Jump to content

Bena, California

Coordinates: 35°19′36″N 118°44′23″W / 35.32667°N 118.73972°W / 35.32667; -118.73972
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bena
Bena is located in California
Bena
Bena
Location in California
Bena is located in the United States
Bena
Bena
Bena (the United States)
Coordinates: 35°19′36″N 118°44′23″W / 35.32667°N 118.73972°W / 35.32667; -118.73972
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyKern County
Elevation863 ft (263 m)

Bena (formerly Pampa)[2] is an unincorporated area of Kern County, California.[1] It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad 7 miles (11 km) west-northwest of Caliente,[2] at an elevation of 863 feet (263 m).[1] The Pampa post office operated from 1889 to 1890 and again during 1901.[2]

Railroad history

[edit]

The Bena railroad station was built in 1885.[3] In 1918, Standard Construction agreed to build four rail operators' houses near Bena for Southern Pacific.[4] In 1962, the old Bena railroad station became the site of the largest superphosphate manufacturing plant west of the Mississippi River.[3]

The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads donated the old Bena depot, once located a few miles from the Tehachapi Loop, to Kern Pioneer Village in 1961.[3][5] Bena Depot was fully restored by the Kern County Museum in 2020.[6]

Oil fields and landfill

[edit]

The area near Bena was the site of wildcat drilling for oil in the 1930s[7] and 1940s.[8]

Kern County now operates a landfill at Bena.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bena, California
  2. ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1001. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. ^ a b c "Big Fertilizer Plant Starts Kern Output". The Fresno Bee. April 29, 1962. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Will Build Houses". Bakersfield Morning Echo. September 27, 1918. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Garcia, Olivia (February 5, 2017). "Kern Pioneer Village research center ready for researchers". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Recent Restoration Projects". Kern County Museum. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  7. ^ "Three Wildcats Seek New Field". Fresno Bee. June 13, 1937. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Oil Field Notes". The San Francisco Examiner. November 30, 1949. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Bena". Kern County Public Works. Retrieved November 24, 2023.