Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Services in Shafter, CA

Shafter is a fast-growing farming city in Kern County, located about 18 miles west-northwest of Bakersfield along State Route 43 in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Shafter began as a loading dock along the Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way, and the community was named for General William Rufus Shafter, who commanded U.S. forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

Although a first post office opened in 1898, the townsite itself dates from 1914, when property sales began, and Shafter incorporated as a city in January 1938.

Shafter is home to Minter Field, a World War II Army airfield that began operations in June 1941 and was heavily used to train pilots during the war; it now serves as a general aviation airport and industrial center.

Two of Shafter's historic buildings, the Green Hotel and the old Santa Fe depot, now the Shafter Depot Museum, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are maintained by the Shafter Historical Society.

Shafter High School, officially founded in 1928 as part of the Kern High School District, has served the town for nearly as long as the city itself has existed.

Small farming communities ring the city and function as its suburbs, including Myricks Corner, North Shafter, Smith Corner and Thomas Lane.

The 2020 census counted 19,953 people in Shafter, up from 16,988 in 2010, and Census Bureau estimates put the population near 23,871 by 2025, a gain of almost 20 percent in five years.

Shafter has about 5,677 households, and they are among the largest in California, averaging 3.64 people per household, with about 64.7 percent of homes owner-occupied.