Tehichipa is a former settlement 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 ...

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 ...

. It was located on the railroad near

Oak Creek Pass Oak Creek Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Tehachapi Mountains, in Kern County, California. The road across it connects the City of Tehachapi with the Mojave Desert. History The first European to use the pass was Francisco Garces ...

and

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

. Tehichipa, originally known as Williamsburg, was founded in 1869 by James Williams; while Williams originally named the town for himself, its name was changed to Tehichipa by 1872. The town was a shipping center for

Owens Valley Owens Valley (Numic Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Pl ...

gold mines prior to the construction of a railroad in the area. However, when the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

built a railroad in 1876, it bypassed Tehichipa, instead establishing a new town named "Tehachapi Summit". The railroad caused Tehachapi Summit to grow at Tehichipa's expense. Tehachapi Summit evolved into the city of Tehachapi, while Tehichipa ultimately died out. The only surviving building from Tehichipa, the

Errea House The Errea House is a historic house located at 311 S. Green St. in Tehachapi, California. The house is the only surviving building from the settlement of Tehichipa, the first town in the Tehachapi area. Tehichipa was founded in 1869, and the ho ...

, is now located in Tehachapi. A post office operated at Tehichipa from 1869 to 1877, when the service was transferred to Old Town.

References

Former settlements in Kern County, California Tehachapi Mountains Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in California Former populated places in California {{KernCountyCA-geo-stub