Old Town, California
27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Tehachapi census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93561. It stands on Brite Creek. The Survey maps it on the Tehachapi North quadrangle. It stands 3,829 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1915 to 1992The same ground, surveyed 77 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1915 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 27 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1915 USGS Mojave quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1943 USGS Tehachapi quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1948 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Tehachapi North quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Tehachapi quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Tehachapi North quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
162 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 162 fires within 5 miles of Old Town between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,965 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 17 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 18 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 17 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 acres | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 acres | Kern County Fire Department | VISTA |
| 9 September 2012 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 5 September 2017 | Natural | 5.0 acres | Central California District | WATER |
| 4 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.1 acres | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 28 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 23 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0831 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 19 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Old Town: 11 past producers, 4 producers, 2 occurrences, 2 prospects. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Mercury, Limestone, General, Tungsten, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Got Rocks | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Pine Tree Mine | Gold, Tungsten | Past Producer | ||
| Summit Lime Co. | Tungsten, Gold | Occurrence | Gold, Scheelite | |
| Tehachapi Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Pine Tree | Gold | Producer | ||
| Pine Tree | Gold, Tungsten | Past Producer | ||
| Summit Lime Co. | Tungsten | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Summit Lime Quarry | Limestone, General, Tungsten | Producer | ||
| Cowell Deposit | Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Lee Deposit | Limestone, General | Prospect |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Hills | 0.2 miles | 27 | |
| Cable | 2.1 miles | 27 | |
| Tehachapi | 2.5 miles | 27 | |
| Marcel | 3.5 miles | 27 | |
| Mountain Meadows | 4.0 miles | 26 | |
| Summit | 4.4 miles | 27 | |
| Walong | 4.4 miles | 27 | |
| Sullivan (historical) | 4.9 miles | 27 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Old Town | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7085246 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 252952. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.










