u/CartographerLess3945

Emerson Middle School opened in 1876 and located at Truxtun and L Street.  One of the first educational institutions opened in Bakersfield, it was once referred to as the “Railroad School.”  In 1904, the school was named after the famed author and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. The original structure was built of wood and arsonists burned the original structure down shortly after it opened, and a permanent brick building was constructed in its place. Emerson School moved to its present campus at 801 4th Street at the beginning of 1955 . The original downtown campus on Truxtun Avenue was destroyed and damaged beyond repair by the devastating Kern County earthquake in 1952.

More on the 1952 Earthquake and other Kern County History here > https://www.reddit.com/r/Bakersfield/comments/1vmhuh1/have_you_missed_one/

Long before the neighborhoods and development we know today filled south Bakersfield, the area was farmland, canals, and a handful of small rural schools. One of those schools was Stine School, which has the distinction of being the second oldest school in the Panama Buena Vista Union School District.

The story of Stine School actually begins with the man it was named after Phillip A. Stine, one of the early farmers in the area that became known as Kern Island. Stine played an important role in bringing water to the developing agricultural region. He was instrumental in the construction of the Stine Canal, which carried water from the Kern River to farms south of what would eventually become the Panama School area. The road that followed the canal became known as Stine Road a name that remains familiar to Bakersfield residents today.

In 1900, the Stine School District was established by Manuel Gonzales, using land that had previously been part of the Buena Vista School District. The new district took its name from the nearby road, and its first teacher was Cecilia Titus Morris. She had just 16 pupils, and like many early rural schools, Stine was a small, one-room schoolhouse serving children from the surrounding farming community. Unfortunately, the original school didn't last when the one room school caught fire and burned down in 1914 A new schoolhouse was built the following year, in 1915, on Wilson Road, near the site of the original school. The location would eventually become associated with the Italian Heritage Dante Hall. But even the new school soon faced a problem that would become increasingly familiar in growing Bakersfield. There simply wasn't enough room.

The Stine School District stretched from Stockdale south to the railroad tracks, but its little schoolhouse struggled to keep up with the number of children in the area. By 1935, Stine School was already considered too small and inadequate for the growing student population. One of the people who pushed particularly hard for a solution was Sing Lum, a member of the Stine Board of Trustees. Lum spent two years campaigning for Stine to unite with the neighboring Panama School District. His efforts eventually paid off. In 1944, Stine School District merged with Panama to create the Panama Union School District. During that first year, 68 Stine students were sent to Panama School.

On July 21, 1952, the massive Kern County earthquake struck destroying the school. The students were once again moved to Panama School, and even some of Stine's outbuildings were relocated there along with the 68 students. But the community wasn't finished with Stine School. As Bakersfield and the surrounding area continued to grow, the district eventually needed another school. In 1957, a new Stine Elementary School was built at its present location. The new school included six classrooms, an administrative office, and a kitchen, with Griffin Chapman serving as its first principal.

Today, Stine Elementary is described as a family school, with multiple generations of Bakersfield families having passed through its doors. Approximately 620 students attend each year, supported by nearly 80 employees. And for today's students, one of the school's most recognizable features is the Viking ship on the playground. But beneath that modern school is a much older story one involving early farmers, irrigation canals, rural schoolhouses, a devastating fire, a school district merger, and the 1952 earthquake.

Correction to 5th picture (1939)*

Want more History on Bakersfield Click here -> https://www.reddit.com/r/Bakersfield/comments/1vmhuh1/have_you_missed_one/

South East Corner of Sumner Street at Baker Street
The Western Hotel - 819 Baker St - Owner C.H. Fowler
The Leader Saloon - Owner J.P. Johnson
East Bakersfield, Kern County California.
July 4, 1915

Southern Pacific 2914 is on the return leg of her roundtrip railfan excursion from Bakersfield to McKittrick and is picking up a long string of gondola's for the return trip home.

More picture and info on the railfan excursion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sp2914/permalink/9201874483232329/

SP 2914 is the last standing SP 4-8-0 in existence and resides at the Kern County Museum after being donated to the people of Kern County 7-18-1955.

Photo info:
SP 2914 4-8-0 TW-8
Lokern Trestle West of Buttonwillow
3-19-1955
Photo by George Manley edit

Just southwest of Bakersfield, Gosford was once miles from civilization. Now, it is directly in the path of Southwest Bakersfield's urban sprawl. Gosford Jct. was a strategic point on the Southern Pacific’s West Side expansion. Built in the early 1900s, Gosford was where two powerful branches split:

• The Sunset Railway: curving south toward the Sunset Oil fields.
• The McKittrick Branch: continuing west through Buttonwillow toward McKittrick.

Gosford had a station agent that was located here until the 1930's it handled livestock from the ranches around the area, citrus, fruit, lumber, and was a regular passenger station and stop for all trains. This was also a L.C.L station until the late 1950's and provided day telegraph service until the station was closed. Gosford had a siding capacity that has varied from 16 to 54+ cars not including the stock yard on the McKittrick branch.

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eXrLUvsgYfX59McV6

Originally the town of Sumner now East Bakersfield, looking North down Baker St 1880's

East Bakersfield (Kern City) Western Hotel 823 Baker St 1900-1910

Western Hotel in East Bakersfield was built on the southeast corner of Baker and Sumner St Following the great Kern City Fire of 1898.. It housed the Western Rooming House, the Kern Drug Company, and short-lived mercantile shops before transitioning into the notorious Leader Saloon by 1910.

Sorry for the error and repost could not edit the title.

SP 2486 4-6-2 P-Class Steam locomotive Train 51
East Bakersfield Southern Pacific Depot
1-25-1942

More history of the East Bakersfield SP Depot: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bakersfield/s/X8mPrEVBWj
Help save this building: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bakersfield/s/qqPw0IJL70

When we think about the people who built Bakersfield, we usually think of oilmen, farmers, railroaders, and politicians. But what about the people who literally supplied the materials that built the city? One of those stories is the history of the Bakersfield Sandstone Brick Company and the Curran family.

The story begins in the 1880s, when James Curran came west from Illinois. According to an oral history recorded in 1976 with his son, Charles S. Curran, James had suffered from asthma as a young man and believed the Western climate might help. He visited his uncle in San Francisco, traveled south by steamer, eventually came to Bakersfield, and found work with the Kern County Land Company as a zanjero. James also came from a family familiar with brickmaking his father had been a brickmaker and Bakersfield was in need of a reliable local source of brick. At the time, much of Bakersfield's construction was still wood. The town had already experienced devastating fires, and brick construction was becoming increasingly important.

In 1886, James Curran purchased approximately 40 acres and started his own brickmaking operation. According to his son, the early operation was extremely labor-intensive. Bricks were made largely by hand, and production was limited to the summer months when the bricks could dry. James initially had only one or two men helping him. Then came an idea that would change the business. W. S. Tevis, head of the Kern County Land Company, had seen sand-and-lime bricks being manufactured in Germany. Knowing that both sand and lime were plentiful in California, Tevis encouraged James Curran and his partner C. J. Lindgren to experiment with the process. The result was the distinctive sandstone brick that would become the company's trademark. Unlike traditional red brick, which was made from clay, molded, dried, and fired in a kiln, the sandstone brick was made by compressing sand and lime into molds. The bricks were then placed in large steam kettles under pressure for about 12 hours, where they hardened. Charles Curran recalled that the bricks continued to become harder as they aged.

The business grew rapidly. In 1903, the company was incorporated with $52,500 in capital, with W. S. Tevis and his associates, C. J. Lindgren, and the Curran family among the major stockholders The company didn't just make bricks. As Bakersfield expanded, it expanded with it adding lumber, cement, lime, plaster, hardware, plumbing supplies, and other building materials. For decades, the Currans supplied contractors, builders, farmers, and homeowners throughout Kern County. The company also survived some difficult times. During the Great Depression, Charles Curran recalled that the company lost money for roughly two years, but ultimately recovered. During World War I and World War II, materials were harder to obtain and government needs took priority.

The company's sandstone brick operation eventually came to an end during World War I. Charles Curran recalled that replacement parts for the specialized machinery became unavailable, and the sandstone brick equipment was sold to a group of Chinese investors who shipped it to China. The company continued making traditional red clay brick until the late 1950s. The 1952 earthquake also changed the brick industry. Charles Curran explained that new earthquake regulations requiring substantially more reinforcing steel made solid brick construction much less practical. Reinforced concrete became the dominant method for many larger buildings. The Currans' contribution to Bakersfield didn't end with brickmaking. The family became deeply involved in the community, just one of many notable mentions is his daughter on Oct 13th, 1911, Sibyl Curran Chenoweth of Bakersfield, was the first woman to register to vote in Kern County., and was a predominant figure in the Women's club.

The company continued evolving as Bakersfield grew from a small agricultural town into a major regional center. There's even a fascinating connection to one of Bakersfield's most recognizable landmarks: the original Beale Memorial Clock Tower as well as its replica. Charles Curran recalled that his father and contractor Henry Eissler had planned to repair the clock tower after it was damaged in the 1952 earthquake. They believed the damaged upper portion could be repaired for only a few thousand dollars. Instead, the original tower was demolished. When the community later worked to recreate the landmark at the Kern County Museum, the Sandstone Brick Company provided materials it could salvage or reproduce, helping preserve the memory of the original structure. The Curran family helped build the city you know today brick by brick, Board by board.

Today, the old Sandstone Brick Company is gone, but its legacy remains in the stories, buildings, and pieces of Bakersfield that survive from that era. The company's iconic neon sign, which once stood at its Truxtun Street location. It has since found a new home at the Kern County Museum, giving another generation a chance to see the sign that once advertised one of Bakersfield's longest running building material businesses.

https://hrc.csub.edu/oral-history/sjvohp/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84805863/james-curran

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84806205/sibyl-chenoweth

TAKE A TOUR OF THE BEALE CLOCK TOWER!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bakersfield/comments/1ufjjqo/i_bet_a_lot_of_people_dont_know_this/