The Grapes Of Wrath - Bakersfield History

Last week, I took a little trip for work to Bakersfield, California. Whenever I travel outside of the immediate area, I like to look for landmarks or fun stuff to check out while I'm on the road. I didn't have to venture too far from my work sites, because the sites themselves were packed with history.

The first site I inspected was a migrant camp used back in the Dust Bowl days (1930-1940).... And the adjacent lot (now an apartment complex) was previously used as barracks for Prisoners Of War after World War II. Most of the original buildings that occupied the area have been demolished. A small portion of the property I inspected was dedicated as a historical site (now protected by the government) and contains buildings from the days of the Dust Bowl.

Here are some pictures from my trip.... I took some of the pictures in black and white to add a vintage/creepy factor....

Common/Gathering Building

Kitties Cuddling On The Roof Of The Common/Gathering Building

Stage At The Common/Gathering Building

Beds For The Migrant Workers

Vintage Sewing Machine (and Chair?)

Gas Stove

Fire Hose Coils

Day Care Learning Center

Interesting story about this next building.... This building a post office built for the migrant worker camps during the Dust Bowl era. You can see this building in the movie 'The Grapes Of Wrath' in the scene where the owner of the migrant worker camp is welcoming 'the Okies'....






The representative was telling me all about how his family had moved to the the area in the mid-1960's. He told me that this metal and concrete building is identical to the structure that housed his family of six.






That was the extent of the fun stuff at the first property.... There wasn't much at the second site, aside from the migrant worker camp that currently occupies the site.... The camp had a really creepy vibe.... I pulled into the site, and it was completely deserted. The site representative was at lunch and the camp was completely vacant (the camps are only occupied during peak farming seasons.

The site representative finally arrived and explained that the property was actually a German Prisoner Of War camp after World War II. The POW barracks were torn down to build the migrant camp on the site.

The only remnant of the POW camp was in a grassy field, away from the buildings. We venture off the beaten path to get to what is known as 'THE OVEN'. My guide tells me that when a prisoner of war would die at the camp, it was more cost effective to cremate the bodies and ship the ashes back to Germany.

I don't put much stock into the supernatural, but even with 80 degree weather and the sun blaring down on us, it felt cold in the immediate vicinity of 'THE OVEN'.

After getting my pictures, and walking away from 'THE OVEN', the representative explained all about how tenants are constantly reporting seeing figures in military uniforms standing at the edge of their bed. One older couple complained about seeing the ghost of a little girl roaming the property at night, and since that incident, very few people stay out past sundown for fear of an encounter with a supernatural being....