Editing Bakersfield, California (section)

=== Founding ===
[[File:ColonelThomasBaker1850.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bakersfield is named after Thomas Baker, who came to the area in 1863.]]
In 1861, [[Great Flood of 1862|disastrous floods]] swept away the original settlement founded in 1860 by the [[German American|German-born]] Christian Bohna.<ref name=Historic /> Among those attracted to the area by the California gold rush was Thomas Baker, a lawyer and former colonel in the [[Militia Acts of 1792|militia]] of [[Ohio Army National Guard#Militia|Ohio]], his home state.<ref name=Historic>{{Cite book |author=Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle |title=Historic Spots in California |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8047-1734-2 |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2WrAAAAIAAJ |page=128}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfieldmagazine.net/arts/kern-history/456-kern-county-shapers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115233731/http://bakersfieldmagazine.net/arts/kern-history/456-kern-county-shapers |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2011 |title=Kern County Shapers |publisher=Bakersfield Magazine |first=Gordon F. |last=Lull |access-date=January 17, 2013 |quote=Baker ...was admitted to the Ohio bar at age 19 and later appointed a colonel in his home state's militia.}}</ref> Baker moved to the banks of the Kern River in 1863,<ref name=Historic /> at what became known as Baker's Field, which became a stopover for travelers.<ref name=KERN_MOVERS_SHAKERS>Gavin, Camille. Leverett, Kathy. ''Kern's Movers & Shakers''. Jostens. Visalia, California: 1987. {{ISBN|0-9618770-0-6}}. Page 13.</ref> By 1870, with a population of 600, what is now known as Bakersfield was becoming the principal town in Kern County.<ref name=Historic />

In 1873, Bakersfield was officially [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as a city,<ref name=Historic /> and by 1874, it officially replaced the town of [[Havilah, California|Havilah]] as the county seat.<ref name=Historic /> Alexander Mills was hired as the city marshal, a man one historian would describe as "...&nbsp;an old man by the time he became Marshal of Bakersfield, and he walked with a cane. But he was a Kentuckian, a handy man with a gun, and not lacking in initiative and resource when the mood moved him."<ref>Baily, Richard. ''Heart of the Golden Empire''. Windsor Publications Inc, Woodland Hills, CA:1984. {{ISBN|0-89781-065-1}}. Page 51.</ref> Businessmen and others began to resent Mills, who was cantankerous and high-handed in his treatment of them. Wanting to fire him but fearing reprisals, they devised a scheme to disincorporate, effectively leaving him without an employer. According to local historian Gilbert Gia<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.historicbakersfieldandkerncounty.com/ |title=Historic Bakersfield & Kern County |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729100507/https://www.historicbakersfieldandkerncounty.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the city was also failing to collect the taxes it needed for services.<ref>"Disincorporation: Bakersfield ended soon after it began," Dianne Hardisty, Bakersfield Californian, July 9, 2011, {{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/hot-topics/x1928174425/When-is-it-time-for-a-city-to-throw-in-the-towel |title=DIANNE HARDISTY: When is it time for a city to 'throw in the ... - BakersfieldCalifornian.com |access-date=March 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416194147/http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/hot-topics/x1928174425/When-is-it-time-for-a-city-to-throw-in-the-towel |archive-date=April 16, 2014}}</ref> In 1876,<ref>Maynard, John. ''Bakersfield – A Centennial Portrait''. Cherbo Publishing Group. Encino, California: 1997. {{ISBN|1-882933-19-2}}. Page 19.</ref> The city voted to disincorporate.<!-- see previous.{{why|date=January 2013}} --> For the next 22 years, a citizen's council managed the community.<ref>"Marshall Alex Mills and Bakersfield's Disincorporation of 1876," ver 2, by Gilbert P Gia. Bakersfield, California: 2011. https://www.historicbakersfieldandkerncounty.com/crime {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729092446/https://www.historicbakersfieldandkerncounty.com/crime |date=July 29, 2017 }}</ref>

By 1880, Bakersfield had a population of 801, with 250 of Chinese descent.<ref name="worldpopulationreview_bakersfield" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bakersfield.com/news/kerns-vibrant-chinese-past-comes-to-life/article_a70369b3-bcbd-5b78-9747-7be8074aa739.html |title=Kern's vibrant Chinese past comes to life |website=bakersfield.com |date=February 10, 2006 |access-date=July 8, 2020 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228162113/https://www.bakersfield.com/news/kerns-vibrant-chinese-past-comes-to-life/article_a70369b3-bcbd-5b78-9747-7be8074aa739.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 1890, it had a population of 2,626. Migration from [[Texas]], [[Louisiana]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Southern California]] brought new residents, who were mostly employed by the oil industry.<ref name="worldpopulationreview_bakersfield">{{Cite web |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/bakersfield-population/ |title=Bakersfield California Population |access-date=February 22, 2019 |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074135/http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/bakersfield-population/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city reincorporated on January 11, 1898.<ref>Baily, Richard. ''Heart of the Golden Empire''. Windsor Publications Inc, Woodland Hills, CA:1984. {{ISBN|0-89781-065-1}}. Page 71.</ref>