Historical Marker · No. 457
Indian Wells
Inyokern, Kern County · California
Erected by the California Centennials Commission in cooperation with the Kern County Historical Society, 1950
Five days out of the Argus Range with nothing to drink, the Death Valley parties came down into this valley and found a waterhole. It was not luck. The hole was a known Indian well on the trail Joseph Walker had used in 1834, and it went on working long after them: through the 1860s a stage and freight station stood here on the run from Los Angeles up to the Coso and Cerro Gordo mines. A brewery draws on the spring now.
What the plaque says
INDIAN WELLS 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 GORDO MINES. STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 457 MARKER PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION IN COOPERATION WITH KERN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DEDICATED JULY 9, 1950
Where it stands
35.66787, -117.87235 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Freeman Junction — 5.0 mi
- Walker's Pass — 8.7 mi
- Garlock — 19 mi
- Rand Mining District — 24 mi