Desert Spring is a former settlement in Kern County, California in the Fremont Valley, south of Red Rock Canyon State Park.[1] It was located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of Cantil.[1]
Desert Spring | |
|---|---|
Former settlement | |
 The California Historic Landmark plaque for Desert Spring | |
  Desert Spring Location in California  Desert Spring Desert Spring (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 35°16′20″N 118°37′34″W / 35.27222°N 118.62611°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Reference no. | 476 |
The place, with natural springs, was important as a source of freshwater to the Native Americans, explorers, prospectors, and others in the Mojave Desert.[1] Visitors included Joseph R. Walker in 1834, John C. Fremont in 1844, and migrants entering California in 1850 who had used the El Paso Range route.[2] Later in the 19th century the water source was used by "ore freighters and prospectors".[3]
The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #476.[4]
California Historical Landmark reads:
- NO. 476 DESERT SPRING - This spring was on an old Indian horse thief 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 the Nadeau Borax Freight Road.[5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1012. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ Bailey (1967), pp. 6–7.
- ^ Bailey (1967), pp. 7.
- ^ "Desert Spring". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
- ^ californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmark chl-476
- ^ Cal California parks Historical Landmarks
Sources
edit- Bailey, Richard C. (1967). Kern County Place Names. Annual Publications of the Kern County Historical Society and Kern County Museum (No. 29). Introduction by Ralph F. Kreiser (1st ed.). Bakersfield, California: Merchants Printing and Lithographing Co. LCCN 74018077. OCLC 158106.
 | This Kern County, California-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |