Memorial Day 2020 at Bakersfield National Cemetery 01

Bakersfield National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress o ...

located at 30338 East Bear Mountain Blvd,

Arvin Arvin is a city in Kern County, California. Arvin is located southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,304, up from 12,956 at the 2000 census. In 2007, the United States Environmental Protec ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

. It is approximately east of

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. It is isolated from urban development by oak studded rolling hills in the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwest ...

. Administered by the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

, the cemetery has space to accommodate caskets and cremated remains on 500 acres (200 ha) of land.Bakersfield National Cemetery
US Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed: 11-03-2011

History

The history of the location of the cemetery dates back to the 1840s, when California was a part of Mexico. The land was granted by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Jose Antonio Aguirre and Ignacio del Valle. They were the first recorded owners of the property. The land was primarily used for cattle ranching. During the 1850s and 1860s, General

Edward Fitzgerald Beale Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was a national figure in the 19th-century United States. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, ...

purchased the land, and combined it with other property to form a large ranch. It was named Ranchos el Tejon, or The Tejon Ranch. In 1915, Bear Mountain Boulevard ( SR 223) was constructed, replacing the dangerous White Wolf Road to the south. An important route, it linked the southern

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

, to Tehachapi and industries in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

. It was also a part of the Midway Route, which was one of two routes connecting Bakersfield with

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It continued to serve that function until 1933, when Bena Road to the north was constructed, which provided a more direct connection to Bakersfield.McAllister, Melvin. "The 'old roads' to Bakersfield". ''Tehachapi News''. In 2003, congress adopted the National Cemetery Expansion Act. This authorized the creation of six new national cemeteries, including the Bakersfield National Cemetery. The Tejon Ranch Company offered land at multiple sites for the cemetery. Eventually, 500 acres of land adjacent to Bear Mountain Boulevard was selected. In 2007, architectural design contract was awarded to Huitt-Zollars, Inc, in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

. The cemetery opened in the summer of 2009, with a 20-acre (8.1 ha) early burial site and temporary facilities. Construction of the permanent facilities were completed two years later.

Notable interments

* Charles Napier (1936–2011) – actor and US Army sergeant who served in Korea

References

External links

US Department of Veterans Affairs: Bakersfield National Cemetery

Bakersfield National Cemetery Fact Sheet

Bakersfield National Cemetery Support Committee
* * {{GNIS, 2701872 2009 establishments in California Cemeteries in California United States national cemeteries Protected areas of Kern County, California Geography of Bakersfield, California San Joaquin Valley