Lebec, California
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Lebec is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
in southwestern
Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County comprise ...
. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,468.


Geography

Lebec is located in
Castac Valley Castac Valley is a valley located within the Transverse Ranges in southern Kern County, California. The unincorporated community of Lebec is located within the western portion of the valley. Geography Castac Valley is located between the eastern ...
between the
San Emigdio San Emigdio () is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ...
and
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 ...
. The community is one of the
Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass The Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern Count ...
. Lebec is south 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 ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, Lebec has an area of . The community, which is near
Tejon Pass The Tejon Pass , previously known as ''Portezuelo de Cortes'', ''Portezuela de Castac'', and Fort Tejon Pass is a mountain pass between the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains and northeastern San Emigdio Mountains, linking Southern Californ ...
, lies at an elevation of .


History

Lebec is named in honor of
Peter Lebeck Peter Lebeck (died October 17, 1837, also Lebec or Lebecque) was an early settler of Kern County, California, of whom little is known about. He was killed by a bear, probably a California grizzly, in 1837. The tree he was buried under is known ...
or Lebecque, a French trapper killed by a
grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
in 1837 in the area that later became
Fort Tejon Fort Tejon in California is a former United States Army outpost which was intermittently active from June 24, 1854, until September 11, 1864. It is located in the Grapevine Canyon (''La Cañada de las Uvas'') between the San Emigdio Mountains and ...
. He was memorialized in an epitaph at the site, found carved in a bare spot on an old oak tree. The epitaph read ''PETER LEBECK / KILLED BY A X BEAR / OCTR 17 / 1837.'' The bark of the oak tree eventually grew over the carving. A group from Bakersfield, called the Foxtail Rangers, removed the bark in the late 19th century and found the inscription in reverse on its underside. The piece is now displayed in the museum at Fort Tejon State Historic Park. Lieutenant R.S. Williamson camped at the same oak grove in 1853 while on a mid-1850s mapping mission for a practicable railway route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Geologist William P. Blake accompanied Williamson's party. The area was garrisoned by the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
a year later, on August 10, 1854, as
Fort Tejon Fort Tejon in California is a former United States Army outpost which was intermittently active from June 24, 1854, until September 11, 1864. It is located in the Grapevine Canyon (''La Cañada de las Uvas'') between the San Emigdio Mountains and ...
, the first military fort in the California interior. The fort suffered extensive damage during the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake. The first post office opened in 1895, having been transferred there from Tejon. The Lebec Hotel was a large Spanish Colonial Revival-style hotel located on the
Ridge Route The Ridge Route, officially the Castaic–Tejon Route, was a two-lane highway between Los Angeles County and Kern County, California. Opened in 1915 and paved with concrete between 1917 and 1921, the road was the first paved highway directly ...
in the community. It was built in 1921, and was popular with Hollywood executives and movie stars before World War II. It closed in 1968, and was demolished in 1971.


Demographics


2010

The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that 1,468 people, 533 households, and 372 families resided in the CDP. The population density was . There were 594 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the CDP was 78.5% White, 1.0% African American, 3.1% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 10.1% from other races, and 6.2% from two or more races. 26.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households. There were 533 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 54.0% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present. 5.3% of households were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 0.6% were same-sex married couples or partnerships. 25.1% of households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75. The population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% aged 18 to 24, 20.6% aged 25 to 44, 31.8% aged 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.1 males. There were 594 housing units of which 71.1% were owner-occupied and 28.9% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 70.4% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29.6% lived in rental housing units.


2000

In the 2000 census, the population of the CDP was 1,224 and the
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
was 79 percent Caucasian (1,019 people). There were only three African Americans. There were 256 Hispanics or Latinos of any race (20 percent of all residents). Other residents included 16 American Indians or Alaska natives and four Asians. The median age for Lebec residents was 36 years, almost the same as the 35 years for the nation as a whole. Lebec also had slightly more veterans than its share, 169, or 19 percent, compared to 13 percent around the country. Fifty-nine percent of Lebec adults were employed. On average, they traveled 27 minutes to get to their jobs, about the same as most Americans. Lebec households had a lower median income than the nation as a whole — $46,857, compared to $50,046. Family income was $40,972. There were just 100 people (or 8 percent) below the
poverty level The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
in Lebec in 2000—significantly less than the nation as a whole, which was 12 percent in 2000. When calculated by families, though, the poverty rate in Lebec was only 1.4 percent. Of the 516 housing units, 319 were occupied by owners and 127 by renters, about the same 7:3 ratio as the rest of the country. Sixty housing units (12 percent) were vacant.


Transportation

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
is the only highway passing through the community. Local traffic drives on Lebec Road, Peace Valley Road, Frazier Mountain Park Road and adjoining streets. Kern Transit provides bus service Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer months to Frazier Park, Gorman, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines, and
Pine Mountain Club Pine Mountain Club is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,315. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass. Geography Pine Mount ...
. Kern Transit provides weekday service from the Flying J gas station via their Route 130 bus to the
Santa Clarita Station Santa Clarita station is a Metrolink train station in the city of Santa Clarita, California. It is served by Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line between Los Angeles Union Station and Lancaster station. Because the City of Santa Clarita has two o ...
Metrolink and the
McBean Regional Transit Center McBean Regional Transit Center, also known by its acronym MRTC, is a transit center and bus station located at 24375 Valencia Boulevard in the Valencia area of Santa Clarita, California, near the intersection of Valencia Boulevard and McBean Par ...
, which includes many connecting bus routes, including to North Hollywood Station and elsewhere.


Water district

Lebec is served by the Lebec County Water District which was established in 1967 and began operation on April 21, 1969. In October 2011 the district approved a five-year contract with Applied Process Technology to manage the district. The district serves 836 people, and in May 2012 ''The New York Times'' reported that individual sampling of the district's water showed two contaminants above legal limits —
alpha particle Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay, but may also be produce ...
activity and Combined Uranium (picoCuries per liter). Two contaminants —
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
(total) and uranium-228 — were below legal limits but above "health guidelines". In 2011–2012 a committee of the Kern County
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
investigated complaints about the installation and connection of a private 12-inch line to the district's water supply, by which a developer hoped to bring water to a hotel then planned for construction. The committee's report claimed that the water line was laid without proper approval and that the "subsequent opening of the hotel created a water shortage that lasted for at least five days.""Lebec County Water District Twelve Inch Line," ''The Mountain Enterprise'' website
/ref> It was later determined that two men affiliated with the district's governance, along with the hotel developers, constructed the water line across Cuddy Creek without a permit from
California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...
which was obtained after the fact. The Grand Jury committee also investigated "a number of complaints" alleging that the board violated the California Open Meetings Law, a.k.a.
Brown Act The Ralph M. Brown Act is a California law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. Located at California Government Code 54950 ''et seq.'', it is an act of the California State Legislat ...
, that it exceeded its authority and that it engaged in "unprofessional conduct". The committee submitted its report in April 2012, finding, among other things, "frequent bickering" among governing board members and the public, "highly irregular" actions at a board meeting in December 2011, including the approval of a "seemingly pre-designated slate" of officers. The committee report stated that the water district "is not operating in a manner that serves the best interests of the public" and recommended "formal training ... and conduct themselves accordingly or resign from the board." The water district board replied that "the Grand Jury's findings are substantially incorrect" and that the report was "filled with opinion, unsubstantiated with actual facts". The board voted on January 14, 2014, to open each meeting with a prayer "prior to the Pledge of Allegiance at all future meetings", and president Michael Hightower opened the subsequent meeting, on February 11, "with a call to stand for a minute of silence. He asked that all—including 'atheists or agnostics, with their powers of positive thinking' and those that are faith-based, 'with their prayers,'—to focus on the much-needed resource of rain."Gary Meyer, "Lebec Water District Opens With Silent Prayer," ''The Mountain Enterprise'', February 21, 2014, page 4


Businesses

Lebec is the home of the
Tejon Ranch Company Tejon Ranch Company (), based in Lebec, California, is one of the largest private landowners in California. The company was incorporated in 1936 to organize the ownership of a large tract of land that was consolidated from four Mexican land gr ...
. This ranch has been seen in movies such as ''
The Kid Ranger ''The Kid Ranger'' is a 1936 American Western film starring Bob Steele. It was done for Supreme Pictures and was produced by A. W. Hackel. Cast * Bob Steele as Ray Burton * William Farnum as Bill Mason * Joan Barclay as Mary Brokaw * Earl ...
'' (1936), '' Pals of Silver Sage'' (1940) and '' Wild Bill'' (1995).


Climate

This region experiences warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters, with occasional snowfall. No average monthly temperatures are above 71.6 °F. According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Lebec has a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Lebec, California
/ref>


See also

* ''
The Mountain Enterprise ''The Mountain Enterprise'' is a weekly newspaper published since 1966, circulating in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass east and west of the Grapevine section of the Interstate 5 in the San Emigdio Mountains region of California, midway ...
'' — newspaper circulating in Lebec and the surrounding communities.


References


External links


Lebec County Water District.com: ''Current News''
{{Kern County, California Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass Census-designated places in Kern County, California San Emigdio Mountains Tehachapi Mountains