Caliente | |
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  Caliente Location in California Show map of California Caliente Location within the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:35°17′28″N118°37′40″W / 35.29111°N 118.62778°W /35.29111; -118.62778 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Kern County |
| Elevation | 400 m (1,312 ft) |
| Reference no. | 757 |
Caliente (Spanish for "Hot")[2] is anunincorporated community inKern County,California.[1] It is located 22 miles (35 km) east-southeast ofBakersfield,[2] at an elevation of 1,312 feet (400 m).[1]
Caliente has a population of 1,019.[3] Telephone numbers in Caliente follow the format (661) 867-xxxx and the ZIP Code is 93518.[4] It is located south of a small community namedWalker Basin in the same telephone exchange area.
Established in the 1870s, Caliente was originally namedAllens Camp for a cattle rancher and settler named Gabriel Allen. Later, the nameAgua Caliente, coming from hot springs in the area, was proposed and may have been used. This name conflicted withthe community of the same name inSonoma County. With the railroad's arrival in 1875, the shortened name Caliente was adopted.[5]
Caliente prospered duringSouthern Pacific Railroad's construction of Tehachapi Pass line. For a time, the Telegraph Stage Line and the Cerro Gordo Freighting Co. also ran through Caliente and its full-time population grew to 200. There were approximately 60 buildings, including 20 or more saloons.[6]
The Caliente post office opened in 1875, closed in 1883, and was re-established in 1890.[2] The Caliente General Store was remodeled in 1980 to house the post office which is still in operation today.[7]
Bealville is a district about one mile (1.6 km) to the south towardSR58 and along Caliente-Bodfish Road.[8] It is named forEdward Fitzgerald Beale who served in theUS Army, and also as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada. He was also appointed as US Surveyor General of California.[9] Beale established a home in this area about 1855. The location is now registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #757
California Historical Landmark reads:
The sound of diesel locomotives and railroad horns are present day and night. The community is along the track of the Union Pacific Railroad,Mojave Subdivision. The track loops around the post office as it winds through the local hills. Trains climb toward the Tehachapi summit eastbound or descend toward Bakersfield if westbound.
California State Route 58 is about two driving miles south of Caliente.
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