~ START MICROFILMED 1985 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY GENERAL LIBRARY BERKELEY, CA 94720 COOPERATIVE PRESERVATION MICROFILMING PROJECT THE RESEARCH LIBRARIES GROUP, INC. Funded by THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION Reproductions may not be made without permission. THE PRINTING MASTER FROM WHICH THIS REPRODUCTION WAS MADE IS HELD BY THE MAIN LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CA 94720 FOR ADDITIONAL REPRODUCTION REQUEST MASTER NEGATIVE NUMBER 75-3 q1 AUTHOR: Kern County World's Fair Association: TITLE: Location, YeSowrces. .. PLACE : Bakersfield, Cal. DATE: 1893 VOLUME > CALL" [555 MASTER £5- NO. xz! NEG. NO. 397 pe Tm p F868 - Kern County World®s Fair Association, K3 Location, resourccs, attractions and development of the 4 Kern Delta, Kern County, California, and its exhibit at the K4 World's Columbian Exposition / [Kern County World's Fair Association]. == Bakersficld, Cal, : The Association, 1893 @San Francisco : H. S, Crocker]) 24 p, : ill, ; 25 cm, o 1. Kem County, Calif, = Description and travel, 2, Chicago. World's Columbian Exposition, 1893 = Kern County, Calif, I. Title, // \ Crocker (H. S.) Company, San Fran= cisco (1893) c. 1893, °\ Lalifornia, CU~BANC 178. EGT mar $1 @ MEA teers SA get ERAN aie lems FILMED AND PROCESSED BY LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CA 94720 JOB NO. 8/6 03 37.6 DATE 9 8|5 5 J REDUCTION RATIO © DOCUMENT ———— "SOURCE THE BANCROFT LIBRARY LL =i I = wl2 22 ill 22 ll Fl = Ie NO On ey Py MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL 1010a (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) For Tickets and Information —APrPLY TO — J. B. LAUCK, Traffic Manager, Tickets and Information ee APPEL TCO TLAUCIEK, Traffic Manager, BUILDING. an RQ srs Lil iit " t i CEIIC ATT eT PRR ALS tt pin ” ce Aa A A A a Tn Nr rs a \. / CR RE snp 8 ¥ 3 3 § a H. S. CROCKER COMPANY THE Kern County World's Fair Association. —————— A. R. CONKLIN, - President. Vice-Presidents : C. J. E. Tavi0R, Jos. FONTAINE, E. A. McGEE, J. W. WHITE, H. A. JASTRO. C. BROWER, - Secrelary. H. A. BLODGET, - Treasurer. Execulive Committee : JOHN BARKER, - Chairman. A. R. CoNkLIN, S. W. FERGUSSON, H. A. JasTro, H. A. BLODGET, W. E. HoucHTON, S. W. WIBLE, IL. V. OLCESE. PRESS OF SAN FRANCISCO DL in a J ———————— A ———— PREFACE. 7 NATURE of the exhibit made by the people of Kern County, California, at the World's Fair is such that tens of thousands of those who see it will be desirous of obtaining all the information practicable con. cerning what they must see at a glance 1s a marvelously Javored region. The vartely of mineral, agricultural and horticultural products collected within the confines of this county certainly cannot be excelled even if it be equaled by any similar area in this or any other country. Naturally, then, the curwosily of all is certain to be aroused to the utmost, and, while the exhibit is in the charge of those who will endeavor to give as much information as possible, it will be beyond their power to answer satisfactorily a. lithe of the inquiries that will be addressed to them. For the purpose, then, of giving all the salient points with reference to the Kern Della, its location, resources, attractions and development, this little volume has been pre- pared. The story is told as plainly and concisely as the magnitude of the subject will permit, and in the hope that it may prove like grain cast upon the walers—returning a full measure of growth to a section that 1s worthy of all that can be said in its prazse. SOME PERTINENT FACTS ABOUT CALIFORNIA. Extreme length, 770 miles. Length of coast line, 1,097 geographical miles. Length of coast line, 1,280 statute miles. Breadth, narrowest part, 150 miles. Breadth, widest part, 330 miles. Contains 156,592 square miles. PRINCIPAL MOUNTAIN PEAKS. Mount Whitney, 15,000 feet, Inyo County. Mount Shasta, 14,442 feet, Siskiyou County. White Mountain Peak, 14,245 feet, Mono County. Mount Goddard, 14,000 feet, Fresno County. Length of Sierra Nevada Mountains in State, 450 miles. Mount Brewer, 13,886 feet, Tulare County. Number of counties in the State, 57. o rR E G O N / 0b OF! NORTE, Vids CRESCENT CITY. 0 SANTA BARBAR. 2. SAN GUENAVENTURA Pe CALIFORNIA, SHOWING THE POSITION OF Kern County. Mount Lyell, 13,016 feet, Tuolumne County. Historical and Otherwise. Fruit product in five years, 200,000 carloads. Admitted to the Union, September 9, 1850. Third petroleum-producing State. Total gold product, $1,500,000,000. Annual gold product, $15,000,000. First settled by Caucasians, 1769. Acquired by United States, 1847. Leading barley-producing State. Wheat crop, 38,500,000 bushels Gold discovered, January, 1843. 26,000 carloads fruit last year. Only State producing raisins. "“N Second wheat-growing State. Only State growing olives. Q Largest trees in the world. Leading beet-sugar State. 3,550,000 acres irrigated. “a Leading borax State. 400,000 acres of fruit. Leading wine State, 3,500 artesian wells, AN First prune State. Location, Resources. Attractions and Development OF HE KERN DELTA. KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND ITS Exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition. PUBLISHED BY THE KERN COUNTY WORLD'S FAIR ASSOCIATION. BAKERSFIELD, KERN COUNTY, CAL. 1893. GROUP OF ARTESIAN WELLS IN KERN VALLEY. passin smi THE KERN DELTA. THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. WO ranges of mountains in parallel chains traverse the entire length of the State of California from north to south, mingling with each other at both extremities of the great territory Be- tween these ranges is a vast, oblong valley or basin between five and six hun- dred miles in length, and varying from fifty to one hundred miles in width. On the west these moun- tains are called the Coast range and on the east they are the Sierra Nevada, whose peaks are the loftiest in the United States, and whose scenery, as in the Yosemite andHetch-Hetchy valleys, has no parallel in the world. by it and its tributaries is called the San Joaquin valley. It is with this portion of California that we have to do in this and the succeeding sketches. From the mouth of the San Joaquin river the valley stretches away to the south some 340 miles, its surface appar- ently a dead level, but really with a uni- form grade which permits of ready irrigation by gravity from all the streams running into the basin. When the cowled pioneers from Mex- ico pushed their explorations northward into Alta California, and founded the chain of Missions along the coast which were the advance guards of civilization in California, the San Joaquin valley be- came known to them in an unpleasant fashion. It was inhabited by fierce tribes of Indians, who made periodical forays up- on the peaceful settlements, and to punish This great in- terior basin is drained by two principal rivers, the Sacramento and the San Joa- quin, with their numerous tribu- taries. About midway of the length of the ba- sin the western wall is riven asunder to per- mit of the pas- sageof the waters of these rivers to the ocean. Close to this passage way—the Golden Gate as it is best known—the streams unite, and the common outlet is known as the bay of San Francisco. The river from the north is the Sacramento, and its name is given to that portion of the basin which it traverses. The river from the south is the San Joaquin, and all the vast territory drained PUBLIC SCHOOL IN CAKERSFIELD. whém frequent military incursions into their secluded retreats became necessary. Even after the secularization of the Missions and the advent of a considerable population, this portion of the State was neglected, settlement not being ex- tended beyond its farthest borders. All the early but infrequent travelers who traversed or crossed the San Joaquin 6 THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. valley spoke in glowing terms of its beauties and attractions, and when Fre- mont, the pathfinder, descended the headwaters of the great San Joaquin river and crossed the valley to the coast, he was charmed with what he saw, and at the earliest opportunity established himself on the borders of the basin. When gold was discovered, and the «southern mines’’ were opened, those who went to that locality in search of wealth were obliged to traverse a portion of the San Joaquin valley. They remem- bered what they saw, and when the mines gave out they returned, and made their homes in the beautiful meadows and bottom lands which had first attracted their attention. The vast stretches of unoccupied territory, covered with a dense growth of grass and watered with many large streams, afforded unusual opportunities for stock-raising, and for years this was the principal industry. Something like twenty years ago, however, the railroad builder and the irrigator entered the valley of the San Joaquin almost at the same time. Down through its length went the shining rails of steel that are so potent in the develop- ment of even the desert, and all along the route sprang up towns and villages which have had a continuous growth. The streams were tapped, their waters led captive upon the thirsty plain, and a transformation scene took place. Where but naked land had been now grew thrifty tree and vine, and in Kern, Fresno and Tulare counties the irrigator had the day. Merced and Stanislaus followed, and in their wake is coming San Joaquin, all eager to take advantage of the vast benefits conferred by irrigation. Settlements were established in every direction, and soon the railroad, which had at first literally traversed an un- peopled desert, was unable to accommo- date the business thrust upon it, and another road became necessary, following closely the foothills on the eastern side of the valley. This also in turn proved inadequate, and another was built on the west side of the basin. So three lines of railroad now run almost from one end of the valley to the other, and, whenever the occasion promises to demand it in the not distant future, enterprise stands ready to build still more lines. The San Joaquin valley, from the almost tenantless waste of twenty years ago, has become the granary of the coast, and the leader in the production of raisins, which have been made a specialty in all the centers of colony development, while great quantities of other fruits are also successfully and profitably produced. From one end of the basin to the other orchards and vineyards are being planted, and the day is not far distant when every one of the millions of broad acres which constitute the great San Joaquin valley will be made productive by the hand of the husbandman. CALIFORNIA. HERE is only one State in the Union that is larger than California — Texas. There is no State, how- ever, which has such a diversity of resource, either mineral, agricultural or horticultural. California has a total area of something over 100,000,000 acres. Of this vast terri- tory, fully 50,000,000 acres are arable, while the balance is made up of hills and mountains. These, however, are by no means worthless. The hills have a heavy growth of natural grass, which affords forage for tens of thousands of cattle and sheep. The mountains have vast forests, the like of which are not found else- where in the world, either for size of trees or their value for lumber. California has a coast line upward of goo miles in length. This is equal in extent to the Atlantic coast line from Maine to Georgia. There are three of the finest harbors in the world on this coast —San Francisco, San Diego and Hum- boldt—with numerous smaller ones of less extent. The population of California is about 1,500,000 persons, of whom about 80,000 are Chinese and 15,000 Indians. These latter are not savages, but are semi- civilized, and in some cases wholly so-— owning and tilling their own farms, hav- ing schools, churches and other necessi- ties of civilization. Gold was discovered in California in 1848, soon after the close of the Mexican war, and silver was found a few years later. Upward of $1,500,000,000 worth of the precious metals have since then been extracted from its placer and quartz mines, and it is the belief of those familiar with the matter that fully as much more will in time be obtained. CALIFORNIA. 7 While other industries have now at- tained greater importance than mining, there are still from $12,000,000t0 $15,000, - ooo worth of bullion extracted annually from the mines, which promise to remain permanent sources of wealth. With the early decadence of mining, agricultural industry was largely de- veloped, and California soon became one of the leading wheat-producing sections of the world. At thesame time, machinery was invented by which grain can be produced at the lowest cost ever known. With steam plows, harrows and seeders doing all the work of planting at one and the same time, and with steam harvesters and separators which gather, thresh and sack the grain simultaneously and rapidly, wheat is raised and carried to tide water at a total cost of not to exceed half a cent a pound, or 30 cents a bushel. a certain ratio, and the incurring of debt for any purpose is not popular. Every fruit that is grown in the United States, every grain or vegetable known in America, every mineral product found in the Union, exists in California. Beside, there are many agricultural, horticultural and mineral products that are peculiar to this State. California is the third State in amount of petroleum production, and is the only one that produces asphaltum and quick- silver. It is the only State that produces olives, raisins, walnuts, almonds, and a variety of other fruits. It is the leading beet-sugar State, the leading wine and brandy State, the only one that produces Egyptian corn in quan- tity, and has the largest alfalfa, wheat and barley fields in the world. ree THE KERN RIVER. While California maintains her average wheat yield, horticulture is rapidly be- coming the leading industry. There are upward of half a million acres now plan- ted with fruit trees and vines, and their product is attaining a world-wide reputa- tion. Our fresh fruits are shipped to the East by the thousands of carloads each season: our wines go by the shipload to Europe; our dried and canned fruits are found all over the world. Our horticul- turists are among the most prosperous people in the State, and certain success attends all who engage in the industry with energy and discretion. From a financial standpoint California is fortunately situated. The State is practically out of debt, while the burdens of taxation are light. The expenditures of the State Government are restricted to The California farmer, who, at small expense, obtains a supply of water for irrigation, is absolutely and entirely in- dependent of the elements, and can plow and plant with the comfortable assurance that in due time he will reap. There is no place in the world where so large and permanent an income may be derived from the cultivation of a small area as in California. California is the only part of the country where the colony system of settle- ment, combining the advantages of city and country life, and without the disad- vantages of either, has obtained a per- manent foothold. All the old-established colonies are wealthy and prosperous. A colony home here, and especially in the Kern delta, is as near perfection as can be realized in any place on this earth. ji \ H [| ) { f 3 THE CLIMATE. KERN COUNTY. A GIL ANCE at the map which is given upon page two will show the reader in a moment the loca- tion of Kern county. At the southern extremity of the great interior basin already described the Sierra Nevada and the Coast range swing in toward each other in a grand crescent, finally meeting and forming a vast am- phitheater walled on three sides by swell- ing foothills and lofty mountains, This amphitheater, with a large area of the neighboring mountains, is included within the boundaries of the county of Kern. All told there are 5,100,000 acres in the county, about one-third being valley land and the remainder hills, plateaus and mountains. Tulare is the next neighbor on the north, Inyo and San Bernardino are on the east, Ventura and Los Angeles on the south, and San Luis Obispo on the west. There are indications that at one time all this immense valley was the bed of a great sea, marine fossils and other re- mains being found in many localities, and even high up on the slopes of the sur- rounding hills. Ages ago, however, the waters re- ceded, leaving the floor of the valley dry and free from hill or crag. The streams which rise in the High Sierra have for countless ages been carrying the silt and decomposed elements of the mountains into the valley, where they have been mingled with the vegetation produced each year, building up layer after layer of soil of the most fertile kind, until finally it became fit for the habitation of man, Of this natural garden spot something like a million and a half acres are in- cluded within the boundaries of Kern county, and the greater portion of this is susceptible of the highest degree of culti- vation. THE CLIMATE. HE climate of the Kern delta par- T takes of the same general character- istics found in the whole of the great interior basin of California. Owing to its remoteness from the coast, and the presence of intervening mountain ranges, the rainfall is very light—the lightest indeed of any portion of the valley. This, however, as explained else- where, has its compensation in the abundant supply of water for irrigation. The rain falls in the so-called winter months, being distributed over the period from November to April. As the entire precipitation averages only about six inches a year, it can be seen that the amount at any one time must necessarily be very small. With the first rains vegetation usually springs up, and with their cessation in the spring everything dries up except where irrigation is practiced, or where there is a seepage that nourishes vegeta- tion. While there are frosts during the winter months the small degree of frigidity may be seen from the fact that the cultivation, harvesting and planting of vegetables goes on every day of the 365 which make up a year. Delicate growths, such as the orange, thrive in the open air with little or no protection. In fact, the climate of the winter season is like that of the Eastern spring in most respects. Between April and November there is usually no rainfall; if any, it is infrequent and consists of but a sprinkle. It never falls so as to interfere with harvesting, haying or other agricutural operations, and grain after being threshed can lie in the field for weeks without damage, while. alfalfa remains uninjured in stacks that are entirely unprotected for as long a time as is desired. In the summer time the weather be- comes very warm, as is essential for the proper development of the wide range of fruits grown here, and for the successful curing of raisins, prunes, etc., in the open air. The atmosphere having a minimum of moisture, a much-higher degree of heat can be borne without discomfort than where there is greater humidity. That farmers work in the field through the hottest weather without fear of sun- stroke is sufficient testimony to the harmlessness of the comparatively high temperature experienced here at times. It necessarily follows that thedry, warm atmosphere of this region is healthy to a degree. Particularly is it beneficial to those suffering from throatand pulmonary troubles, who frequently find relief here that is not vouclisafed them elsewhere. While the climate has its disadvantages it is nevertheless possessed of advantages which minimize every objection that can be urged against it. BAKERSFIELD. 9 BAKERSFIELD. LTHOUGH the Kern delta has A been so abundantly supplied by nature with every resource of soil, climate and water, yet the centers of population have been slow of formation, and for years the growth has not been rapid. Happily, however, this state of facts no longer exists, and Kern county has commenced a growth that will within a few years give it the prominence to which it is justly entitled. The principal town is Bakersfield, lo- cated in the very heart of the delta, and surrounded by Lundreds of square miles of the most fertile and productive land under the sun. From San Francisco, Bakersfield is dis- tant a little over 300 miles to the south, while it is some 170 miles north of Los appearance, being lined with handsome buildings that would be a credit to a city ten times the size. Everything points to a rapid growth in the immediate future, and the business men of Bakersfield have their plans all laid on the basis of a city of 10,000 or 15,000 inhabitants within the next five or six years—an anticipation which the most conservative must con- cede to be well founded. The city has several good hotels, three banks and a large number of business houses carrying immense stocks and do- ing a large business. Carefully kept statistics show that Bakersfield ranks high from the stand- point of health, the rate of mortality being unusually low, while the salubrity of the climate is acknowledged by all who have resided here for any length of time. There has beeu a steady improvément in LOOKING NORTH ON NINETEENTH ST., BAKERSFIELD. Angeles. One hundred miles to the north is Fresno, Bakersfield being the largest town between that place and the city of the Queen of the Angels. Founded some thirty years or so ago, the growth of Bakersfieid was slow but steady up to three or four years since. At that timea commencement was made in theinauguration of the colony system in the immediate vicinity of the town, and at once the impetus of this move- ment was felt. At about the same time a destructive fire occurred, which practi- cally wiped out the entire business portion of the town. Never was recuperative power more quickly shown, however. Fine brick buildings quickly took the place of those that had been burned, and now the streets present a truly metropolitan health conditions ever since the first settlement of the place, and Bakersfield now challenges comparison with any other city in the State. The fact that the churches and schools are numerous and well attended, and that all the prominent fraternal organizations have strong societies, testifies to the intelligence of the community and its desirability as a place of residence or business. The school buildings are up to the best standard, and the new one, a fine brick structure, is one of the handsomest in the State. : Bakersfield has an electric-light plant, gas works, a fine water system, and a street-car line connecting the town with the railroad station at Kern (formerly Sumner or East Bakersfield), a mile distant. Plans have been prepared for ; * § i y 5 ! 3 THE CLIMATE. KERN COUNTY. A GLLANCE at the map which is given upon page two will show the reader in a moment the loca- tion of Kern county. At the southern extremity of the great interior basin already described the Sierra Nevada and the Coast range swing in toward each other in a grand crescent, finally meeting and forming a vast am- phitheater walled on three sides by swell- ing foothills and lofty mountains, This amphitheater, with a large area of the neighboring mountains, is included within the boundaries of the county of Kern, All told there are 5,100,000 acres in the county, about one-third being valley land and the remainder hills, plateaus and mountains. Tulare is the next neighbor on the north, Inyo and San Bernardino are on the east, Ventura and Los Angeles on the south, and San Luis Obispo on the west. There are indications that at one time all this immense valley was the bed of a great sea, marine fossils and other re- mains being found in many localities, and even high up on the slopes of the sur- rounding hills. Ages ago, however, the waters re- ceded, leaving the floor of the valley dry and free from hill or crag. The streams which rise in the High Sierra have for countless ages been carrying the silt and decomposed elements of the mountains into the valley, where they have been mingled with the vegetation produced each year, building up layer after layer of soil of the most fertile kind, until finally it became fit for the habitation of man. Of this natural garden spot something like a million and a half acres are in- cluded within the boundaries of Kern county, and the greater portion of this is susceptible of the highest degree of culti- vation. THE CLIMATE. HE climate of the Kern delta par- takes of the same general character- istics found in the whole of the great interior basin of California. Owing to its remoteness from the coast, and the presence of intervening mountain ranges, the rainfall is very light—the lightest indeed of any portion of the valley. This, however, as explained else- where, has its compensation in the abundant supply of water for irrigation. The rain falls in the so-called winter months, being distributed over the period from November to April. As the entire precipitation averages only about six inches a year, it can be seen that the amount at any one time must necessarily be very small. With the first rains vegetation usually springs up, and with their cessation in the spring everything dries up except where irrigation is practiced, or where there is a seepage that nourishes vegeta- tion. While there are frosts during the winter months the small degree of frigidity may be seen from the fact that the cultivation, harvesting and planting of vegetables goes on every day of the 365 which make up a year. Delicate growths, such as the orange, thrive in the open air with little or no protection. In fact, the climate of the winter season is like that of the Eastern spring in most respects. Between April and November there is usually no rainfall; if any, it is infrequent and consists of but a sprinkle. It never falls so as to interfere with harvesting, haying or other agricutural operations, and grain after being threshed can lie in the field for weeks without damage, while. alfalfa remains uninjured in stacks that are entirely unprotected for as long a time as is desired. In the summer time the weather be- comes very warm, as is essential for the proper development of the wide range of fruits grown here, and for the successful curing of raisins, prunes, etc., in the open air. The atmosphere having a minimum of moisture, a much higher degree of heat can be borne without discomfort than where there is greater humidity. That farmers work in the field through the hottest weather without fear of sun- stroke is sufficient testimony to the harmlessness of the comparatively high temperature experienced here at times. It necessarily follows that the dry, warm atmosphere of this region is healthy to a degree. Particularly is it beneficial to those suffering from throatand pulmonary troubles, who frequently find relief here that is not vouclisafed them elsewhere. While the climate has its disadvantages it is nevertheless possessed of advantages which minimize every objection that can be urged against it. BAKERSFIELD. 9 BAKERSFIELD. LTHOUGH the Kern delta has A been so abundantly supplied by nature with every resource of soil, climate and water, yet the centers of population have been slow of formation, and for years the growth has not been rapid. Happily, however, this state of facts no longer exists, and Kern county has commenced a growth that will within a few years give it the prominence to which it is justly entitled. The principal town is Bakersfield, lo- cated in the very heart of the delta, and surrounded by Lundreds of square miles of the most fertile and productive land under the sun. From San Francisco, Bakersfield is dis- tant a little over 300 miles to the south, while it is some 170 miles north of Los appearance, being lined with handsome buildings that would be a credit to a city ten times the size. Everything points to a rapid growth in the immediate future, and the business men of Bakersfield have their plans all laid on the basis of a city of 10,000 or 15,000 inhabitants within the next five or six years—an anticipation which the most conservative must con- cede to be well founded. The city has several good hotels, three banks and a large number of business houses carrying immense stocks and do- ing a large business. Carefully kept statistics show that Bakersfield ranks high from the stand- point of health, the rate of mortality being unusually low, while the salubrity of the climate is acknowledged by all who have resided here for any length of time. There has beeu a steady improvément in LOOKING NORTH ON NINETEENTH S8T., BAKERSFIELD. Angeles. One hundred miles to the north is Fresno, Bakersfield being the largest town between that place and the city of the Queen of the Angels. Founded some thirty years or so ago, the growth of Bakersfieid was slow but steady up to three or four years since. At that timea commencement was made in the inauguration of the colony system in the immediate vicinity of the town, and at once the impetus of this move- ment was felt. At about the same time a destructive fire occurred, which practi- cally wiped out the entire business portion of the town. Never was recuperative power more quickly shown, however. Fine brick buildings quickly took the place of those that had been burned, and now the streets present a truly metropolitan health conditions ever since the first settlement of the place, and Bakersfield now challenges comparison with any other city in the State. The fact that the churches and schools are numerous and well attended, and that all the prominent fraternal organizations have strong societies, testifies to the intelligence of the community and its desirability as a place of residence or business. The school buildings are up to the best standard, and the new one, a fine brick structure, is one of the handsomest in the State. : Bakersfield has an electric-light plant, gas works, a fine water system, and a street-car line connecting the town with the railroad station at Kern (formerly Sumner or East Bakersfield), a mile distant. Plans have been prepared for i A 10 KERN AND DELANO. an electric railroad connecting the two places and traversing the principal streets of Bakersfield, and it is expected the line will be in operation this year. The rapid growth and the encouraging prospects of the place may be seen from the fact that during the ensuing six months fully a quarter of a million dollars will be expended in buildings and other improvements—a record which no other town of similar size in the State can equal at present. Many favorable openings for business are presented here, and men of enterprise and energy can find abundant opportuni- ties in various directions. Electric power generated by water will before long be available for manufacturing purposes, while in the canning and drying of fruit and the utilization of raw material of various kinds, which can be produced abundantly and cheaply, there are oppor- tunities for profit of the most promising kind. The present population of Bakersfield is about 4,500. Constant additions are being made, and in every direction resi- dences are being erected to meet the demands of the ncwcomers. KERN. HEN the railroad was extended \ \ / to the vicinity of Bakersfield, topographical reasons caused the line to be run at a distance of a mile northeast of the center of that town. A station was built at a conven- ient point, just south of the Kern-river crossing, and it was at first called Sum- ner. Subsequently this was changed to East Bakersfield, but quite recently, the population having increased through the removal of the railroad shops and head- quarters to this point, it was voted to in- corporate under the name of Kern. The people of this place are of a pro- gressive class, and have commenced with vim to carry out various public enter- prises. The extension of the East Side canal through this section last year has had a good effect upon the place and will aid materially in its growth. The railroad depot is one of the finest in the State, while the shops and round- houses are extensive structures of brick. There are a number of good stores, hotels, etc., and a newspaper, the Standard, which has been established here for but a short time, yet has taken an active part in building up the community. An electric railroad is projected between Kern and Bakersfield, which will aid materially in building up the short dis- tance between the two towns and make them practically one. The Asphalto branch, or, as it is called, the Bakersfield and San Miguel Railroad, has its junction with the main line here. A refinery is in operation for handling the product of the oil and asphalt springs, while several large warehouses are con- stantly utilized in handling the products of the valley, which are brought here for shipment. DELANO. Th first town which the southward- bound traveler reaches in Kern county is Delano, and a thriving, prosperous and promising place it is, too. When the railroad was built through the valley in 1875 the only set- tlements in this section were a few scat- tering sheep ranches, and for the accommodation of the wool shippers a station was established here and named Delano. It required some time for the capabilities of the soil of this part of the county to be demonstrated, but when that was done settlement increased rapidly, and Delano soon became what it is now, the second wheat-shipping point in the county and the first in wool exports. At first grain was the chief crop, but, after it had been shown that artesian water could be obtained here, it was not long before irrigation was commenced, and orchards and vineyards were planted. The development of the adjacent country caused a steady and substantial growth in the town, which is well sup- plied with brick business buildings and all the appurtenances of a growing and prosperous town. There are five fine general stores in Delano, two drug stores, livery stables and other business establishments. A good weekly paper, the Courier, is sup- ported and does excellent work in attract- ing settlers to the adjacent country and in building up the town. There can be no doubt but Delano will be the principal city in northern Kern county, and with the completion of ex- tensive irrigation enterprises under way in this vicinity it must enjoy a rapid and permanent growth. TEHACHAPI AND MOJAVE. II TEHACHAPI. road follows the border of the valley for a few miles, and then strikes into the heart of the moun- tain range to the southeast. It passes through several small stations, such as Wade, Pampa, Caliente and Keene, each of which is the shipping point for a con- siderable territory. At Caliente thestage line to Havilah, Kernville and other mountain settlements in the eastern part of the county takes its departure. Then the famous loop is passed, where the railroad crosses itselfin ascending the mountain, and soon an extensive elevated plateau or valley is found, in the midst of which is situated the flourishing town of Tehachapi. A FTER leaving Bakersfield the rail- while electric lights are a recent addition to the conveniences of the town. Two extensive grain warehouses show what is the staple crop of the valley, while a well- edited newspaper, the 77ibune, supplies the people with local news, and also extends abroad accurate knowledge of the advantages of this prosperous and progressive region. MOJAVE. OME distance beyond Tehachapi the S railroad descends from its elevated position on the mountain plateau and passesout into the Antelope val- ley. Here is situated the town of Mo- jave, which is the point of junction with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé sys- RAILROAD DEPOT AT KERN CITY. This is really one of the oldest settle- ments in the county, having been estab- lished first something like thirty years ago, at the time the silver-mining excite- ment first swept over this part of the State. When the railroad was built through here, in 1876, a new town was built on its line, and the old place was abandoned. The valley contains several thousand acres of highly fertile land, which is largely devoted to grain-growing, im- mense crops of wheat and barley being produced. The hardy deciduous fruits thrive in this valley, and good success has attended their cultivation. The town is forty-five miles from Ba- kersfield, and it is well supplied with business houses of all kinds. There is a fine three-story brick hotel, several brick business buildings, and others of frame, tem, and also the shipping point for con- siderable territory both to the east and the west. A stage line runs from here to Keeler, in Inyo county, and in times past much freight was hauled to and from the borax and other mines in that region. To the west of Mojave is considerable arable land, there being a body of several thousand acres susceptible of cultivation by means of irrigation. There is water here which is now utilized to a consider- able extent, while by the construction of storage reservoirs extensive reclamation could be effected. In time to come this will certainly be done, and Mojave must become a place of no small importance. Other settlements in the western part of the valley are now growing up, and will continue to do so, all of which will look to this place for supplies of every kind. rr E—_—_— 12 MOUNTAIN TOWNS. MOUNTAIN TOWNS. Bakersfield are several settlements which are of considerable importance. Notable among them is Havilah, which was built during the famous Kern River gold rush, and which, for a time, was the county-seat, remaining so until the agricultural development of the val- ley caused the growth of Bakersfield, and made it the largest town in the county. There are still some mines worked in this vicinity which yield a fair amount of gold, while there are others that would repay development with modern appli- ances for cheaply working ore. Kernville, Weldon and Keysville are also old mining settlements, which are far from being ‘‘ dead,” but have ele- ments which insure their permanence. [> THE mountains to the east of WHAT OF THE FUTURE? of the State is any criterion from which to judge, and it certainly is, then the most ardent imagination cannot form an adequate conception of what the future has in store for Kern county and its various towns. With cheap lands, a good climate, abundance of water, fertile soil, good transportation facilities, extensive and easily available water power, vast quan- tities of raw material, either already at hand or easily procurable, the demon- strated fact that every fruit, grain and vegetable of the temperate and sub-trop- ical zones can be produced successfully, and with hundreds of thousands of broad, level acres awaiting the intelligent hand of the husbandman—with all these, who [" THE experience of other portions Vv: LOOKING SOUTH ON NINETEENTH S8T., BAKERSFIELD. In these mountain valleys are considerable areas of land admirably adapted to the production of choice apples and other fruits, potatoes, etc., and with better and more direct roads such lands will well re- pay cultivation, their products finding a market in the great valley below. A project is now on foot to give direct communication between Bakersfield and these mountain towns—something which is greatly needed, and would aid ma- terially in their growth and prosperity. The largest grain crop ever known in Kern county will be harvested this sum- mer. Upward of 100,000 acres of wheat were planted, and all of it will yield a fair return. Where it was irrigated the yield will, as it always is, be much greater . than on unirrigated ground. will say that any prophecy can be over- drawn ? That each and every twenty acres of arable land in the valley will sus- tain a family in comfort cannot be ques- tioned. That when that time comes there will be a score of good-sized towns scattered over the valley is absolutely certain. That long before that time Bakersfield will be a city of 15,000 to 20,000 people is assured. That that city will be the largest place between San Francisco and Los Angeles is beyond the slightest doubt. That it will be an important manufac- turing point, and will have canneries, packing houses and other industries employing thousands, will follow as surely as night follows day. COLONY SETTLEMENTS. 13 That fortunes will be made by judicious investors in country and town property is proven by the invariable experience elsewhere. That Bakersfield has half a dozen ad- vantages, any one of which would suffice to build a good-sized city upon elsewhere, is only the truth. That the entire delta offers unexcelled advantages to settlers of moderate means, or to investors of large capital, can be seen after the most casual investigation by any intelligent man. That many localities with far less ad- vantages than this have made a better growth is true, but that is due to the fact that greater energy has been shown in pushing those advantages to the front. Let Kern county half try, and the results will be astounding. limit as to the amount to be cultivated by each. Several hundreds of settlers have taken these small tracts, most of which have been planted to fruit, the raisin grape and prune predominating. Alfalfa and grain are also raised to a considerable extent and with uniform success. At Rosedale there is a fine school, church, hotel, store and blacksmith shop, and whenever enough families settle in a neighborhood a school is the first public institution thought of. The colonists are given easy terms of payment on their lands, and a favorite plan with many is to induce some non- resident friend to purchase an adjacent tract and engage the settler to plant and cultivate it until maturity. In this way the settler is aided, while the non-resi- dent can follow his usual pursuit until FLARE hi ERS he [i RR pa ive poe] | AE NT Sd COLONY SETTLEMENTS. formly attended the establishment of colony settlements in California has caused the adoption of the same methods in the Kern delta, and with ad- mirable results. It is only within the last three or four years that this plan has been systematically adopted here, yet wonderful accomplishments are already noted. The leading enterprises of this kind are the Rosedale and Mountain View and the Union Avenue colonies. The first two are situated a few miles west of Bakersfield, and the last is directly south of that town. In all of these the land is divided into tracts of twenty acres, though settlers are not confined to any Te success that has almost uni- ag CORNER OF NINETEENTH ST. AND CHESTER AVE., BAKERSFIELD. his orchard and vineyard become income- producing. Thus the unproductive period of one to three years may be successfully tided over. Many colonists find a source of almost immediate income in keeping two or three cows and in making butter, in raising pultry and eggs, in cultivating straw- berries and small fruits, and so on. Some most notable examples in this difection may be met with among the colonists. In any event, however, it does not re- quire more than half the usual time to bring fruit trees and grapevines into bearing, so that the period between plant- ing and maturity is quite readily tided over, while the crops produced after matu- rity are as abundant as in almost any other locality in this State or elsewhere. Er a i h i 14 TIMBER WEALTH. WHAT COLONY LIFE MEANS. ers of these pages who will have their curiosity excited by the refer- ences to colonies and colonization, or who may have had their attention directed thereto beforehand. They will want to know all about the matter, and wherein are the especial advantages of colony life. There is nothing difficult of explanation or understanding about the matter. Colonies are started in twoways. Some- times a company of mutual acquaintances obtains a tract of land and cultivates it as a whole until such time as it becomes productive, only those going on the land who are needed to do the work. The others continue at their usual avocations until such time as their property be- comes self-supporting, when it is divided up and each takes possession of his share. Some most remarkably success- ful examples of this kind have been carried out in this State, notably so at Anaheim. The more frequent method, however, is for the owner or owners of a large body of land to divide it into small tracts, usually of twenty acres each, lay out a townsite in a convenient locality, and then invite settlers to come in by giving them easy terms of payment and other inducements. Settlement in the town is stimulated by giving lots free to those who will erect buildings of a certain class. The average colony holding is not over twenty acres. This system is so promo- tive of intensive farming, the obtaining of the best results from the smallest areas, that in the oldest colonies even twenty acres is considered too much, and the average holding is considerably less. Small as are these colony farms, never- theless a comfortable and even moderately luxurious living is made from them. The result of this system of subdivision is that a colony becomes an aggregatiqn of homes closely adjacent to each other, and with a town at some central point where mercantile, educational and relig- ious advantages are to be had. In all the older colonies wealth has been accu- mulated at a surprising degree, and, there being abundance of leisure, it follows that social advantages are of the best. It is the favorite boast of the colonist that he has all the advantages of country Teo will doubtless be many read- and city life, with none or but few of the disadvantages of either. This is strictly true of all the old colonies in California. The greatest disadvantage of ordinary rural life, isolation, is entirely absent in the colony. Where the land is laid out in twenty-acre tracts the houses of the set- tlers are but 660 feet apart, and where the subdivisions are smaller they are even closer together, so that a colony becomes in time simply a succession of villa residences with spacious grounds about them. That is exactly what such colonies as Riverside, Redlands, Anaheim and others of the older settlements are, and that is what the colonies of Kern county will become in due time. TIMBER WEALTH. HAT is destined to be a source \ / \ / of no small income to Bakers- field and the other valley towns are the forests of timber that are found in large areas in the sur- rounding mouptains. To the east and north these mountains are heavily wooded with sugar-pine, tamarack, fir and cedar. The Sequoia gigantea is also found in quantities in Tulare county, just to the north, and doubtless it ex- tends into Kern as well. The first systematic effort at utilizing these forests is now under way, and a company whose heaquarters is in Bakers- field is now at work getting out lumber, which is hauled by team wherever wanted in the valley. The Kern river and the numerous canals taken from it afford an abundance of water power, and at small cost this lumber may be worked up in boxes, trays, and the other necessary adjuncts of the fruit business, for which there is a constantly increasing demand every year. Millwork of all kinds can also be made, which will be aboon to the people, who hitherto have had to depend upon distant sources of supply. There are at present (April) employed in shearing sheep in Kern county over 1,000 men, including wool-packers, etc. These men will shear upward of a million sheep inside of a month, and the wool product will be at least 4,500,000 pounds. Each shearer receives 7 cents a fleece, and some experts will clip 125 sheep a day. THE IRRIGATING SYSTEM. 15 THE IRRIGATING SYSTEM. overshadows all others is the irri- gating system. It is the first com- prehensive system to be planned and carried out on a large scale in this State, and to-day ranks among the fore- most in the world. From the Kern river and its branches there radiates throughout the valley a system of irrigation canals which it is no invidious comparison to say is without its equal in the State or even in the en- tire country. These canals attain the dignity of rivers, and their flows some- thing enormous. There is one main canal, for instance, which is larger than the famous waterway of New York State, the Erie canal. It is 120 feet wide on the surface, 8o feet on the bottom, and To feature of the Kern delta which from that amount the quantity of water in each canal runs down to 500 inches, which is the capacity of the Wilson ditch. These thirty-two main canals have an aggregate length of over 300 miles, but this is only a small part of the entire length of irrigating canals in the valley. Each. main canal has from five to fifty times its own length in laterals, which radiate in every direction. An extension of the Beardsley canal has recently been made to Poso creek. This enterprise irrigates the finest mesa tract of land in the State. This tract of mesa land comprises 20,000 acres of fine, rich soil of even surface, sloping about twelve feet per mile to the westward. Another canal has also recently been completed, forty feet wide and four and one-half feet in depth, extending from HEAD OF AN IRRIGATING CANAL. has banks seven feet in height. A depth of from five to six feet of water is carried for thirty-two miles. Branching from this canal (the Calloway) are more than seventy smaller distributing ditches from eight to twenty feet wide and cover- ing over 200,000 acres in one body. There are thirty-two main canals of varying dimensions diverting water from the Kern river. Of these the three largest are the Goose Lake, the Kern Valley Water Company’s and the Callo- way. The first named has a width of 140 feet on the bottom and can carry 90,000 miners’ inches of water. The sec- ond is 125 feet wide on the bottom and carries seven feet of water, equivalent to 130,000 miners’ inches. The flow of the Calloway equals 74,000 miners’ inches. The Stine has 56,000 miners’ inches, and the Kern Island canal southeast, a dis- tance of twenty-five miles, and eventu- ally to be between forty and fifty miles, which will irrigate froin 30,000 to 40,000 acres of what is now practically a desert from lack of water. This vast body of land is situated in the immediate vicinity of Bakersfield, and water was turned into it for the first time this spring. The re- ion irrigated by it is among the most ite sections of the county. Without going into details or making comparisons, it may be said briefly that the one overwhelming argument in favor of irrigation is that the farmer who prac- tices it intelligently need have no fear of a total crop failure of any kind. Heis always sure of a reward for his labor. 16 GOLD AND SILVER. MANUFACTURES. HERE is still another resource of this valley which is destined to be by no means the least in the list of sources of wealth. No community is so prosperous as that which provides a home market for the bulk or at least a large share of its products. In those localities where manufactures of various kinds give employment to large numbers of men, the farmers find a ready sale at good rates for nearly everything produced by them. Manufacturers go where raw material, transportation and motive power are the cheapest and most readily obtain- able. The sources of raw material in Kern county have been pretty well explained. Flax, cotton, ramie, wool, leather and other articles of manufacture can be pro- duced here in any quantity ata minimum of cost. In the mountains are inexhaust- ible supplies of wood, while metals of va- rious kinds are in abundance. = The means of transportation havealready been pointed out. There are already two competing transcontinental lines in the county, with the promise of even greater facilities in the immediate future. The matter of motive power becomes the next consideration. The irrigation canals themselves offered an abundant supply, which has been utilized in a small way, showing what may easily be done whenever the time shall become ripe. But go to the source of supply of those canals. Take a trip to the mouth of the Kern river cafion, a pleasant drive of three or four hours from town, and note the existent facts. There, within a short distance, the river plunges down falls and cataracts several hundred feet. Thousands of tons of water are falling with resistless force, as they have fallen for uncounted ages, beating and wearing the granite walls to dust, and carrying the decom- posed material to the plains below. At a dozen points this tremendous power can be utilized for any purpose that may be desired. By a pipe line the water may be brought out on the mesa below the mouth of the cafion, and furnish two hundred feet or more of fall for the development of power. Dynamos can be put in here and elec- tricity generated, which can be conveyed to all parts of the valley and harnessed to machinery for manufactures of every variety. Such an opportunity for the development of the cheapest power in practically unlimited quantities has sel- dom been offered, and as one watches the great stream dashing over precipice and boiling over boulder he can but wonder that it should have been so long neglec- ted. But watchful eyes and active minds have taken in the situation, and it now seems altogether probable that, before any great length of time shall have passed, decisive steps will have been taken for the development of this resource, which is destined to become one of the most prominent avenues for wealth in this surpassingly endowed section. The future, and not a distant one either, promises great industrial activity in this valley, with its natural center at Bakers- field. With every raw material reeded except coal (and this lack is made up by the presence of petroleum and asphaltum, with vast water power and great electrical possibilities), the logical result must be the building up here of a manufacturing center, with a dense population and a large local as well as foreign market for the products. Many a place with far less advantages than this has become an important manu- facturing center, while the combination that exists here certainly warrants the conclusion already drawn. GOLD AND SILVER. RECIOUS metals exist in consider- P able quantities in the mountains of Kern county. It was the dis- covery of gold mines that brought the first influx of settlers into this part of the State, and from the date of that discovery, now almost forty years ago, the production of gold has never wholly ceased. The placer mines have of course been exhausted, but there still remain quartz leads which repay intelligent handling, and with improved methods many which have been abandoned in the past as too poor to work could undoubt- edly be made to yield handsome returns. New discoveries of both gold and silver are reported from time to time, and there is not the least doubt that the mines of Kern county will be permanent sources of income. There are large profits to be realized by those who shall engageon a * systematic scale in the development of the varied mineral resources of Kern county. THE WATER SUPPLY. 17 THE WATER SUPPLY. HILE nature has given this re- gion the lightest rainfall of any part of the State, it has fol- lowed the inevitable law of compensation by providing two sources of inexhaustible water supply. These con- sist of the surface and the underground streams, whose vast volume, when prop- erly utilized, will suffice to provide a far more certain and abundant supply of moisture than is possible when the capri- cious clouds are the sole source of de- pendence. _ While the rainfall in the Kern valley is of the lightest description, yet within a comparatively short distance the pre- cipitation of moisture in the shape of snow and rain reaches the enormous amount of 100 inches or more annually. In this region the Sierra reaches its loftiest height. Here are Tyndall and other peaks, with Whitney, the highest mountain in the United States, towering aloft over 15,000 feet. On these mountains the snow remains year after year, forming tremendous glaciers, which are the perennial source of streams which in the nature of things can know no such thing as failure, even in the season of scantiest rainfall in the valley region. Here, in these solitudes, rises the stream which is the main source of sup- ply for the valley below Away in the northwestern part of Tulare county are the headwaters of the north fork of the Kern river, drawing supplies from thous- ands of square miles of watershed on the western slope of the Sierra. For over sixty miles this stream flows through the mountains of Tulare county, and some twenty miles after crossing the line into Kern county the south fork unites with it. For thirty miles or more the stream then flows through a pic- turesque and rocky cafion, finally de- bouching upon the plain a short distance from Bakersfield. In its course the river has a fall of up- ward of 12,000 feet, and near the mouth of the last cafion before reaching the plains are cataracts and falls which give a tremendous amount of water power, easily utilized and only awaiting the hand of enterprise to become a source of great wealth and the cause of the rapid development of the community. A great manufacturing center will unquestion- ably be built up here. RIVER. LIVE STOCK. CCORDING to the assessor’s re- A ports there there are the following numbers of live stock of various kinds in Kern county : Head. Value. Sheep........ «ci c0 422,000 $730,000 Horses, ............. 5,496 250,000 * (Standard).... 1,312 69,150 Cattle.... .......... 66, 500 551,127 Colts ...... ........ 2,385 50,085 COWS ...,... sss: 2,143 38,120 HOZS, eerie rrve0ens 5,326 10,652 CAVES: ,..0vs inser 5,997 29,621 Totals. ..... 511,159 $1,728,755 These are very conservative figures. The actual number is at least twenty-five pei cent greater. 18 THE COUNTY EXHIBIT. KERN COUNTY EXHIBIT. HE bold statement that every fruit, vegetable and grain produced any- where in the United States is grown in the Kern delta does not carry with it a full conception of the actuality. It is only when an object lesson is pro- duced, such as is furnished by the dis- play in the California building at the World's Fair, that one is able to form an adequate conception of the facts. Those facts are simply marvelous. In what- ever line they are considered—agricultu- ral, horticultural or mineral—the same remarkably wide range of variety is found. In demonstration of this, there are in the collection specimens of fresh fruit in glass jars of the following va- rieties : Oranges, Figs, I.emons, Prunes, Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Quinces, Pears, Blackberries, Apricots, Raspberries, Nectarines, Cherries, Plums, Olives. Of dried fruits the display includes these : Raisins, Plums, Figs, Nectarines, Prunes, Pears. Peaches, Citron. Apricots, The list of nuts shown is composed of the following varieties : English Walnuts, Eastern Black Walnuts, California Black Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, Peanuts, Japanese Chestnuts, Pinones. Under the heading of farm products there is the following wide range : Beans, Sorghum, Potatoes, Broomcorn, Onions, : Cotton, Wheat, Ramie, Barley, Wool, Corn, Castor Beans, Egyptian Corn, Honey, Oats, Bamboo. In the mineral line the variety is equally remarkable. It includes: Gold, Asphalt, Silver, Sulphur, Lead, Salt, Antimony, Petroleum, Copper, Borax, Gypsum, Nickel, Iron, Kaolin. This list, wonderful as it is, does not by any means represent the entire range of products of Kern county. There are a number of things in the different classes which are not mentioned, but this will serve to show what a remarkably favored section this is. RAILROAD EXPORTS. URING eleven months of 1892, D the shipments by rail from Kern county were as follows: POUNDS. Wheat . .. ..- - -.. 10036000 Other grain . . . . . . . . 8,084,000 Hay. . ... «i. san 5,116,000 Poiatoes . . .. +... . a» 1868,000 Greenfruit . . ... .. . 1,244,000 BalsinS'. . . va vn hain 326,000 Cattle. . .... .. +s > 25,778,000 Hogs. - +: « +» + 55 1,400,000 Horses . . . « «=