Historical Marker · No. 278
Rio de San Felipe
Bakersfield, Kern County · California
Erected by Bakersfield Parlor No. 42 N.S.G.W., El Tejon Parlor No. 239 N.D.G.W., the Kern County Historical Society, and the Kern County Chamber of Commerce, 1938
On the day the bronze marks, 1 May 1776, a Yowlumne Yokuts village on the river made a feast of Garcés's arrival. He wrote it down, along with the tobacco and glass beads he handed back and his pleasure at how warmly he was received. In the same diary he judged the country fit for a mission. The welcome and the assessment sit on the same page, and the second one is what the Franciscans had sent him to write.
What the plaque says
CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL LANDMARK RIO DE SAN FELIPE ONE MILE NORTH OF HERE ON MAY 1, 1776, FRANCISCO GARCES OF THE FRANCISCAN ORDER CROSSED KERN RIVER IN HIS SEARCH FOR A SHORTER ROUTE FROM SONORA, MEXICO, TO MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. HE WAS THE FIRST KNOWN EXPLORER TO DESCRIBE THIS RIVER, WHICH HE NAMED RIO DE SAN FELIPE. DEDICATED MAY 1, 1938 BAKERSFIELD PARLOR NO. 42 N.S.G.W. EL TEJON PARLOR NO. 239 N.D.G.W. KERN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY KERN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES REG. NO. 278 STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Where it stands
35.41618, -118.83323 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Point on the Jedediah Smith Trail — 6.0 mi
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- Gordon's Ferry on the Kern River — 7.6 mi
- Home of Elisha Stevens — 9.8 mi