West Kern Oil Museum Kern County Day Trip

The West Kern County Oil Museum is a must-see attraction for travelers driving on Highway 5 between Southern and Northern California.

In the early 1920s, West Kern County was a forest of oil derricks. Thousands of towering oil wells pumped out black gold day and night. There is still plenty of oil in Kern County, but these days, the oil derricks have been replaced by pumpjacks resembling rocking horses.

One of the few remaining wooden oil derricks from the early days of oil production can be seen at the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft, California. Run by a dedicated group of volunteers, the museum displays a vast collection of artifacts, equipment, displays, and pictures about the Kern County oil industry.

Kern County is still a considerable oil producer, with up to 60% of California’s oil output coming from the county. The Kern River oil field northeast of Bakersfield always produces millions of barrels of oil each year with the help of new technology.

The 8-acre grounds of the West Kern Oil Museum display oil mining equipment. A substantial wooden oil derrick, pumpjacks, vintage trucks, antique tractors, and assorted artifacts from the oil fields. Visitors can get up close to and sometimes climb into the equipment scattered across the museum grounds.

Inside the museum is an impressive selection of displays. Models of oil production facilities, drilling platform, and a replica of an early oil field. Also on display are fossils from nearby McKittrick Tar Pits, an exhibition about Tuolumne Yokuts Indians, an oil field worker tent, pictures, signs, and books about the Kern County Oil fields.

Getting to the West Kern Oil Museum

Taft’s economy relies heavily on the oil industry, but the only wooden oil derrick in the area can be seen at the West Kern County Oil Museum. The museum is situated at 1168 Wood St, Taft, CA 93268, just off Highway 33, and is located 40 miles away from downtown Bakersfield, California.

The Museum is open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Thursday through Saturday. Sunday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

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