Kern County Courthouse

Completed 1896

When mining activity around Havilah began to subside, Kern's county seat was moved from the one-time boomtown to Bakersfield. The town's first courthouse was constructed in 1876 but soon proved inadequate for the growing county, and in 1896 it was reconstructed with additions that doubled the size of the original building. When a more modern courthouse was built across the street in 1912, the county sold the old courthouse to the City of Bakersfield for use as its city hall. Both the old and new courthouses were damaged in a 1952 earthquake and demolished. A cement-and-wrought iron fence that enclosed the 1896 courthouse now stands inside the entrance of the Kern County Museum.

Courtesy Kern County Museum


Close Window