Located near the southern "horseshoe" end of the San Joaquin Valley, with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada just to the east, Bakersfield, the county seat for Kern County, is one of the fastest growing cities in California, between 1970 and 2010 growing 400% (from 70,000 to 347,483). Its historic and primary industries have related to Kern County’s two main industries, oil and agriculture. Kern County is the most oil productive county in America, and ranks in the top five most productive agricultural counties.
Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848, settlers flooded into the San Joaquin Valley. In 1851, gold was discovered along the Kern River, and in 1865, oil. The Bakersfield area, once a marshland, was first known as Kern Island to the handful of pioneers who built log cabins there in 1860. In 1862, disastrous floods swept away the original settlement founded in 1860.
Among those attracted to the area was Thomas Baker, a lawyer and former colonel in the militia of Ohio. Baker moved to the banks of the Kern River in 1863, at what became known as Baker’s Field, which became a stopover for travelers. By 1870, with a population of 600, what is now known as Bakersfield was becoming the principal town in Kern County. In 1873, it was officially incorporated as a city, and by 1874 it replaced Havilah as the county seat.
About the stamps
The stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, about which I wrote here.
References
Bakersfield, California - Wikipedia
Sender:
Sent from Bakersfield (California / United States), on 12.03.2014
Photo: Charles Eitelgeorge
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