Bena
Unincorporated area
Bena is located in California
Bena
Bena
Location in California
Bena is located in the United States
Bena
Bena
Bena (the United States)
Coordinates: 35°19′36″N 118°44′23″W / 35.32667°N 118.73972°W / 35.32667; -118.73972
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyKern County
Elevation
[1]
863 ft (263 m)

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]

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


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