Richard M. Keyes

Captain Richard Keyes discovered gold here in 1832, and established the Keyes Mine. Keyesville was built right next to the Keyes Gold Mine, and all the miners in the area would buy their supplies, drink, gamble, have gunplay in Keyesville - all the typical things that were done in a wild-west town of the era. With it's pony-express Post Office, Gold Assayers Office, Blacksmith Shop, Merchantile, Brothels, and Hotels, Keyesville became the SoCal Gold Hub for years. There is a lot of history here. Just look down around your feet if you visit... you might just find a relic or coin from the era - Keyesville has been privately held for generations so it is largely un-searched for such artifacts and treasures


Keyes Mine Information Sources:

The Diggings

Kern Mining Districts

Bureau of Land Management

Grizzly Adams

During 1855, the real John "Grizzly" Adams and his grizzly bear companions Lady Washington and Ben Franklin journeyed over the Greenhorn Mountains to visit Keyesville. He described to his biographer his time spent among the mines, hunting and supplying game for the Keyesville miners. Learn more in Bob Powers' book Kern Rver Country


Sources:

Wiki

The Rough and The Righteous of the Kern River Diggins
by Ardis M. Walker

The "Shootin' Walkers"

William Walker and his growing family relocated to the Kern River Valley as a result of the discovery of gold. They eventually settled just a stone's throw outside Keyesville Townsite in a cabin, now known as the Walker Cabin, recently refurbished by the state of California at a price of $1.7 million. The Walker boys were known as expert marksmen, constantly practicing their shooting. The most notable events involving the Walkers are the Walker-Burton feud, which culminated in one of the youngest sons, Newt, going to trial in Bakersfield for the murders of Dave Burton and a hired gunman named Jim Bagby. Newt was aquitted on the plea of self-defense when he demonstrated his quickdraw abilities for the judge and jury. In 1924, Newt was found in the old Walker cabin with a gunshot wound to the chest, and two gambling buddies were found outside with a similar fate. Newt's older brother, Tom, was found a few days later in one of the mines behind the cabin with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Pictured: Newt Walker

Sources:

The Rough and The Righteous of the Kern River Diggins
by Ardis M. Walker

The Walker-Burton Feud

Tom and Newt's Death

The Lightners

In 1849, Abia Lightner and his family traveled by covered wagon from Missouri to California. Abia Lightner was a successful gold miner in Keyesville. He acquired Mammoth Mine in 1855 and is credited with bringing the first stamp mill to the Kern River. Abia's daughter, Lavinia, grew up to marry Walker Rankin in 1868. "Nana" Rankin was a prominent figure in the Kern River Valley until her death in 1948 Together they ran the Rankin Ranch, which is still thriving today. The picture to the right was taken at the Keyesville Cemetery.

Sources:

The Rough and The Righteous of the Kern River Diggins
by Ardis M. Walker

William H. Brewer

Surveyor and geologist William H. Brewer led a party from the California State Geological Survey over the Tehachapi Mountains. They passed through Walker Basin and stopped in Keyesville. In letters to his brother, Brewer says of Keyesville, "It is the largest place within ninety miles...We got hay and barley...and 'square meals' for ourselves...A store, with no floor but the ground, a saloon and 'hotel'...are the accomodations which we consider princely after our much harder fare...It was a peculiarly lively time there." After visiting Owens Valley, Brewer returned to Keyesville and made his way north over the Greenhorn Mountains.

Sources:

Up and Down California in 1860-1864:
The Journal of William H. Brewer

The Rough and The Righteous of the Kern River Diggins
by Ardis M. Walker

Wiki

Tubatulabal Indians

The Tubatulabal Indians were the peaceful tribe of Native Americans who lived in and about the Keyesville area, and the Kern River Valley. There are still grinding stones on the Keyesville Townsite property from their days here. These were the true first settlers of the Keyesville area, as they were here thousands of years before the forces of greed wrested this sacred land from them. The name Tubatulabal (“a people that go to the forest to gather tubat (piñon nuts)”) loosely translates as "pine-nut eaters." The Tubatulabal were known for their red pottery and coiled baskets.

Read More:

Wiki

Keyesville Massacre

The "Keyesville Massacre" should have been named the "McLaughlin" or "Whiskey Flat" Massacre, as it actually took place 10 miles away from Keyesville, but the US army troops did indeed ride out of the Keyesville Townsite to do the heinous, cowardly bidding of their Captain, U.S Army Captain Moses A. McLaughlin. He drastically overreacted to a complaint from local residents about starving Indians who were taking cattle for food to survive, and led a group of US Army soldiers out of Keyesville and rounded up "the bucks" of the unarmed local Tubatulabal tribe of Indians, and proceeded to have them slaughtered. McLaughlin reported: "Arrived at Keyesville, on Kern River, April 18, 1863. Heard that a large party of Indians were encamped a few miles above, and at two o'clock in the morning of the next day surrounded their camp, and killed thirty-five of them; not a soldier was injured."

These indians were unarmed and peaceful residents of the area (for thousands of yers) so there is NO excuse for this act in the current owner of Keyesville's opinion. More information from the links below, including the KGET TV Special on The Keyesville Massacre

KGET Article

California Landmark Foundation


Keyesville TV Special

Present Day

Today, Keyesville is a privately owned California Historical Landmark.

Click the button below for more information.

More Resources

Read more about Keyesville in these books:

"Kern River Country" by Bob Powers (the best for wild-west Keyesville history but not for modern day. Keyesville has been privately owned for generations and Bob had no access to the townsite)
"The Rough and The Righteous of the Kern River Diggins" by Ardis M. Walker
"Historic Kern County: An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County" by Chris Brewer
"Historic Land of the Rio Bravo" by Ken Wortley


    Click the button below for more photos, including excerpts from books, photos of the Keyesville Cemetery, and the Walker Cabin.

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