Historical Research Center | CSU Bakersfield
Historical Research Center | CSU Bakersfield
The image shows part of an exhibit gallery with white walls covered in mounted interpretive panels containing text and small portrait images. A vertical digital display screen on the left shows an image related to the exhibit. Another screen near the center displays text under the heading “Samuel Toro.” On the right wall, a large mural depicts a rancher wearing work clothes and holding a lamb in his arms. A saddled horse stands beside him, and a flock of sheep fills the background, suggesting a pastoral or agricultural setting. The mural spans several wall panels and has a soft, painted appearance. The space appears to be part of a research center or museum exhibit, with shelving and books visible through a doorway in the center.
The image shows a section of a museum or research exhibit. On the left, a tall vertical digital screen displays a photograph of a person wearing a blue cap using a tablet to document carvings on a tree trunk. Behind the screen is a wall mural of sheep grazing in a grassy field. In the center, another tall digital screen displays a detailed image of a carved figure etched into tree bark. A small angled touchscreen stand sits in front of it. The surrounding white walls are covered with interpretive panels containing text and circular portrait photographs labeled with names such as John Bieter, PhD; Daniel Fergus; Iñaki Arrieta Baro; and Christopher B. Livingston. Several simple line drawings of carved human figures are displayed directly on the wall, along with a handwritten date reading “1924.” The space appears to document arborglyphs (tree carvings), their creators, and related historical research.
The image shows the interior of an exhibit space labeled “Historical Research Center and California Rare Book Room,” visible on a frosted glass door at left. Inside, white walls display mounted exhibit panels featuring text blocks, photographs, and circular portrait images with captions. Two tall, freestanding digital display screens stand near the center of the room, each showing images related to the exhibit. Behind them, a large wall graphic includes a photograph of sheep grazing in a grassy area. Additional panels on the right wall include headings and biographical information with small portrait photographs. The room has wood flooring and shelving units visible along the far right edge.
The image shows a section of a museum or research exhibit featuring a large illustrated wall mural. The mural depicts a simplified, stylized outdoor scene with layered mountain shapes in muted blue and gray tones. In the foreground, a sheep stands near a large canvas tent. To the right, a seated human figure wearing a long-sleeved shirt is shown beside the tent; the face is left blank in a minimal, graphic style. On the left side of the image, a black touchscreen kiosk stands in front of the mural, displaying a small video or image. Along the right edge, a vertical panel includes newspaper clippings and printed text related to the exhibit. The overall scene references pastoral life and sheep herding within a curated exhibit space.
The image shows a view through an exhibit space toward a wall covered in mounted interpretive materials. The white wall displays several rectangular text panels bordered in blue, interspersed with circular black-and-white historic photographs, small maps, and reproduced documents. Some materials appear layered, with colored circular accents behind certain images. In the foreground, partially out of focus, additional exhibit panels frame the view, creating a sense of depth. A rectangular glass display case with a dark frame sits in the center of the room beneath the wall panels, likely containing original documents or artifacts. The overall exhibit design combines text-heavy interpretation with archival imagery, suggesting a curated presentation of local historical themes, possibly related to housing, community development, or civil rights history.
The image shows a corner of an exhibit gallery with white walls covered in interpretive panels. The panels feature blocks of text bordered in blue, historic black-and-white photographs, maps, and newspaper clippings arranged in clusters. Circular photo cutouts and small colored graphic accents appear throughout the display, adding visual layering to the archival materials. On the left wall, a large newspaper page and map are prominently mounted. The central and right walls display several tall text panels interspersed with circular historic images, including portraits, group photographs, buildings, and street scenes. A glass display case with a dark frame sits in the foreground at the corner of the room, likely containing original documents or artifacts. The overall presentation suggests a curated historical exhibit focused on community development, housing, or regional history.
The image shows a corner of a museum or archival exhibit space with white walls covered in mounted interpretive panels. The panels include typed text blocks bordered in blue, historic photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, and reproduced documents arranged in clusters. Some items are circular or layered for visual emphasis. On the left wall, a large historic newspaper advertisement and map are prominently displayed. Across the back wall, several text-heavy panels are spaced evenly, interspersed with small black-and-white photographs and color map excerpts. On the right wall, additional text panels and archival images continue the narrative. In the center foreground, a rectangular glass display case with a black frame is positioned for viewing physical documents or artifacts. The overall arrangement suggests an exhibit focused on local housing history, development, or discrimination.

Exhibits

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The Lonesome Trail: Arborglyphs and Basque Sheepherders in the Far West

Since the early 1890s, Kern County’s Basque community has been tied to a section of East Bakersfield that is known today as Old Town Kern. Located near the old Southern Pacific Railroad Depot (Bakers St.), this area served as an ideal location to establish ostatuaks (Boardinghouses) to welcome arriving Basque immigrants. The Iberia Hotel, the first ostatuak in Bakersfield, was opened by partners Faustino Mier Noriega and Fernando Etcheverry in 1893 and was located at 525 Sumner Street. This establishment was renamed the Noriega Hotel in 1906 but continued to house Basque immigrants and sheepherders for numerous decades, even serving as the home or work address on at least forty-four men’s draft cards during WWI. Over the years, other Basque establishments were built in close proximity to the Noriega Hotel, such as Pyrenees Café (est. 1935) and Wool Growers Restaurant (est. 1954), thus ensuring this small section of the city remained the historical epicenter for the Basque community.

The herders often used knives to carve through the paper-thin soft white bark of the Aspen Trees, which carved or scratched easily. The herders made a thin incision or cut, which could hardly be seen initially. The rest was up to the tree itself. The outline of the carving began to show a few years later after the tree scared over. If the incision is too deep the scar will be thick and hard to read later on. As the tree grows, the letters will blend together, with overlapping scarification. If the carver had a steady hand, the scar is likely to remain clear and readable for a century. It is the darkness of the scar against the sharp contrast of whiteness of the bark that many people find interest in researching or visiting. Arborglyphs are not exclusively associated with Basque Sheepherders since many cultures around the world use tree carvings. Basque etchings do display their individuality, culture, and the changing times. These arborglyphs consist of words, images, and a variety of symbols including trappers, hunters, fishermen, explorers, surveyors, politicians, landowners, cowboys, indigenous people, lovers, travelers, women, loneliness, patriotism, range conditions, religion and occasionally world events. While they may take a few years to develop, other herders throughout future seasons and generations would be able to read and receive the messages. The tree carvings transcend time. Another reason in which Aspen trees could have been picked is when an Aspen tree dies, signals from the tree travel to the roots, stimulating new sprouts growth. Through this regrowth. Subsequent Aspen clones live much longer than its individual trees.

 

The image shows a historic illustrated map labeled “Approximate Route of the Sheep.” The map outlines parts of central and eastern California, including the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Nevadas, the White Mountains, and the Mojave Desert. Cities and locations marked on the map include Tulare, Porterville, Wasco, Bakersfield, Buena Vista Lake, Taft, Maricopa, Arvin, Tehachapi, Mojave, Kramer’s Junction, Inyokern, Ridgecrest, Walker Pass, Lake Isabella, Lone Pine, Owens Lake, and Bishop. A dashed or X-marked line traces the approximate seasonal migration route of sheep. The route appears to move from the southern San Joaquin Valley near Taft and Bakersfield, eastward through Tehachapi and Mojave, then north along the Owens Valley to Lone Pine and Bishop near the eastern Sierra Nevada. The map includes a north arrow and labels for major geographic regions such as “The Sierra Nevadas,” “The White Mountains,” “The Mojave Desert,” and “Foothills of the San Joaquin.” The style is simple and hand-drawn, resembling an interpretive exhibit graphic rather than a detailed survey map.

Exhibit hours Monday-Thursday 8am-10pm, Fridays 8am-5pm, Saturdays 11am-5pm, and Sundays 11am-10pm

The exhibit will start October 2023 and run through the Spring 2025 semester.

America’s Newest Cities: Housing and “Red Lining” in

California’s Central Valley

The image shows the cover of a publication titled: “Visitor’s Guide” To Bakersfield, California America’s Newest City The date printed near the bottom reads: July · 57 The cover features a black-and-white portrait of a smiling man in a suit jacket and patterned shirt, placed within a rectangular frame on the right side. The background design includes stylized geometric lines across the center and a red band along the bottom. Within the red band are illustrated scenes and text reading: Entertainment Dining · Dancing The overall design reflects mid-century graphic styling with bold red and black typography and simple line graphics.

The Historical Research Center’s exhibit, titled America’s Newest Cities: Housing and “Red Lining” in California’s Central Valley, examines housing discrimination in Bakersfield and Kern County. Supervised by HRC scholars, the exhibit was made possible by “The Gallery Group,” a group of students, alumni, staff, and even a high school student intern! Our volunteers are tasked with researching BIPOC lived experiences in Bakersfield and Kern County from 1866 to the present. Other topics researched include local Indigenous histories, the local Chinatowns, the development of Oildale, and policing as it relates to race and housing. This semester, the HRC staff has been researching and uploading primary sources to “Redlining in Bakersfield,” a companion website to the exhibit (https://hrc.csub.edu/housing-history/), which includes racially restrictive covenants, and information about suburbanization, Eminent Domain, and Buying on Contract.

 

Read about the exhibit

 https://news.csub.edu/exploring-housing-discrimination-in-kern-county

Exhibit hours Monday-Thursday 8am-10pm, Fridays 8am-5pm, Saturdays 11am-5pm, and Sundays 11am-10pm

The exhibit will start October 2023 and run through the Spring 2025 semester.

Visit Virtual Exhibit

 

Learn about the Redlining Exhibit

 

 

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