Manhole Covers of Buttonwillow, Kern County, California
Created 12 March 2006
This page was last updated on 23 November 2008
All photos copyrighted by David L. Magney 2006
Buttonwillow is a small unicorporated farming town on State Route 58, a few miles southwest of Interstate 5 in western Kern County. Buttonwillow was formerly known as Buena Vista, after the natural inland lake that has had most of its water diverted for agricultural purposes, significantly reducing its size to a mere mirage of itself. Buttonwillow has a population of 1,266 (in 2000). The residents are 34% White and 68% Hispanic, typical of agricultural towns in the Central Valley. The median family income in Buttonwillow is $29,716 and the per capita income is $9,424. Cotton is the primary crop grown around Buttonwillow (see photos below for this year's crop), with alfalfa as the second largest crop. Buttonwillow has railroad tracks passing through, with its own siding (for the cotton), on their way to the oilfields on the Belridge Plain and on north to Coalinga. Buttonwillow is named after a small tree/large bush that typically grows along river banks a bit further north in the Central Valley. One Buttonwillow (Cephalanthus occidentalis) tree, with a memorial plaque can be found just north of town. Most people that stop in Buttonwillow while driving between Los Angeles and northern California on I-5 actually only see the roadside businesses a few miles east of the actual town; that is NOT Buttonwillow. Additional information about the Buttonwillow can be found at Buttonwillow Info.
Previous Page |
Next Page
Magney's Manhole Covers Home Page
Magney's Biogeography/Photography Home Page
David Magney Environmental Consulting Home