CHL 766 - Freeman Junction
Posted by: 
fresgo
N 35° 36.123 W 117° 54.423
11S E 417839 N 3940190
Ample parking in the turn out on the north side of State Route 178 just west of State Route 14
Waymark Code: WMB630
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 04/09/2011
Views: 14
Freeman Junction was once a bustling location along the highway, today it is a ghost town. An important crossroads - to the west is the Kern River Canyon, Lake Isabella and Bakersfield. To the South Mojave, the North East Ridgecrest and to the north Bishop, Mammoth, and Tahoe. The two canals of the Los Angeles Aqueduct are within a short drive to the west. Historically, through the Junction traveled fortune seekers, migrants looking for a better life, and the occasional bandit. Today most people drive by without stopping, unaware of the past glory of the place.
The Plaque reads:
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.
Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Death Valley 49'ers Inc., and the Kern County Historical Society November 9, 1961