Place Where Francisco Garcés Crossed the Kern River

Kern County · 8 miles east of Bakersfield · location approximate

One mile north of here on May 1, 1776, Francisco Garcés, 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 Río de San Felipe.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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