual branch library
buildings. It has 250,000 books, 20,295 pamphlets dealing with a wide variety of
subjects, and 1300 current magazines.

   The estimated population of Kern County today is 85,000; and of Bakersfield,
its chief city, 34.000. Early population figures are given in the chapters
dealing with the various periods; but the results of the four Federal census
returns for this century are given here, so that the reader may compare them
with today's estimates, at a glance: 

1900—County, 16,480; Bakersfield, 4,836 
1910—County, 37,715: Bakersfield, 12,727 
1920—County, 54,843; Bakersfield, 18,727 
1930—County, 82,570- Bakersfield, 26,015 

   The statistics given in this chapter are truly staggering, especially when
placed in comparison with those of fifty or sixty, or even thirty, years ago;
but we are going to venture the prediction that some historian of twenty-five or
thirty years hence is going to present these same figures with a smile when he
places them in comparison with those of his day.

THE END.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Where Rolls the Kern

A History of Kern County, California
By Herbert G. Comfort

MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA:
The ENTERPRISE Press
1934

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