Freeman Junction, California, Kern County is a mesmerizing ghost town that once thrived in the rugged landscapes of California. Known for its strategic location during the Gold Rush era, it served as a bustling junction for travelers and traders. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Kern County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 35.5986° N, 117.9036° W
Elevation: Approximately 3,425 feet (1,044 meters)
Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Established: 1873
Disestablished: Not formally disestablished, but largely abandoned by the late 1930s
Comments: Freeman Junction was named after Jim Freeman, a local entrepreneur who established a stagecoach stop and trading post in the area. It became a vital waystation on the Walker Pass route, connecting the Mojave Desert to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The town’s location was ideal for prospectors and settlers traveling to and from mining areas.
Freeman Junction, a ghost town in Kern County, California Ghost Townlifornia, USA, was first homesteaded in the 1920s by Clare C. Miley, who was born in 1900. By the 1930s, a restaurant, gas station, and mining activities dominated the site. By June 1976, the town had died, and passersby had removed the remains. Bedrock mortars near the original spring suggest that this area was regularly used as a campsite by Native Americans.
Remains: Today, visitors can find remnants of stone foundations, scattered mining equipment, and the faint outlines of what once were bustling structures. The site is overgrown and largely reclaimed by the desert, offering a haunting glimpse into the past.
In 1834 explorer Joseph R. Walker passed this junction of Indian trails after crossing the Sierra Nevada via Walker Pass. In the winter of 1849-50, forty-niner parties, en route to the California gold fields, passed through here after escaping from Death Valley.
In 1873 or early 1874, Freeman S. Raymond, an original forty-niner, bought or built a stagecoach station here, at the junction of the Walker Pass road (the route of modern California 178) and the road to Los Angeles (now replaced by California State Route 14). Both roads carried traffic to and from the mines than in the area.
The Walker Pass road led to the Kern River mines, while the Los Angeles road continued further north and east to the mines at Cerro Gordo, the Panamints, and later Darwin and Bodie, California Ghost Townlifornia.
Current Status: Freeman Junction is considered a ghost town with no permanent residents. It is occasionally visited by historians, explorers, and photographers drawn to its historical significance and desolate beauty.
Raymond continued operating the stagecoach stop, which included a post office after 1889 or 1890, until his death in August 1909. The station burned down a few years later. The Los Angeles Aqueduct now passes through the site. California Historical Landmark #766 is located nearby, besides California 178, within sight of the junction with California 14.
Remarks: Despite its abandonment, Freeman Junction remains a symbol of the adventurous spirit of the Old West, capturing the imagination of those who yearn for exploration and discovery. Its location at the crossroads of history serves as a poignant reminder of the ever-shifting fortunes of frontier life.
On February 25, 1874, Tiburcio Vasquez and his associates robbed several freight wagon crews at Raymond’s station (then called Coyote Holes). They had apparently scouted the location from a nearby rock formation, now known as Robber’s Roost. Vasquez’s group also ambushed and robbed an arriving stagecoach before making their escape. One of the robbery victims was shot in the leg.
