What does Bakersfield have in common with a town in Aragon, Spain? Well, more than you might expect. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story behind Bakersfield’s Beale Memorial Clock Tower.
Edward Fitzgerald Beale helped set off the California Gold Rush. In 1848 he was the one who brought the state’s first gold discovery to the east coast. A decade later, he purchased Kern County’s Tejon Ranch, becoming one of California’s largest landowners. His son Truxtun Beale was a prominent diplomat, representing the U.S. in Persia, Greece and Serbia.
Truxtun Beale inherited the ranch when his father died. Upon his passing, Truxtun Beale dedicated Bakersfield’s Beale Memorial Library in his memory. In 1904 he honored his later mother Mary Edwards Beale by funding the construction of the Beale Memorial Clock Tower.
The 64-foot landmark stood in the middle of the intersection of Chester Avenue and 17th Street in downtown Bakersfield. The earthquakes of 1952 damaged the structure, which was then torn down and rebuilt at the Kern County Museum.
The new tower is a faithful replica of the original. Beale is said to have been inspired by a clock tower he saw in Spain. And indeed the Bakersfield landmark bears a striking resemblance to the medieval Mudéjar-style architecture of the Tower of San Martin in Teruel, Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
