When it comes to place names in the Central Valley, most follow a familiar pattern, with origins in tribal names, the Spanish colonial period, or those of early white settlers. But there are a few exceptions. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of the valley county – and river – named for an artist.
When John C. Fremont launched his Third Expedition into Alta California in 1845, he took with him around 100 men, including Kit Carson, Joseph Walker and a young painter from Philadelphia, named Edward Kern. He was the expedition’s official artist, topographer and cartographer.
In December 1845 and January 1846, Fremont’s party camped at the confluence of two forks of a great river in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Fremont named the river after his staff artist, giving us today’s Kern River…