You can just imagine how the newspapers of the day were filled with stories of all that went on in and around Whiskey Flat - and throughout the West for that matter. But Whiskey Flat ended up with a pretty bruised and battered reputation. Who wants to move to a town with that much trouble going on?
The stories associated with the name seemed to be the problem, so the ladies of Whiskey Flat got together and decided that a name change was in order, because - the town wasn't really all that bad.
Colonel John C. Fremont was a pretty heroic and influential name around the country as he was known far and wide as the pathfinder of an 1846 mapping expedition of the southwest. The area around Whiskey Flat had been named the Kern River valley in honor of Fremont's topographer, Lt. Edward Kern. So the ladies decided "Kernville" would be the new name of their little town.
By the late 1870's, the Big Blue had more than 200 miners working her, and there were more miners working the other mines in the area. Kernville could boast a church, three hotels, three saloons and numerous other businesses. She had survived her birth, and the turmoil of "teenage" years, and was now a settled and prosperous community. Folks could relax and enjoy life. Thank you, ladies!
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