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History · Smith Corner

Smith Corner’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Smith Corner. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Smith Corner is a census-designated place in Kern County, California. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Shafter, at an elevation of 331 feet (101 m). The population was 594 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 524 to 594 (+13%). Half of its homes were built before 1963.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smith Corner yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Smith Corner’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Smith Corner’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Smith Corner

See all 18 →
Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyBakersfield · 16 miJDJonathan DavisBakersfield · 16 miMerle HaggardMerle HaggardBakersfield · 16 miRobert BeltranRobert BeltranBakersfield · 16 miJames "Munky" ShafferJames "Munky" ShafferRosedale · 7 miKGKelli GarnerBakersfield · 16 mi
By decade

Smith Corner, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Smith Corner is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Smith Corner has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Green Hotel in Shafter, 1.7 miles away.

Smith Corner and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Smith Corner. Tap a dot.
Green HotelSanta Fe Passenger and Freight DepotShafter Research StationWasco Union High School AuditoriumWoman’s Club of BakersfieldJastro Building

Closest to Smith Corner

Green HotelShafter · Building1.7miSanta Fe Passenger and Freight DepotShafter · Standard Combination Frame Depot1.8miShafter Research StationShafter · District3.6miWasco Union High School AuditoriumWasco · Built 19158.9miWoman’s Club of BakersfieldBakersfield · Building15.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Green Hotel’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Smith Corner?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Smith Corner’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Shafter📜 Wasco📜 McFarland📜 Bakersfield
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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