On Potomac Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Elisha Stephens was born in South Carolina in 1804 and moved to Georgia with his family at a young age.
However, he was to spend most of the first half of his life in the frontier lands bordering the Missouri River. Like many other Americans of his . . . — — Map (db m55187) HM
On State Highway 58 at State Highway 33, on the left when traveling west on State Highway 58.
Located one-eighth mile west of here is an
ancient asphaltum seepage in which hundreds
of Pleistocene Age (15,000-50,000 years ago)
birds, insects, and animals were trapped.
The skeletal remains found in the pit include
giant condors, giant . . . — — Map (db m168958) HM
This spring was on the old Indian Horsethief Trail and later (1834) Joe Walker Trail. The famished Manly-Jayhawk Death Valley parties (1849-50) were revived here after coming from Indian Wells through Last Chance Canyon. This was also a station on . . . — — Map (db m117039) HM
On Isabella Walker Pass Road (State Highway 178 at milepost 88), on the right when traveling west. Reported missing.
In 1834 explorer Joseph R. Walker passed this junction of Indian trails after discovering nearby Walker Pass. Death Valley 49er parties here diverged west and south after their escape from Death Valley enroute to the California gold fields. . . . — — Map (db m207791) HM
On State Highway 14 2 miles north of Inyokern Road, on the left when traveling north.
Indian water hole on Joseph R. Walker trail of 1834 where Manly-Jayhawker parties of 1849 found their first water after five days of travel from Argus Range. During 1860's was site of stage and freight station from Los Angeles to Coso and Cerro . . . — — Map (db m50243) HM
On Keyesville Road 2 miles west of Highway 155, on the right when traveling west.
From 1853 until 1870 Keyesville was a center of both placer and quartz gold mining. On the knoll just below the townsite may still be seen the outlines of an earth-work fort, built to meet a possible Indian attack in 1863. The original Keys Mine is . . . — — Map (db m143331) HM
On Wolfskill Street at Truman Street, on the right when traveling east on Wolfskill Street.
Cesar Chavez was a courageous labor leader, community organizer, and a civil rights activist. He organized an international movement to improve the lives of thousands of workers. As co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, he recognized the . . . — — Map (db m149987) HM
On California Route 178, on the left when traveling east.
Near this spot at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Kern River the Theodore Talbot Party of Captain John C. Fremont’s third expedition to the West camped for several weeks during December 1845 and January 1846. The river was named . . . — — Map (db m25092) HM
On Isabella Walker Pass Road (State Highway 178 at milepost 79.8), on the right when traveling east.
Discovered by Joseph R. Walker, American trail-blazer who left the San Joaquin Valley through this pass in 1834. This area was traversed by topographer Edward M. Kern, after whom the Kern River was named, while accompanying the Fremont . . . — — Map (db m159834) HM
Treatment for illness and the maintenance of good health were important for the success of a new community.
Early pharmacists compounded prescription medicine with mortars and pestles, made their own pills, and sold popular patent . . . — — Map (db m25308) HM
On West Columbus Street at Isla Verde Street, on the right when traveling west on West Columbus Street.
Near this spot stood the last home of Elisha Stevens, noted American pathfinder and scout. Born in Georgia April 5, 1804, he learned blacksmithing during his youth. Drifting west he became a trapper on the Upper Missouri for more than two decades. . . . — — Map (db m231869) HM
Only the most impoverished people sought treatment at a hospital.
The first county hospital in Bakersfield opened its doors to the public in January 1875. The hospital was constructed at 13th and G Streets for $1,400.00. It was a plain . . . — — Map (db m27061) HM
On Garlock Road 1 mile north of Red Rock Randsburg Road.
In 1896 Eugene Garlock constructed a stamp mill near this spot for the crushing of gold ore from the Yellow Aster Mine on Rand Mountain. Known originally as Cow Wells, by prospectors and freighters during the 1880’s and early 1890’s, the town of . . . — — Map (db m51672) HM
On Evans Road (State Highway 155), on the left when traveling west.
Kern County’s oldest residence. Built before Civil War by Thomas Fitzgerald as trading post at junction of two Indian trails. Present Greenhorn Road follows east – west trail (later McFarlane Toll Road) to Kern River mining districts. Town named . . . — — Map (db m25032) HM
This military post was established by the United States Army on June 24, 1854, to suppress stock rustling and for the protection of Indians in the San Joaquin Valley. As regimental headquarters of the First Dragoons, Fort Tejón was an important . . . — — Map (db m117523) HM
On Old Town Road at Woodford Tehachapi Road, on the right when traveling north on Old Town Road.
The oldest settlement in Tehachapi Valley, known as 'Old Town,' was established here during the 1860s. It was long an important station on the road between Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. The community began to decline when residents . . . — — Map (db m139964) HM
On Bakersfield-Glennville Road 6.5 miles south of Route 155, on the right when traveling south.
One and one-half miles north of this point stood the Mountain House Station on the route of the Butterfield Stage. Operating through present Kern County during 1858-1861, this famous line ran from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco until the . . . — — Map (db m168616) HM
On State Highway 140 east of Yaqui Gulch Road, on the left when traveling east.
One fourth mile north of Carson Creek, tributary of Agua Fria, was located Agua Fria, first county seat of Mariposa County in 1850-1851 one of original 27 counties in California. Until 1852, while mining was main industry of region, Mariposa County . . . — — Map (db m51554) HM
Kern County is one of the top oil producing areas in the United States. Four oil fields in Kern County have each produced over one billion barrels of oil.
In 1899, the discovery of oil on land near the Kern River started an oil boom. . . . — — Map (db m25692) HM
Near U.S. 395 0.1 miles south of Pangborne Lane, on the right when traveling south.
On the date of March 26, 1872, an earthquake of major proportions shook Owens Valley and nearly destroyed the town of Lone Pine.
Twenty seven persons were killed.
In addition to single burials, 16 of the victims were interred in a . . . — — Map (db m34157) HM
Kern County experienced a mining boom just like other parts of California. Prospectors arriving from near and far found gold, silver and other valuable ore in Kern County’s mountains beginning in the 1850s.
An assayer tests the purity of . . . — — Map (db m26080) HM
Near Chester Avenue just north of 36th Street, on the left when traveling north.
When European explorers first came to what is now Kern County, it was inhabited predominantly by indigenous peoples known as the Chumash, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, Serrano, Tubatulabal and Yokuts.
The Kern County area was first claimed by the . . . — — Map (db m167101) HM
On Bakersfield-Glennville/Granite Road at Round Mountain Road, on the left when traveling south on Bakersfield-Glennville/Granite Road.
Two and one half miles east of this point, on a small flat south of Poso Creek, is the site of one of six stagecoach stations in Kern County belonging to the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. The Butterfield Company operated along a southern route . . . — — Map (db m168620) HM
In 1924, Bakersfield was the twenty-first city in California to receive a Federal Post Office Building. Built at a cost of $130,000, the Mission architecture style building, constructed of masonry and concrete and reinforced with steel, was the . . . — — Map (db m122018) HM
On Sunset Boulevard east of Weedpatch Highway, on the right when traveling east.
Historical buildings,
Arvin Farm Labor
Supply Center,
Sunset Government Camp.
From the people of
Oklahoma — the Okies —
who found a home here
and helped build California.
-Gov Frank Keating, 2002. — — Map (db m309817) HM
The discovery of gold in California in 1849 started one of the greatest migrations in American history.
After moving west to seek their fortune in California, people living in mining camps had to travel long distances to a large city . . . — — Map (db m25143) HM
On California Route 14 north of Nadeau Street, on the right when traveling north.
Just west of this point was the Southern Pacific terminus for the Twenty-Mule-Team Borax wagons that operated between Death Valley and Mojave from 1884 to 1889. The route ran from the Harmony Borax Mining Company works, later acquired by the . . . — — Map (db m123891) HM
Near 75th Street West north of Rosamond Boulevard.
Willow Springs opened in 1953, and was purchased by Bill Huth in 1962. Under Huth's ownership,
the track grew to include the Streets of Willow and Horse Thief Mile road courses, a paved oval track, a
dirt oval track, and a karting circuit, in . . . — — Map (db m250424) HM
Near Evergreen Street, on the right when traveling south.
James Williams
California Pioneer
James Williams, age 29 and a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, emigrated overland to California in 1843 along with his three brothers – John, age 25; Isaac, age 20; and Squire, age 19 – in a . . . — — Map (db m62440) HM
Came to territory by
covered wagon in 1865
Settled here in 1876
Owned and operated
Gwynne Gold Mine, store
hotel and stage station
cattle rancher, Indian agent
Postmistress — — Map (db m83310) HM
On James Street north of Pacific Street, on the right when traveling north.
Built in 1913 by Kern County Land Company to accommodate prospective land buyers for the settlement of Shafter. Listed 1989 National Register of Historic Places. Supported by California Office of Historic Preservation Grants. Restored 1989 by . . . — — Map (db m130233) HM
On Aqueduct Road (California Route 62) 0.1 miles west of Parker Dam Road, on the right when traveling east.
Wyatt Earp was born in Illinois March 19, 1848. In 1864 he came west with his family, settling near San Bernardino. He later served as lawman in Wichita and Dodge City, then came to Tombstone in 1879. After the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881, . . . — — Map (db m78569) HM
Near Station Road 0.2 miles west of Morris Road, on the left when traveling west.
Back From the Brink of Extinction
Half a million tule elk once roamed
the marshes and grasslands of
California. The Gold Rush began an
era of commercial hunting and
agricultural practices that decimated
the elk and their . . . — — Map (db m184928) HM
Near Wood Street, on the right when traveling east.
The Jameson # 17 oil derrick, which was drilled in 1917 and produced until
the 1980’s, was scheduled to be torn down. In 1974 the local American
Association of University Women and several dedicated people convinced
Jameson Oil Company to . . . — — Map (db m88603) HM
On North Boyle Avenue at 1st Street, on the left when traveling north on North Boyle Avenue.
Cummings Comes To California
The stately brick building, with its projecting turret and other distinctive Victorian-era details, is one of the reminders of early Boyle Heights; and the Cummings Block, completed in 1889, represents . . . — — Map (db m174709) HM
Adobe was a common material used to construct buildings from the Spanish mission period of California history through the 1930s.
Adobe is a sun-dried brick made from soil or clay. This structure was built to resemble an adobe dwelling . . . — — Map (db m25062) HM
Access to adequate water supplies was crucial to the settlement of Kern County.
Water from the Kern River was diverted to irrigate farmlands, but most towns relied on wells for drinking water.
The Fairhaven Water Company built this . . . — — Map (db m25493) HM
The Kern County Chamber of Commerce building was completed in 1928, Chester Avenue was part of State Highway 99, the main north-south route through California.
Architect Charles H. Biggar designed this Spanish-style building on land . . . — — Map (db m25008) HM
José and Mary Lόpez belonged to the first generation of Americans born in California after statehood was granted on September 9, 1850.
José Lόpez came to Kern County to raise sheep in 1873. The following year Edward Beale, . . . — — Map (db m25013) HM
Thomas Metcalf built this charming Eastlake-style Victorian house on the southwest corner of Dracena and C Streets near downtown Bakersfield in 1885.
Thomas Metcalf, born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, enlisted to fight for the Union Army . . . — — Map (db m25983) HM
Large scale farming and ranching was needed to supply the restaurants and grocery stores in fast-growing cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles in the late 1800s.
Henry Miller and Charles Lux purchased large areas of land throughout . . . — — Map (db m25309) HM
On China Grade Loop Road, on the right when traveling west.
In May 1899, Thomas A. Means owned the land where James and Jonathan Elwood discovered oil on the North Bank of the Kern River. They used a hand auger under the edge of the cliff checking for oil, and later moved to the top to drill. Oil surfaced . . . — — Map (db m64665) HM
On Buena Vista Drive, on the right when traveling south.
This memorial site is erected and dedicated by the members of the Bakersfield Fire Department and our many supporting community partners, on this eleventh day of September, in the year two-thousand and sixteen A.D., on behalf of the citizens of . . . — — Map (db m139587) WM
On Green Street, on the left when traveling north.
California became a state in 1850. Settlers could lay claim to land by homestead, timber, mining and pre-emption rights. John and Amanda Brite were the first permanent settlers in the Tehachapi area, arriving in 1854 from Texas, building a mission . . . — — Map (db m134562) HM
Constructed in 1827 by the Mexican government to collect custom duties from foreign shipping, a principal revenue source when Monterey was the capital of Alta California, Mexico's northernmost province. Thomas O. Larkin, US consul to Alta . . . — — Map (db m82186) HM
The Castro/Breen adobe is associated with the early development and settlement of Mexican California. The adobe is an excellent example of blended eastern and western building methods first produced in Monterey to form the Monterey Colonial . . . — — Map (db m82243) HM
Near Lerdo Highway 1 mile west of Route 65, on the right when traveling west.
This plaque is dedicated to the men and women who have served in the Armed
Forces of the United States of America and to all the first responders of
this great nation.
Their dedication and commitment to the principals and values of our . . . — — Map (db m247132) HM
On Redrock Randsburg Road south of U.S. 395, on the right when traveling south.
Yellow Aster Mining & Milling Co. owned 49 patented and 6
unpatented claims. It was the principal source of gold in Kern County and had
an output of $12,000,000 most of which was mined and sold at pre-1934
prices. The mine was operated . . . — — Map (db m270190) HM
On Redrock Randsburg Road north of Butte Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
North of this sign is the famous Yellow Aster Gold Mine in Randsburg. Three friends, Fredrick Mooers, John Singleton
and Charles Burcham discovered the Yellow Aster Gold Mine in 1895 and so was the beginning of the famous Rand
Mining District! . . . — — Map (db m270166) HM
Near Red Mountain Road 0.8 miles west of U.S. 395, on the left when traveling west.
North of this sign is the famous Yellow Aster Gold Mine in Randsburg. Three friends, Fredrick Mooers, John Singleton
and Charles Burcham discovered the Yellow Aster Gold Mine in 1895 and so was the beginning of the famous Rand
Mining District! . . . — — Map (db m153138) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
