Desert Spring, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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°18′06″N 117°57′15″W / 35.30167°N 117.95417°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Reference no. | 476 |
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]
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]
