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McFarland
Topics: McFarland, Kern County, James Boyd McFarland
Posted by admin Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Location: McFarland, CA

The area now known as McFarland, located about 25 miles north of Bakersfield on Highway 99, first saw homesteading in the 1860s. Back then, domestic water came from wells. A limited amount of irrigation water came from Poso Creek and the Kern River.

Expansion of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads gave the community opportunity to grow. Tracks extended from Delano to Sumner, in east Bakersfield.

James Boyd McFarland, an educator, came through California in the early 1900s. McFarland was impressed with the crop-growing potential of the area that now bears his name.

Especially appealing was a community called Hunt's Siding with about 50 families, livestock and crops. McFarland bought land nearby.

On March 2, 1909, the town of McFarland was officially created. Its population grew through the Great Depression and spiked after World War II, when veterans returned and started families.

In 1957, the city incorporated.

Today, McFarland still feels, in part, like a small, family friendly place.
But a recent surge in gang violence has shattered any aura of innocence.

During the first half of 2007, neighborhoods on the east side of Highway 99 counted five gang-related deaths. In May, a woman nearly six months pregnant was killed by a stray bullet as she slept.

Geographic information

Size: 2.1 square miles

Climate: Average summer high: 98; low: 62. Average winter high: 57; low: 35.


Economic demographics

Population: 12,686

Median home price in 2006: $179,000

Major industries: Agriculture, education, health and social services

History

Year founded: 1909

Year incorporated: 1957

Government

City Hall: 401 W. Kern Ave., McFarland, 93250, 792-3091, fax 792-3093.

Mayor: Kenneth Rosson

Law enforcement: Kern County Sheriff's Department, McFarland substation, 401 W. Kern Ave., 792-2121

Fire: Kern County Fire Department, McFarland Station No. 33, 700 W. Perkins Ave., 792-2131

Animal control: Contact the Public Works division through the city administrative office at 792-2121.

McFarland Unified School District: 601 2nd Street, McFarland, 93250,
792-3081

Library: Clara M. Jackson (McFarland) Branch of the Kern County Library, 500 West Kern Ave., 792-2318,

Kern County Human Services Department: Delano office, 1816 Cecil Ave., Delano, 721-5134

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