Kern County Historic Happenings

Today, we’re taking a long look at one of Kern County’s most beloved places… Hart Park.If you’ve ever driven through its winding roads, passed the old lake, the stone monuments, the zoo remnants, or the palm-lined entrance… you’ve seen a place layered with memory. But Hart Park did not simply appear as the quiet parkland we know today. It was built piece by piece — through civic ambition, county politics, Depression-era labor, public enthusiasm, and the dreams of people who believed Kern County deserved something grand.This is the story of one hundred years at Hart Park — from ranch land in the 1890s, to public parkland, to swimming pools, zoos, train rides, mineral baths, roller coasters, waterwheels, and the rise and slow fading of one of Bakersfield’s great public gathering places.