Bakersfield

Bakersfield runs on extraction—always has. Thomas Baker reclaimed swamplands along the Kern River in 1863, founding a town along the Los Angeles-Stockton road. Gold deposits at nearby Havilah drew miners in 1864. But the real boom came in May 1899, when James and Jonathan Ellwood dug a well by hand and struck oil at 45 feet on the north side of the Kern River.

By 1901, over 500 oil wells dotted the field. By 1904, Kern River had produced 17.5 million barrels—the most in California. Within a decade, Bakersfield's population tripled. Today, Kern County produces about 250,000 barrels daily—70% of all California oil production. The 2025 passage of Senate Bill 237 expanded in-state oil and gas production, cementing Bakersfield's petrochemical identity.

But Bakersfield also became an agricultural powerhouse. San Francisco capitalists built irrigation systems distributing Kern River water, transforming desert into cropland. In 2023, Kern County led California with $8.6 billion in agricultural output—the fourth most productive agricultural county in the United States. Grapes, almonds, citrus, carrots, cotton, and roses all grow here. Together, oil and agriculture contribute $60 billion to California's $4.5 trillion economy.

The cultural extraction was different. In the 1950s and 1960s, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard created the 'Bakersfield Sound'—a raw, electric guitar-driven country style that rejected Nashville's polished production. Dust Bowl migrants had brought their music from Oklahoma and Texas; Bakersfield gave it electricity.

By 2026, Bakersfield tests whether a dual-extraction economy can survive California's energy transition. Oil production faces regulatory pressure; agriculture faces water scarcity. The 403,000-person city bets on the same resources that built it—while the state around it moves toward different energy sources.