r/Bakersfield

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/

Come learn more about surveillance tech used in Kern County, and share your perspective. Kern County Criminal Justice Coalition is organizing this, and Anti-Capitalist Computer Club will present on their research into the city's contracts with and usage of Flock Safety.

See you there.

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

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.