Bena,_California

Bena, California

Bena, California

Unincorporated community in California, United States

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]

Quick Facts Country, State ...

Railroad history

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

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

  1. [1]
    U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bena, California
  2. [2]
    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. [3]
    "Big Fertilizer Plant Starts Kern Output". The Fresno Bee. April 29, 1962. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. [4]
    "Will Build Houses". Bakersfield Morning Echo. September 27, 1918. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. [5]
    Garcia, Olivia (February 5, 2017). "Kern Pioneer Village research center ready for researchers". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Recent Restoration Projects". Kern County Museum. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Three Wildcats Seek New Field". Fresno Bee. June 13, 1937. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. [8]
    "Oil Field Notes". The San Francisco Examiner. November 30, 1949. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. [9]
    "Bena". Kern County Public Works. Retrieved November 24, 2023.


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