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| Landmark #766 | Kern County | Visited: January 2, 2012 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque marking an important stop for the 49ers and other miners! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: 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.
OTHER TIDBITS: This junction is named after Freeman S. Raymond, a 49er who owned a stagecoach station here! This station was regularly under attack by Tiburcio Vásquez, but Raymond held his own, even adding a post office, until he eventually died in 1909! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: On State Hwy 178 (P.M. 88.0) 0.2 mi W of junction with State Hwy 14 Inyokern, CA 93527 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~144mi (232km) — 2.4hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |