Varied Achievements

An early pioneer who left his mark on the county was Simon William Wible for whom Wible Road in Bakersfield is named.
Born March 5, 1832 at Breedsburg, Pennsylvania, Wible moved with his family to Illinois where he was reared near Mendon in Adams County. When only 20, he joined the tide of emigrants to California in an oxen-drawn wagon train. He soon returned to the East to lead another wagon train westward. While leading a third group in 1858, Indians separated the train by’ stampede, stole the stock, and killed a number of emigrants. Wible walked to Fort Laramie and joined another expedition.

After mining in El Dorado, Amador, and Calaveras counties, Wible moved to San Francisco where he founded the Blue Lake Water System in 1868. He moved to Kern County in 1874 and took up a homestead claim three miles west of Bakersfield known as Wible Station. His first community projects were the building of the Wible and Pioneer canals, and in 1878, the Kern Valley Water Company’s canal which he supervised with Walter James.

In 1882, Wible became superintendent of the Miller and Lux holdings. A few years later, starting with 20 acres, he planted peach trees, and in 1887 organized the Wible Orchard and Vineyard Company.