Kernville (former town), California

For the current town, see Kernville, California.
Kernville
Whiskey Flat, Rogersville and Williamsburg
Former settlement
Kernville

Location in California

Coordinates: 35°42′51″N 118°26′12″W / 35.71417°N 118.43667°W / 35.71417; -118.43667Coordinates: 35°42′51″N 118°26′12″W / 35.71417°N 118.43667°W / 35.71417; -118.43667
Country United States
State California
County Kern County
Elevation[1] 2,575 ft (785 m)

Kernville (also, Whiskey Flat, Rogersville and Williamsburg) is a former settlement in the Kern River Valley of the Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California.[1]

Kernville was established in 1858 as a gold camp. It lay at an elevation of 2,575 feet (785 m).[1]

It was submerged under Lake Isabella reservoir in 1954.[1]

History

An 1858 gold rush, caused by the discovery of the Big Blue Mine nearby, led to the formation of a town on the flats along the Kern River. Briefly called Rogersville (after the man who first found gold in the area while chasing his mule) and Williamsburg, it was soon renamed Whiskey Flat after a saloon opened in the previously "dry" town.[2] The towns name changed again after 1864 to Kernville.

The post office formerly at Keysville was moved to Kernville and operated at Kernville from 1868 to 1951, when service was moved to the new Kernville.[3][4]

Hollywood producers shot many films, mostly Westerns in the town.[5]

The original townsite is now registered as California Historical Landmark #132.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kernville (former town), California
  2. ↑ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Quill Driver Books. p. 1055-1056. ISBN 9781884995149.
  3. ↑ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1055-1056. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  4. ↑ Walter N. Frickstad, A Century of California Post Offices 1848-1954, Philatelic Research Society, Oakland, CA. 1955, pp. 50-60
  5. ↑ http://www.filmkern.com/sites/filmkern.localhost/files/pdfs/film_credits.pdf
  6. ↑ "Kernville". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-07.



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