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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.

Old Town within Kern County

Then and now

1915 to 1992

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Old Town, surveyed 1992
Topographic sheet of Old Town, surveyed 1915

Compare 1915 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 27 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

162 since 1992

Regional 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/undetermined90
Equipment and vehicle use19
Misuse of fire by a minor18
Arson/incendiarism17
Debris and open burning7
Natural4
Recreation and ceremony3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Smoking2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresKern County Fire Departmentnot named
9 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresKern County Fire DepartmentVISTA
9 September 2012Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresKern County Fire Departmentnot named
6 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2017Natural5.0 acresCentral California DistrictWATER
4 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.1 acresKern County Fire Departmentnot named
28 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
23 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0831

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Got RocksStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Pine Tree MineGold, TungstenPast Producer
Summit Lime Co.Tungsten, GoldOccurrenceGold, Scheelite
Tehachapi PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pine TreeGoldProducer
Pine TreeGold, TungstenPast Producer
Summit Lime Co.TungstenPast ProducerVein
Summit Lime QuarryLimestone, General, TungstenProducer
Cowell DepositLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Lee DepositLimestone, GeneralProspect

Every working recorded in Kern County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Golden Hills0.2 miles27
Cable2.1 miles27
Tehachapi2.5 miles27
Marcel3.5 miles27
Mountain Meadows4.0 miles26
Summit4.4 miles27
Walong4.4 miles27
Sullivan (historical)4.9 miles27

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 TownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7085246The 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.