Reward is an
unincorporated community in western
Kern County,
California.
Geography
It is located west-northwest of
McKittrick,
at an elevation of in the southern
Temblor Range.
Reward is located in the
McKittrick Oil Field.
History
Reward was the location of the Aguaje de Santa Maria (Waterhole of Saint Mary) water stop on the 19th century
El Camino Viejo
El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles ( en, the Old Road to Los Angeles), also known as El Camino Viejo and the Old Los Angeles Trail, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Spanish colonial Las Californias (1769–1822) and Mexican Alta Cali ...
in
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
.
[Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle, Historic spots in California, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1990, p.123]
The first wooden
oil derrick in Kern County was constructed at the future site of Reward in 1878, to drill for
flux oil to mix with asphalt that was being mined in
Asphalto
Asphalto is a former settlement in Kern County, California. It was located on the railroad northeast of McKittrick, at an elevation of 932 feet (284 m). Asphalto still appeared on maps as of 1932.
History
Originally the site of the Aguaje de La ...
and refined in
McKittrick. The settlement of Reward was founded in 1907, its name derived from the discovery of oil at the site.
A post office operating there from 1909 to 1937.
[
]
References
Unincorporated communities in Kern County, California
El Camino Viejo
Temblor Range
Populated places established in 1907
1907 establishments in California
Unincorporated communities in California
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