Bena | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 35°19′36″N 118°44′23″W / 35.32667°N 118.73972°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Kern County |
Elevation | 863 ft (263 m) |
Bena (formerly Pampa) [2] is an unincorporated area of Kern County, California. [1] It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad 7 miles (11 km) west-northwest of Caliente, [2] at an elevation of 863 feet (263 m). [1] The Pampa post office operated from 1889 to 1890 and again during 1901. [2]
The Bena railroad station was built in 1885. [3] In 1918, Standard Construction agreed to build four rail operators' houses near Bena for Southern Pacific. [4] In 1962, the old Bena railroad station became the site of the largest superphosphate manufacturing plant west of the Mississippi River. [3]
The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads donated the old Bena depot, once located a few miles from the Tehachapi Loop, to Kern Pioneer Village in 1961. [3] [5] Bena Depot was fully restored by the Kern County Museum in 2020. [6]
The area near Bena was the site of wildcat drilling for oil in the 1930s [7] and 1940s. [8]
Kern County now operates a landfill at Bena. [9]