Kernville (former town), California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kernville
Whiskey Flat, Rogersville and Williamsburg
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Former settlement
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1941 map of Kernville area
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 Kernville
Location in California
Kernville
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Kern County |
| Elevation | 785 m (2,575 ft) |
Kernville (also, Whiskey Flat, Rogersville and Williamsburg) is a former settlement in the Kern River Valley of the Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California.
Established in 1858 as a gold camp, the town was renamed Kernville in 1864. It lay at an elevation of 2,575 feet (785 m) near the present-day town of Wofford Heights.
Most of the town was dismantled or relocated to higher ground by the time it was fully submerged under the Lake Isabella reservoir in 1954. Some building foundations are visible when lake levels are low.
History
An 1858 gold rush, caused by the discovery of the Big Blue Mine nearby, led to the formation of a town on the flats along the Kern River. Briefly called Rogersville (after the man who first found gold in the area while chasing his mule) and Williamsburg, it was soon renamed Whiskey Flat after a saloon opened in the previously "dry" town. The towns name changed again after 1864 to Kernville.
The post office formerly at Keysville was moved to Kernville and operated at Kernville from 1868 to 1951, when service was moved to the new Kernville.
Hollywood producers shot many films, mostly Westerns in the town.
The original townsite is now registered as California Historical Landmark #132.
