Kern County, California
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 26 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 4 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Shafter.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for California is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Kern titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP16 of 26 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
26 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield California Building | Bakersfield | 1983 |
| Bandit Rock | Inyokern | 1975 |
| Burro Schmidt's Tunnel | Ridgecrest | 2003 |
| Errea House | Tehachapi | 1997 |
| First Baptist Church | Bakersfield | 1979 |
| Fort Tejon | Lebec | 1971 |
| Fort, The | Taft | 1981 |
| Green Hotel | Shafter | 1989 |
| Gross, Courtlandt, House | Tehachapi | 1987 |
| Jastro Building | Bakersfield | 1983 |
| Kern Branch, Beale Memorial Library | Bakersfield | 1981 |
| Last Chance Canyon | Johannesburg | 1972 |
| Long Canyon Village Site | South Lake | 1980 |
| Midway-Sunset Jack Plant | Fellows | 2023 |
| National Farm Workers Association Headquarters | Delano | 2015 |
| Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz NHL | Keene | 2011 |
| Rogers Dry Lake NHL | Mojave Desert | 1985 |
| Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Depot | Shafter | 1982 |
| Shafter Research Station | Shafter | 1997 |
| Tehachapi Railroad Depot | Tehachapi | 1999 |
| Tevis Block | Bakersfield | 1984 |
| The Forty Acres NHL | Delano | 2008 |
| Walker Pass NHL | Bakersfield | 1966 |
| Wasco Union High School Auditorium | Wasco | 1997 |
| Weedpatch Camp | Bakersfield | 1996 |
| Woman’s Club of Bakersfield | Bakersfield | 2022 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBKern was formed in 1866 (1866-04-02) from both LOS ANGELES, Tulare.
KERN created from both LOS ANGELES and TULARE.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusKern County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,925 | 5,601 | 16,480 | 54,843 | 135,124 | 228,309 | 291,984 | 403,089 | 661,645 | 909,235 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| César E. Chávez National Monument | Park unit | 20.4 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS17 cemeteries and 47 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 17 of 17 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Bakersfield National Cemetery |
| Blue Mountain Cemetery |
| Cottage Grove Cemetery |
| Delano McFarland District Cemetery |
| Greenlawn Cemetery Southwest |
| Greenlawn Memorial Park |
| Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Indian Cemetery |
| Kern River Valley Cemetery |
| Mojave Cemetery |
| Mount Owens Cemetery |
| Oak Grove Cemetery |
| Shafter Cemetery |
| Tehachapi Eastside Cemetery |
| Union Cemetery |
| Wasco Cemetery |
| Westside District Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 47 of 47
| Name |
|---|
| Asphalto |
| Cambio |
| Canebrake |
| Eaires |
| Eric |
| Fluhr |
| Fram |
| Gold Town |
| Inmans |
| Isabella |
| Kernville |
| Kyan |
| La Rose |
| Leliter |
| Leonards |
| Levee |
| Little Dixie |
| Miracle Hot Springs |
| Muroc |
| Neuralia |
| North Muroc |
| Olig |
| Packwood |
| Paloma |
| Pattiway |
| Petersburg |
| Petro |
| Piute |
| Redrock |
| Reefer City |
| Rock Springs |
| Sage |
| Saltdale |
| Scovern Hot Springs |
| Shady Rest |
| Solon |
| Strand |
| Sullivan |
| Summers |
| Teagle |
| Terese |
| Trescape |
| Treves |
| Vaccaro |
| Warren |
| Warren |
| West Baker |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Kern County, California
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.