Photo: Kern Branch, Beale Memorial Library, circa 1915, located at 1499 Baker Street, Bakersfield. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Photographed by user:Bobak Ha'Eri, 2009, (own work) [cc-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons, accessed September, 2021.
Settled in 1858, Bakersfield was named for Colonel Thomas Baker. Baker provided a "rest area" for travelers going through El Tejon Pass. The city was incorporated and designated as county seat in 1873. In 1910 Bakersfield annexed the former City of Kern. A city charter was granted in 1915. [History of Bakersfield, www.bakersfieldcity.us, accessed October, 2015]
Neighborhoods