The city's fledgling tech industry received a huge vote of confidence last week when Bitwise, a technology center in Fresno, announced plans to open a new plant in Bakersfield.

Bakersfield was founded in 1884 by Thomas Baker, who reclaimed the marshland along the nearby Kern River, west of what is now Kern County, California. After looking at his property, Baker decided to name the town after the alfalfa fields, which gave it the name Bakersfields. He was granted the state's rights to recover the wetlands that now encompass downtown Bakerfield. Synchronized Bakesfield, "Nashville in the West," is known for its contribution to country music and was home to many record artists, including Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.

The San Joaquin Valley has been used for grazing for centuries and its proximity to the ocean insulates the populated coastal region from the mountain ranges.

Farmers in Bakersfield introduced the irrigation system of the Kern River, which led to an increase in the amount of water used for livestock breeding. In the early 1870s, the Central Pacific Railroad (CP), under SP control, developed a plan for a route through the San Joaquin Valley that would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. By acquiring the SF-SJV when completed in 1899 and acquiring track rights for SP's Tehachapi Line, ATSF was granted transit to the San Joaquim Valley, an additional rail link to Bakerfield, and access to the Pacific Coast Railway (PCR) and Santa Clara Valley Line (SFV) to and from the Bay Area. When Southern California Railway opened in 1884, Bakesfield officials knew the line would come because of their community.

Bakersfield is also home to many museums, including the California Museum of Natural History, the Bakesfield Historical Society and the Southern California History Museum. It has also been featured several times on the travel channel as one of the top 10 destinations in the United States. Interesting activities and attractions include live music, art galleries, a museum, an art gallery and a history museum. Bakerfield is also the site of many festivals and events, including the annual California State Fair.

It is located in the San Joaquin Valley, south of Los Angeles and north of San Bernardino County and is one of the largest cities in California with a population of more than 1.5 million people.

Bakersfield is also served by an Amtrak bus line that connects San Joaquin passengers with Los Angeles, San Bernardino County and San Diego County. Greyhound offers bus tours between San Francisco and Bakersfields, as well as San Jose and San Luis Obispo. Airport Bus in Bakerfield offers a return service, but getting to the terminal will be the hardest part.

Other nearby airports are Burbank, Visalia, Ontario and Fresno, but if LAX is the best option due to its distance, there are alternatives. The alternative is to be in Los Angeles or San Bernardino County and travel to San Diego County.

The marketplace on CSU Bakersfield campus is relatively upscale, while the boardwalk area along Rosedale Highway is a sprawling collection of large retailers and restaurants. Tourism is also important, and notable attractions include the Kern County Fairgrounds and the California Living Museum, which displays a variety of exhibits on the history of the state of California and its people. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (formerly Lakeview Ave.), which is turning into Cottonwood Rd. and surrounding areas can be dangerous and engage in gang violence.

Live music in Bakersfield is played in downtown Bakerfield, where a variety of local bands perform, many of which host events such as concerts, festivals and live music festivals. Live entertainment in the area is also often found in the many bars and restaurants in the city, as well as at local festivals and events.

Several Bakersfield colleges and universities are operating, and there are a number of ways for students attending secondary schools in Bakerfield to have access. Some systems, such as Blackwood, allow students to complete a postgraduate education in the state of California and earn a bachelor's degree up to two years after school.

Educational institutions include Bakersfield Community College, founded in 1913, and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The city's largest public post-secondary school is Cal State Bakerfield, with more than 2,000 students enrolled and more than 1,500 teachers and staff. It is one of the largest and most prestigious public universities in California and is home to the California State University system of public colleges and universities.

The city is home to California State University Bakersfield, built in the 1970s, as well as a number of high-quality junior colleges. The only public community college in the city, Bakerfield Community College, was founded in 1913 and bears the name of its namesake city, Bakerfield.

Opened in 1928 as a luxury resort for oil workers in Bakersfield, the hotel traces the uneven development of the city. A century later, agriculture and oil remain the region's main industries, and the county produces more than half of the state's oil and gas production and most of its natural gas. In recent decades, Bakerfield has grown from a small town of just over 1,000 people in the early 20th century to one of California's largest cities. Kern County is surrounded by the San Joaquin Valley, the nation's second largest agricultural region after San Francisco.