Historical
Tour of State Route 178
From
The Kern Canyon to Freeman Junction
By
Russ Connelly
Construction began on a road through the Kern Canyon in the mid 1890's. The road was graded dirt and extended from the mouth of the canyon (15 miles east of Bakersfield) to the site of Southern California Edison's KR1 powerhouse about two miles inside the canyon. This road was built by Edison Electric for constructing their Kern River powerhouse between 1902 and 1907. When completed, KR1 was the largest hydroelectric facility in the world and boasted the longest, most powerful transmission line (75,000 volts) which stretched 118 miles from the plant, over the Tehachapi Mountains to Los Angeles.
Edison horse team hauling generator parts at the mouth of the Kern Canyon
Mouth of the Kern River Canyon once paved in the 1940’s
In late 1919, Highway 178 (then known as
Legislative Route 57) was added to the State highway system and was called
"The Walker Pass Route" for the pass the road covers on it's way to
the desert junction of Freeman. The state highway bond issue of 1919 allowed for
the grading of the road between the KR1 powerhouse and Democrat. The grading was
done by convict labor from Folsom Prison Camp 9 and was completed in 1924 at a
cost of over $530,000. The severe cost of the grading was due to the steep sides
of the canyon wall and the rock that had to be blasted out of the way to make
the roadbed. "The Canyon" as it is known to locals, is notorious for
its many and usually dangerous curves. It is an intimidating road with a steep
rocky canyon wall on one side and the mighty Kern River on the other.
1924: Highway 178 just above KR1
powerhouse. Note the rock "retaining wall" at left
As the roadway appeared in the 1930’s: Narrow, twisting and poorly paved
Many have died along the highway as a result
of it being narrow and curvy. Several improvements have been made to eliminate
or improve curves and improve sightlines. One thing that has not changed since
the 1920's is the frequency of rock slides that occur as a result of expansion
and contraction of the canyon wall due to rains and temperature. The Tehachapi
earthquake of 1952 also caused many major rock slides. Many floods, including
those in 1940 and 1942, washed away several portions of the road. Floods were a
threat until Isabella reservoir was completed in 1953. Until the late 1970's, a
sign at the mouth of the canyon told travelers that this dangerous road was not
patrolled at night and travel was at your own risk.
1942: Flood damage about 1 mile inside the Kern Canyon
1952: Earthquake damage. This is the nearly the same location as a 1984 slide during Caltrans reconstruction that closed the road for over three months.
The first reference to any highway between
Democrat and Bodfish is in a Bakersfield newspaper article from 1905 mentioning
newly-opened County Road 148. This primitive road diverged off Breckenridge Road
near Mt Adelaide and passed over the mountains, down to Democrat Springs and
then along the canyon to Bodfish. The county of Kern improved the 17 mile
section of road from Democrat to Bodfish and turned it over to the State for
maintenance as part of the State Highway on January 1, 1926. The county turned
the rest of the mountain road over to the U.S. Forest Service and is now known
as road 28S09 and is accessible only by four wheel drive vehicles.
Between 1905 and 1959, Democrat Springs was a
resort that featured hot mineral springs and a hotel. Local ranchers and
travelers stopped at the hotel for meals and to soak in the waters. The Democrat
property has since changed hands many times and with the 'high-speed' road
between the Kern River Valley and Bakersfield, the resort was passed by. What is
left now are fenced-off ruins that are a part of local history. Note:
In case you stop to try and look at the ruins, the area residents are
serious about those “No Trespassing signs”
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The Democrat Hotel and Resort Circa 1910 |
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Highway 178 also passed through the small village of Miracle Springs. Miracle featured a hotel, general store, campground, hot springs and even its own Post Office. While the beginnings of this community were around 1901, the end of this community began in 1975 with fire destroying the Miracle Hot Springs Hotel and ended in 1986 with a fire destroying the remaining general store across the road. The Forest Service finished the job by closing the area, clearing the remains of all buildings at Miracle Springs and reopening the area to public use in 1992. The location signs for Miracle Springs were removed by the County in 1987.
Hobo Hot Springs, later named Miracle Hot
Springs. These buildings were later
torn down to make way for a RV resort on the property.
This is the current site of the Kern River raft access area.
The pipe that is in the center of the picture carried mineral water from
the springs to the cabins. The
Forest Service later built a campground across the road and named it Hobo
Campground.
A Hot Springs winter: the resort in 1969 Photo courtesy of Jason Houston
Two Views of the Miracle Springs Resort: late 1950’s
Same
View: 2006 Only the tree is still there Photo
by Andy Field
At Miracle, the state route connected with a
road already established in 1897 by the Pacific Light & Power Company for
building their Borel powerhouse. This road was maintained by the County and went
from the "hobo" camp at Miracle Springs to the junction with the
county road to Caliente at Bodfish. At this intersection, 178 turned left, went
down Bodfish Grade and continued past the landmark Borel Flume. This overhead
waterway was built in 1902 to feed the Borel powerhouse three miles to the west.
It was replaced by an underground pipe in 1997 due to seismic concerns and its
frequent leaks.
The Bodfish flume in 1937 Note the oiled gravel roadbed.
1997: The Bodfish flume being dismantled No more free car washes!
Continuing past Bodfish and through Hot
Springs Valley, the road made an abrupt left turn (eliminated in the 1980’s)
and entered the small communities of Garfield and Kernvale before cutting
through the "new" town of Lake Isabella.
In 1966, the state authorized an upgrade of
178 to four lane expressway from China Gardens, east of Democrat to Isabella
Dam. This improved 13-mile section opened on October 13, 1973. While this new
section cut four miles off the trip, it took seven years to construct due to
political and funding difficulties as well as the large amount of grading that
was necessary for the new alignment. At the time, it was one of the most
expensive stretches of expressway in California. The new "freeway"
also bypassed the towns of Miracle Springs, Bodfish, Garfield, Kernvale and Lake
Isabella. The old highway through Kernvale & Lake Isabella was upgraded to
four lanes prior to state relinquishment in 1974 and is now known as Lake
Isabella Blvd. The stretch of replaced road from China Gardens to Bodfish is now
known as Old Kern Canyon Road (County Road 214).
Hot Springs House Circa 1904
Another Settlement that time has forgotten is
Scovern Hot Springs and the old Hot Springs House which burned in 1971.
Located in the center of Hot Springs Valley, it was originally a stopping
point for horse stages traveling between the railroad at Caliente and Old
Kernville during the late 1800’s. Remnants
of the local landmark built in 1866 could be seen from Lake Isabella Boulevard
until the mid 1990’s when the original wood framing of the hot springs
building finally fell down. Tall weeds grow along old 178 just past Kern Valley
Plaza that obscure the springs. The entire property was fenced by a new owner in
2001 who turned the remaining property into a vineyard with plans on reopening a
hot springs resort on the property sometime in the future.
1940's approach to old Isabella. The small hill at center is today's
Engineer's Point
2003 view from the same location, now the Auxiliary Dam Recreation Area.
The construction of the Isabella Reservoir, authorized as a Federal flood control project in 1944, began construction in 1948. Before then, the State Division of Highways had the task of realigning 178 (as well as highway 155) out of the lakebed. Unfortunately for the local residents, that also meant the wholesale relocation of the original town of Isabella to an area to the south then known as the Scovern Ranch.
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| Construction of Isabella Main Dam 1950 |
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| 1953: The new town of Lake Isabella The highway in foreground is relocated highway 155 |
A new bridge over the Borel canal was built
near the Auxiliary Dam and the roadway realigned to the south and east nearer
the mountains. This 1946 roadway is still in use today. To get an idea of where
the town of Isabella was originally located, take the “Old Isabella Road”
turnoff about a mile past the dam and drive down to the boat ramp.
The town was located directly in front of you, close to the end of
Engineers Point.
Improvements to the 1946 road alignment helped
straighten curves at Paradise Cove and Kissack Cove in the 1970's and 1980's and
the stretch of road through the town of Mountain Mesa was widened to include a
center turn lane in the early 1990's. Rolling past the Kissack Ranch and over
Kissack Grade, the realigned roadway reconnects to the original alignment just
east of the town of South Lake.
In 2006: Original highway alignment coming up from the lakebed near
South Lake.
Highway 178 continues past the ranching communities of Weldon and Onyx curving among such settlements as Paul’s Place which was originally called Earl’s Place. The highway has been realigned slightly so that Paul’s Place is now accessible from a local road that connects back to 178 a mile later.
We also pass the site of what was the longest
continuously operating store in California: The Onyx Store.
Continuing east, the highway then begins its
climb out of the Kern River Valley. This section of road, which was built
originally by the County of Kern, was realigned up Walker Pass grade by the
State in 1927 and passes the old stage stops and settlements of Canebrake and
the Walker Pass Lodge, which burned in the late 1990’s.
From here, the highway continues to climb up
the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains topping Walker Pass at an
elevation of 5250 feet before rolling down Freeman Canyon to meet State highway
14 (old US 6) at Freeman Junction.
Near the summit of Walker Pass
1925
Freeman Junction was
first homesteaded in the 1920's. In the 1930's a restaurant, gas station and
mining activities dominated the area. By the early 1970’s the residents were gone and the
remains of the town were removed by passersby traveling the high desert highways.
Nothing remains today but a State Historical Marker at the highway
junction.
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| Site in 1976 Photo by Jason Houston | Site in 2006 Photo by Andy Field |
Freeman Junction: A ghost town of itself Photo by Mike Ballard
Additional Materials and Assistance by:
Joel Windmiller, Michael Ballard, Andy Field & Jason Houston
(eliminate spaces in email address)
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