More Whiskey Flat Days Fun

Yes, Whiskey Flat Days is a fun-filled weekend. However, there is tons of history behind this annual event. Kernville, California was first established during the Gold Rush days, but was known as the town of Whiskey Flat. Many miners were travelling through this region and a man by the name of Adam Hamilton saw this as a great business prospect. Hamilton set up a tent next to the Kern River and began selling whiskey to the prospecters that came through the valley. Next thing you know, Whiskey Flat was a town.

Some years later, a dam was built on the Kern River that created our own Lake Isabella. When this happened, the town of Whiskey Flat had to be relocated to a higher spot on the mountain. This is when the town became Kernville, as we know it today. As the Gold Rush dwindled down, people began to really settle into the town of Kernville. However, they were faced with a challenge: not many people wanted to travel all the way up here in the mountains. So, they decided to devise a plan that would bring tourists, and therefore more money into the town. Without tourism, the people knew that Kernville would not last.

The people agreed to have some kind of a celebration to attract people. According to The Kern Valley Sun, "Lloree Knowles, a local real estate broker, was the first to recommend that the community use a frontier-type celebration to try to bring more people into the Valley during the slack winter period." Then, Ardis Walker, a local historian and author, suggested the name "Whiskey Flat Days" because he thought that it would be a great way to showcase the town's historic past. The first Whiskey Flat Days kicked off in 1958 and has been growing ever since.

There you have it! The history of Whiskey Flat Days in Kernville, California.

As Candace said, there is so much to see here...and some GREAT artwork too.

But for me, the best part is that it offers fun for the whole family.