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Santa Barbara, Santa Clara,
Santa Cruz, Shasta,
Sierra, Siskiyou,
Solano, Sonoma,
Stanislaus, Sutter,
Tehama, Trinity,
Tulare, Tuolumne,
Ventura, Yolo,
Yuba
California Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge California CountiesThe U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties. On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the Counties of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding Counties was to rename Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
Kern County, CaliforniaKern County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameThe county derives its name from the Kern River which was named for Edward Kern, cartographer for General John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition, which crossed Walker Pass. The Kern River was originally named Rio Bravo de San Felipe by Father Francisco Garces when he explored the area in 1776. Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryThe Kern County area was first claimed by the Spanish in 1769. In 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages became the first
European to enter the area. The expedition entered via the Grapevine Canyon (later the site of the Ridge Route along
U.S. 99 and now Interstate 5). Walker Pass was discovered in 1834 and is an important pass across the Sierra Nevada as
it is one of the few not closed by winter snows. It is now a National Historic Landmark. In 1848, the Kern area was
ceded to the United States as part of the transfer of California, Nevada, and Utah and other lands under the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo. GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 8,161 square miles (21,138 kmē),
of which, 8,141 square miles (21,085 kmē) of it is land and 20 square miles (53 kmē) of it (0.25%) is
water. It is the third largest county by area in California. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
County Resources
The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history. Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally." |
