NO. 99 WALKER'S PASS - Discovered by Joseph
R. Walker, American trailblazer, 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 Frémont expedition of 1845.
After 1860 it became a mining freight route to Owens Valley.
Location: At summit on State Hwy 178 (P.M. 79.8), 8.4 mi NW of
Freeman Jct (State Hwy 14)
NO. 278 PLACE WHERE FRANCISCO GARC�S
CROSSED THE KERN RIVER - On May 1, 1776, Franciscan friar Francisco
Garcés crossed the Kern River one mile north of here. Searching for a shorter
route from Sonora, Mexico to Monterey, California, he was the first known
explorer to describe this river, which he named Río de San Felipe.
Location: State Hwy 178 (P.M. 10.9) at Rancheria Rd, 11.0 mi E
of Bakersfieldv
NO. 457 INDIAN WELLS - After five days'
travel from the Argus Range, the Manly-Jayhawker parties of 1849 found their
first water at this Indian waterhole on the Joseph R. Walker Trail of 1843.
During the 1860s, this was the site of a stage and freight station for traffic
between Los Angeles and the Coso and Cerro Gordo Mines.
Location: Indian Wells Lodge, 4.9 mi N of Freeman Jct (Hwys 14
and 178) on Hwy 14 (P.M. 62.6)
NO. 742 CAMPSITE OF EDWARD M. KERN - Near
this spot at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Kern River, the
Theodore Talbot party of Captain John C. Frémont's third expedition to the West
camped for several weeks during December 1845 and January 1846. Frémont named
the river in honor of Edward M. Kern, topographer for the expedition - Kern
County was established in 1866.
Location: Entrance to Old IsabelIa Rd Recreation Area, on State Hwy 178, 2 mi N
of the town of Lake IsabelIa
NO. 766 FREEMAN JUNCTION - Explorer Joseph
R. Walker passed this junction of Indian trails in 1834 after discovering
nearby Walker Pass. After their escape from Death Valley, '49er parties split
here to go west and south to the California gold fields. Here the bandit
Tiburcio Vásquez preyed on stages and freighters traveling between the Kern
River mines and Los Angeles and the mines of Bodie and the Panamints.
Location: On State Hwy 178 (P.M. 88.0), 0.2 mi W of junction
with State Hwy 14