Havilah, California
Havilah, California | |
---|---|
Unincorporated community | |
Coordinates: 35°31′04″N 118°31′07″W / 35.51778°N 118.51861°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Kern County |
Elevation | 3,136 ft (956 m) |
Reference no. | 100 |
Havilah is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California.[1] It is located in the mountains between Walker Basin and the Kern River Valley,[2] 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southwest of Bodfish[3] at an elevation of 3,136 feet (956 m).[1]
History
Early
Havilah was the county seat at the founding of Kern County on April 2, 1866, and the county's first newspaper, the Havilah Courier, began publication that same year.[6] The county government was moved to Bakersfield in 1874.[7]
A post office operated at Havilah from 1866 to 1918.[3] The Havilah School District, formed in 1866, was the first public school in Kern County.
Nearby historic mining communities include Loraine, (originally named Paris) and Twin Oaks.[8] The town is now registered as California Historical Landmark #100.[9]
Modern
Aside from the Old Havilah Cemetery, little remains from the original settlement, most of which was destroyed by fires in the 1920s. A replica of the courthouse and one-room schoolhouse have been constructed near their original locations.[10] The sides of Caliente-Bodfish Road in Havilah are lined with signs marking where other historic buildings once stood.
Accessible by car, Havilah is just over 20 miles (32 km) driving distance from the intersection of State Route 58 and Caliente-Bodfish Road. It is just over five driving miles from Bodfish on Caliente-Bodfish Road.
The
- Southern Cross Mine
- Friday Mine
- Uncle Sam Mine
- McKeadney Mine
Districts, zones, boundaries, and services
The ZIP Code is 93518, and the community is inside area code 661. Havilah shares its postal ZIP Code with the nearby communities of Caliente and Loraine.[11] The community is within the Kern County Air Pollution Control District.[12]
The area is bordered to the east and west by
The community falls within the Battalion 7 area of the
Commercial electric power is supplied by Southern California Edison.[14]
California Historical Landmark
The California Historical Landmark reads:
- NO. 100 HAVILAH - Gold deposits at Havilah were discovered in 1864. Havilah was the county seat between 1866, when Kern County was organized, and 1872, when the government was moved to Bakersfield. Havilah was an active mining center for more than 20 years, and there are still some operating mines in this vicinity.[15]
A state plaque is located at 10 Miller St. in Bodfish, California. A private plaque is at 6789 Caliente-Bodfish Rd., Havilah, California.
See also
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Havilah, California
- ^ a b c d Map: Miracle Hot Springs, California, 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, 1989.
- ^ ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ Price, Robert (April 15, 2023). "160 years ago, a culture-defining atrocity on the Kern River". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Founder's name from Gudde, Erwin G, California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographic Names, 4th ed.(Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1998) pp. 161.
- ^ Cook, Fred S., "Little Town of Havilah,"Historic Legends of the Kern River Valley, (Volcano, California: California Traveler, Inc., 1975) pp.18.
- ^ "Havilah: Historic Landmark #279," State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Historic Preservation, 2007. This information is duplicated on at least one other state web site and in the National Register for Historic Places.
- ^ Hoover, Mildred Brooke et al., "Kern County," Historic Spots in California, Fourth Edition, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1990) pp. 127.
- ^ "Havilah". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
- ^ "Historic Havilah (No. 100 California Historical Landmark) - Sierra Nevada Geotourism MapGuide". www.sierranevadageotourism.org. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Based on 2000 US Census Bureau data and verified by checking the US Postal Service web site.
- ^ Based on ZIP Code data made available by the California Air Resources Board. One other reference says it's in the "San Joaquin Valley APCD."
- ^ Kern County Fire Department, Wildland Fire Management Plan, 2004.
- ^ Information based on California Public Utilities Commission regulatory filings.
- ^ californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmark chl-100