Although most people in Bakersfield have never heard of the Withington family, at one time, they were one of Bakersfield’s most notorious families and owned much of Bakersfield’s redlight district. During Bakersfield’s early years, the activities of the family and their business were regularly in the news and were read about salaciously By 1915, after Bakersfield authorities cracked down on illicit activities, Carlie Withington moved the family business to Mexicali. Along with Frank Beyer and Marvin Allen (ABW syndicate), he opened the Owl Cafe and Theatre, which at one time was the largest gambling resort in North America that included drinking, drugs, gambling, and prostitution.
Carlie’s father Robert Withington, the patriarch of the family, came to Kern County even before Havilah became the county seat. While living in Havilah, he operated a freighting business between the Kern County mountains and Los Angeles. In 1870 or 1871, he moved down the hill to Bakersfield and purchased a large amount of property around 19th and K streets where he built a house (2005 K Street) and saloon. The saloon, near 19th and K, was the the third business in town after Livermore & Chester’s stage station and Herman Hirshfeld’s mercantile store. In 1873, Robert was one of the Trustees of Bakersfield’s First Incorporation and a signer of the petition to the Kern County board of supervisors asking to move the county seat from Havilah to Bakersfield. Robert was also a deputy sheriff in the 1890s and ran for constable in 1894. The Grand Jury later accused him of bribing voters, and he was indicted but charges were finally dropped.
In 1889, Withington’s saloon was destroyed in the Great Fire that destroyed most of downtown Bakersfield. His loss was estimated at $4,000, but he quickly rebuilt. In Little Dramas of Old Bakersfield Rush Blodget wrote, “The big fire of 1889 burned your saloon, but you did not allow your patrons to thirst for long. With true western enterprise, you were telling the boys to line up and christen the new pine bar.” In addition to his saloon, he also leased part of his new building to M. Goldberg who had the C.O.D. store on the corner of 19th and K. The building also initially housed a barbershop and a restaurant.
Robert’s wife was Rachel Freeman, a daughter of a baptist minister. Together, they had nine children who lived to adulthood: John, Harriett (or Hattie), Robert, Callie Belle, Carlie, Claude, Lester, Norma, and Lysle. In one way or another, all of the children were involved in the family business. Robert died in 1897 at the age of 58 and Rachel followed a few years later in 1902.
The saloon was simply Withington’s saloon until 1900 when it started appearing in newspaper accounts as the Owl. It is unclear if, in addition to peddling liquor, Robert was also involved in prostitution, but by the time the saloon began to be called the Owl, the Withington family and the Owl were synonymous with the tenderloin and all that it entailed. Also by 1900, the Owl and related businesses, which included a boarding house, dancehall, and rows of cribs, were located at the northwest corner of 20th and L streets. On the saloon’s former site on 19th Street, they built a large brick building costing approximately $20,000, which they first leased to Thomas O’Brien for a saloon. In 1909, the Withingtons further expanded into prostitution and built 20 more cribs at the northwest corner of 20th and M streets. This brought the number of these small, one-room apartments from which prostitutes plied their trade to about 125. Women rented cribs for $1-$3 a day and then kept their earnings. The 1900 Bakersfield city directory listed Carlie’s occupation as “collector” suggesting that he collected the rent from the cribs’ tenants.
Eldest son John started managing the family business sometime in the 1890s, and this continued until his violent death in 1902. A little before midnight on August 2, 1902, John and his latest consort, one of his dancehall employees named Kittie York (aka “Fresno Kittie,” “Blonde Kittie,” and “Long Kittie”), left the Owl and walked to the City Restaurant on L street between 19th and 20th. While they were sitting down to dinner, Kittie’s ex-lover “Kid” Robbins walked in and shot Kittie pointe blank in the head. “Kid” then shot John in the stomach when he stood to confront “Kid.” Kittie died instantly while John lingered for just a few minutes. John was not the first Withington to meet a violent end. Two years earlier, 19-year-old Claude fell from the train while returning to Bakersfield from Fresno. His trunk was found suspended from the train’s braking unit, and the rest of his body was found scattered near Kingsburg. A unique scar on his thumbnail identified him.
Carlie’s father Robert Withington, the patriarch of the family, came to Kern County even before Havilah became the county seat. While living in Havilah, he operated a freighting business between the Kern County mountains and Los Angeles. In 1870 or 1871, he moved down the hill to Bakersfield and purchased a large amount of property around 19th and K streets where he built a house (2005 K Street) and saloon. The saloon, near 19th and K, was the the third business in town after Livermore & Chester’s stage station and Herman Hirshfeld’s mercantile store. In 1873, Robert was one of the Trustees of Bakersfield’s First Incorporation and a signer of the petition to the Kern County board of supervisors asking to move the county seat from Havilah to Bakersfield. Robert was also a deputy sheriff in the 1890s and ran for constable in 1894. The Grand Jury later accused him of bribing voters, and he was indicted but charges were finally dropped.
In 1889, Withington’s saloon was destroyed in the Great Fire that destroyed most of downtown Bakersfield. His loss was estimated at $4,000, but he quickly rebuilt. In Little Dramas of Old Bakersfield Rush Blodget wrote, “The big fire of 1889 burned your saloon, but you did not allow your patrons to thirst for long. With true western enterprise, you were telling the boys to line up and christen the new pine bar.” In addition to his saloon, he also leased part of his new building to M. Goldberg who had the C.O.D. store on the corner of 19th and K. The building also initially housed a barbershop and a restaurant.
Robert’s wife was Rachel Freeman, a daughter of a baptist minister. Together, they had nine children who lived to adulthood: John, Harriett (or Hattie), Robert, Callie Belle, Carlie, Claude, Lester, Norma, and Lysle. In one way or another, all of the children were involved in the family business. Robert died in 1897 at the age of 58 and Rachel followed a few years later in 1902.
The saloon was simply Withington’s saloon until 1900 when it started appearing in newspaper accounts as the Owl. It is unclear if, in addition to peddling liquor, Robert was also involved in prostitution, but by the time the saloon began to be called the Owl, the Withington family and the Owl were synonymous with the tenderloin and all that it entailed. Also by 1900, the Owl and related businesses, which included a boarding house, dancehall, and rows of cribs, were located at the northwest corner of 20th and L streets. On the saloon’s former site on 19th Street, they built a large brick building costing approximately $20,000, which they first leased to Thomas O’Brien for a saloon. In 1909, the Withingtons further expanded into prostitution and built 20 more cribs at the northwest corner of 20th and M streets. This brought the number of these small, one-room apartments from which prostitutes plied their trade to about 125. Women rented cribs for $1-$3 a day and then kept their earnings. The 1900 Bakersfield city directory listed Carlie’s occupation as “collector” suggesting that he collected the rent from the cribs’ tenants.
Eldest son John started managing the family business sometime in the 1890s, and this continued until his violent death in 1902. A little before midnight on August 2, 1902, John and his latest consort, one of his dancehall employees named Kittie York (aka “Fresno Kittie,” “Blonde Kittie,” and “Long Kittie”), left the Owl and walked to the City Restaurant on L street between 19th and 20th. While they were sitting down to dinner, Kittie’s ex-lover “Kid” Robbins walked in and shot Kittie pointe blank in the head. “Kid” then shot John in the stomach when he stood to confront “Kid.” Kittie died instantly while John lingered for just a few minutes. John was not the first Withington to meet a violent end. Two years earlier, 19-year-old Claude fell from the train while returning to Bakersfield from Fresno. His trunk was found suspended from the train’s braking unit, and the rest of his body was found scattered near Kingsburg. A unique scar on his thumbnail identified him.
After John’s death, Carlie took over managing the family business, and for a time, Lester managed the saloon. The Withingtons also had property that included saloons, brothels, dancehalls, and theatres in other towns including Reno, Nevada and San Francisco. In 1910, Carlie took a lease on vaudeville house on Market Street in San Francisco.
Bakersfield incorporated in 1898, and Bakersfield citizens began calling for the cleaning up of the redlight district soon after. In February 1904, the Kern County Grand Jury issued their report, and in regards to the redlight district, they wrote:
There is a law upon the statute books of this state (section 316 of the Penal Code) which prohibits the renting of property for the purpose of prostitution but being a misdemeanor it is with out the province of the grand jury. It is unquestionably for the best interests of Bakersfield that this law should be enforced and the time to enforce it is NOW. The property referred to is almost in the heart of Bakersfield, it adjoins the business district, and a portion of the residence district of the city.
The first attack on the district came during the 1905 liquor-license renewal process. The city trustees delayed in issuing the licenses while they investigated the saloons to see if illegal activity was taking place in them - mainly allowing entrance to minors and housing prostitutes. After a short time, the saloon owners sued the city, and the city trustees relented and issued liquor licenses. In the meantime, Carlie was arrested for operating a saloon without a license, but the charge was dropped after the Owl was granted its license. Although it was fairly obvious that saloons and dancehalls were associated with the brothels and cribs, it apparently couldn’t be proven. Also city trustees seemed to have mostly ignored the prostitution because not only did the city profit from the district but so too did many of the trustees. That year, the city made $13,000 from the liquor license applications alone, and the city granted City Trustee Ronald McDonald a wholesale liquor license. Later that year, McDonald was elected mayor, to which the outgoing mayor declared “the election is a victory for the ‘wide open town.’" City leaders also had a more intimate relationship with the proprietors of redlight district; in 1909, Carlie borrowed $1,000 from McDonald for unknown purposes.
Throughout the early 1900s, outspoken citizens continued to harangue city officials to clean up the district, and the Owl continued to make sensational headlines. In March 1906, two dancehall girls were rescued from the Owl by evangelist “Mother” Florence Roberts. She took the girls to her halfway house in San Jose. A month later, a man was sentenced to 20 days in jail for beating a woman in the Owl. In October 1907, “Curly” Cameron shot and killed Jerry McElvain with a shotgun in the Owl saloon due to jealousy over the the affection of two dancehall girls. Cameron was arrested in the home of Lester Withington. In January 1908, an oilfield laborer accused the Owl of stealing $3,000 from him. Carlie’s accounting showed that the laborer spent that money in pursuits at the Owl in one night and in fact owed the Owl an additional $100. In September 1908, two women got into a fight in the Owl which resulted in one being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. Carlie furnished her bail.
In 1908, the Owl was raided and Carlie was arrested for renting property for the purpose of prostitution. He posted his $150 bail and was released. From newspaper accounts, nothing seems to have come from his arrest. In January 1909, when the Owl’s liquor license was again up for its yearly renewal, its accompanying dancehall was closed in order to make getting the license easier. Once the license was issued, the dancehall reopened.
Ironically, the end of the Owl in Bakersfield was brought on by another denizen of Bakersfield’s redlight district. In December 1911, brothel owner Madame Brignaudy sued Carlie and other crib owners alleging that their cribs posed a menace to the occupants of her “rooming house” as well as brought down her property’s value. Additional property owners joined the suit, and feeling the pressure, Carlie closed the cribs but continued operating the saloon and moved girls into the rooming house above the saloon. Two months later, Madame Brignaudy alleged a complaint that Carlie was operating a brothel. At the same time, the Owl was denied its liquor license. Carlie closed the Owl in Bakersfield but his illicit activities continued. With the profitability of the West Side oilfields, Carlie moved his business to Boust City, a settlement devoted to drinking, gambling, and prostitution outside of Taft, where he built a saloon and associated cribs. Residents of Taft soon called for the cleaning up of Boust City.
By 1915, Carlie had moved his business across the California-Mexico border to Mexicali and, along with Frank Beyer and Marvin Allen (ABW syndicate), opened up the Owl Cafe and Theatre. Carlie managed the prostitution, which included over 300 women, while his associates managed the saloon and gambling. The casino advertised itself as “the largest gambling house on the American continent.” and had roulette wheels and tables for keno, faro, and poker. Liquor was served at “the longest bar in the in world.” In addition to the Owl in Mexicali, the syndicate also had clubs in Tijuana and Algodones. In Tijuana, they controlled the Monte Carlo, the Tivoli Bar, the Foreign Club, and horse racing at the Jockey Club. Carlie brought many of his employees and associates with him to Mexicali. In June 1915, one visitor to Mexicali noted that “there are enough ex-Bakersfield people in Mexicali to start a ‘Bak Home Club.’”
Although Carlie moved the prostitution business to Mexicali, the Withington’s retained ownership of their property in Bakersfield. The family leased their Bakersfield cribs to Madame Brignaudy until the city forced their closure after California passed the Red Light Abatement Act in 1913. Prostitution in Bakersfield continued (and continues) in one form or another.
When Carlie died in 1925, he left an impressive estate of more than $3,000,000. A portion of his estate went to his estranged wife, $20,000 was left to Lucille Moore, his latest girlfriend and former dancehall girl, and the rest was split equally among his surviving siblings - Hattie, Callie, Norma, and Lysle, with Lysle serving as executor.
While it doesn’t seem that Lysle and sisters worked directly in the family business, they profited from it. Carlie and Hattie were made executors of their father’s estate after his death, and they continued to manage the estate together until their siblings came of age. After Carlie’s death in 1925, his surviving siblings inherited his assets and took over managing the rental property in Bakersfield and elsewhere.
Throughout the early 1900s, outspoken citizens continued to harangue city officials to clean up the district, and the Owl continued to make sensational headlines. In March 1906, two dancehall girls were rescued from the Owl by evangelist “Mother” Florence Roberts. She took the girls to her halfway house in San Jose. A month later, a man was sentenced to 20 days in jail for beating a woman in the Owl. In October 1907, “Curly” Cameron shot and killed Jerry McElvain with a shotgun in the Owl saloon due to jealousy over the the affection of two dancehall girls. Cameron was arrested in the home of Lester Withington. In January 1908, an oilfield laborer accused the Owl of stealing $3,000 from him. Carlie’s accounting showed that the laborer spent that money in pursuits at the Owl in one night and in fact owed the Owl an additional $100. In September 1908, two women got into a fight in the Owl which resulted in one being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. Carlie furnished her bail.
In 1908, the Owl was raided and Carlie was arrested for renting property for the purpose of prostitution. He posted his $150 bail and was released. From newspaper accounts, nothing seems to have come from his arrest. In January 1909, when the Owl’s liquor license was again up for its yearly renewal, its accompanying dancehall was closed in order to make getting the license easier. Once the license was issued, the dancehall reopened.
Ironically, the end of the Owl in Bakersfield was brought on by another denizen of Bakersfield’s redlight district. In December 1911, brothel owner Madame Brignaudy sued Carlie and other crib owners alleging that their cribs posed a menace to the occupants of her “rooming house” as well as brought down her property’s value. Additional property owners joined the suit, and feeling the pressure, Carlie closed the cribs but continued operating the saloon and moved girls into the rooming house above the saloon. Two months later, Madame Brignaudy alleged a complaint that Carlie was operating a brothel. At the same time, the Owl was denied its liquor license. Carlie closed the Owl in Bakersfield but his illicit activities continued. With the profitability of the West Side oilfields, Carlie moved his business to Boust City, a settlement devoted to drinking, gambling, and prostitution outside of Taft, where he built a saloon and associated cribs. Residents of Taft soon called for the cleaning up of Boust City.
By 1915, Carlie had moved his business across the California-Mexico border to Mexicali and, along with Frank Beyer and Marvin Allen (ABW syndicate), opened up the Owl Cafe and Theatre. Carlie managed the prostitution, which included over 300 women, while his associates managed the saloon and gambling. The casino advertised itself as “the largest gambling house on the American continent.” and had roulette wheels and tables for keno, faro, and poker. Liquor was served at “the longest bar in the in world.” In addition to the Owl in Mexicali, the syndicate also had clubs in Tijuana and Algodones. In Tijuana, they controlled the Monte Carlo, the Tivoli Bar, the Foreign Club, and horse racing at the Jockey Club. Carlie brought many of his employees and associates with him to Mexicali. In June 1915, one visitor to Mexicali noted that “there are enough ex-Bakersfield people in Mexicali to start a ‘Bak Home Club.’”
Although Carlie moved the prostitution business to Mexicali, the Withington’s retained ownership of their property in Bakersfield. The family leased their Bakersfield cribs to Madame Brignaudy until the city forced their closure after California passed the Red Light Abatement Act in 1913. Prostitution in Bakersfield continued (and continues) in one form or another.
When Carlie died in 1925, he left an impressive estate of more than $3,000,000. A portion of his estate went to his estranged wife, $20,000 was left to Lucille Moore, his latest girlfriend and former dancehall girl, and the rest was split equally among his surviving siblings - Hattie, Callie, Norma, and Lysle, with Lysle serving as executor.
While it doesn’t seem that Lysle and sisters worked directly in the family business, they profited from it. Carlie and Hattie were made executors of their father’s estate after his death, and they continued to manage the estate together until their siblings came of age. After Carlie’s death in 1925, his surviving siblings inherited his assets and took over managing the rental property in Bakersfield and elsewhere.
- Carlie: Carlie married at least 3 times. On February 14, 1908, his wife Edna (whom the San Francisco newspapers called a “young society matron”) died in a bathhouse in San Francisco. Another wife, Elizabeth, died in 1917 in Calexico after taking poison. When he died in 1925, he was married to Georgia Mae, whom he had married in 1919. They had been estranged for some time prior to his death, and he had been living with “cafe entertainer” Lucille Moore.
- Hattie: Hattie married blacksmith George LeMay in 1892. In 1942, the family home on K Street caught fire, and Hattie and her sister Norma succumbed in the flames.
- Robert: Robert died soon after his father in 1897. He was 29 years old.
- Callie Belle: Callie Belle was married to bartender William Sweitzer. He died in 1910. She was made administrator of the family’s estate after the death of her sisters in 1942. She died in 1951 in Los Angeles.
- Lester: Lester married Sylvia Burganne in 1914 in San Joaquin County. He may have been married once before. He died in 1918.
- Norma: Norma never married. As a child and young adult, she was often ill and often went to the coast to convalesce. In 1942, she died along with her sister, Hattie, when the family home on K Street went up in flames.
- Lysle: Lysle worked as a cashier for the Bank of Bakersfield and later Security Trust Bank. He served in WWI. In February 1915, he married Willie May Hays, and less than a month later, his bride sued him for abandonment. He countersued for an annulment, and she later sued his siblings for turning his affections away from her. It seems that they reconciled, for the 1930 census shows them living together. He died in 1967.
