KERNVILLE, Calif. (KERO) — This weekend Whiskey Flat Days is taking place in Kernville. But what is Whiskey Flat Days?
According to the event's official website, Kernville was first known as Whiskey Flat. It was a place for those seeking their fortunes in the Big Blue Gold Mine on the Kern River in 1860.
Back then, alcohol was not allowed at the mine site. So an "industrious fellow" threw a plank across a couple of whiskey barrels down on the flat south of the mine and named it Whiskey Flat.
In 1864, the name was changed to the less wild and woolly name of Kernville after the artist Edward M. Kern.
And since 1957 the Whiskey Flat Days event reverts the town back to those wild west days when the area was settled by gold miners, cattle ranchers, and trappers.
The festival brings the small town back to its rodeo roots filling the streets with vendors, music, entertainment, and even a carnival. It takes place February 17 - 20.
