Come - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

UTDOOR MUSEUMS on the order of
Kern County's Pioneer Village have
been popular in Europe for many
years. Originating in the Scandinavian
countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark,
this type of memorial was adopted
by neighboring nations where open-air
institutions became a numerous and integral
part of continental culture.
The local institution's genesis dates
from the early 1940s, when a group of
history-minded citizens sought to restore
the old mining camp of Havilah. Located
in the Lower Sierra about 50 miles east of
Bakersfield, California, it had served as
Kern's first county seat from 1866 to
1873, when Bakersfield became the center
of county administration. Due to
Havilah's remote location, this original
plan was reluctantly discarded. Then in
1950, the Kern County Board of Supervisors
approved a subsequent proposal,
and 11 acres were initially set aside on
the old fairgrounds in Bakersfield for a
Pioneer Village installation reminiscent
of a typical early Kern community.
The first acquisition in 1950 was the
28
Tom Barnes log house built in 1868 on
the Canfield Ranch, a gift of the Kern
County Land Company. Next came the
tiny Southern Pacific railroad jail built in
Delano in 1874 when the rail line was
being constructed south to Bakersfield.
That year also saw the arrival of the
Southern Pacific narrow gauge boxcar
and the St. John's Episcopal Mission
from Rosedale. Another valuable gift
was the 1882 Alphonse Weill residence
in Bakersfield through the courtesy of
the pioneer Weill family.
In 1954 the Havilah Courthouse was
opened to the public, representing a
structure used to house Kern's first
county government. The next year
brought the Quinn Sheepherder's Cabin
of 1906 to the Village. A forerunner of
the modern trailer house, it was pulled
from place to place on skids by teams of
horses or mules.
The year 1956 signalized the receipt of
numerous important gifts. A large steam
locomotive built in 1898 was presented
by the Southern Pacific Co., and an historic
wooden caboose was completely re-
Pioneer
by RICHARD C. BAILEY
Desert/ April 1979