Oildale, CA

Oildale is an unincorporated Kern County community directly north of Bakersfield, across the Kern River. Its name fits its history: the town developed around the oilfields and was founded in 1909 after Samuel Dickinson subdivided land once known as North Side. Oildale has a working-class, Central Valley character, with close ties to Bakersfield but a distinct local identity. The setting is flat, dry, and practical, shaped by oil, highways, neighborhoods, and the larger Bakersfield economy.