FSKC (Former Settlement Kern County)
Petersburg is one of 24 listed former settlements in Kern County Former settlements in Kern County, California.
I finally found the real location of Petersburg!!!
Follow the provided waypoints provided for driving and hiking directions. You will need to 4x4 high clearance vehicle after you turn off from Rancheria Road. From the parking waypoint to the historic town is 1 mile round trip. The hike isn't too steep but you have branches and logs you need to navigate around. Be sure to cross the creek at the provided waypoint, this will save you some difficult climbing. We hid the geocache outside the fence line to avoid possible private property. If would not recommend exploring the old building as they seem to be on private property. The cache is hidded outside the fence line and is on BLM land accessable to all. I will be looking into who owns the land for possible access in the future, but for now, I recommend stopping your hike at the fence line.
During winter months, I would check on the snow report in the area before attempting this cache.
The first gold reported to be found by Europeans was said to be discovered on Greenhorn Creek and was the start of the KRV gold rush. Whiskey Flats, Kernville, Keysville, Isabella, and Havilah are often mentioned when discussing historic gold mining towns, but little is said about Petersburg which is likely the first gold mining settlement. I thought I could pay homage to the town by placing a geocache at its location, however, finding the town is the first challenge. According to Wikipedia, "Petersburg (also Petersburgh and Greenhorn) is a former settlement in Kern County, California. It is located on Greenhorn Creek 4.5 miles west-northwelst of Miracle Hot Springs, at an elevation of 4731 feet. Petersburg still appeared on the maps as of 1956. A post office operated at Petersburg from 1858-1963 (no mention of when the town started, which could predate 1854 and Keyville. History suggests that gold was first found on Greenhorn Creek, which doesn't flow at Keysville, but does run through Petersburg.) The place was named for Peter Gardett, an early merchant there."
Havilah Post office 1866-1918
Keysville founded in 1854
Kernville 1864
Weldon 1871
Bodfish 1892
Isabella 1893
Why isn't Petersburg talked about more in the history? According to the book California Mining Camps, "Between Kern River and Poso Creek, in the Greenhorn Mountains, near the Caves (I'm guessing this is talking about the Greenhorn Caves which are several miles away from this location near 178, a geocache is placed there, but its not near the suggested coordinate from wikipedia)Peter Gardett opened a store here during the first Kern River rush. Later it was sometimes known as Greenhorn. The quartz mills paid 80 to 135 dollars a ton."
The website "Kern County Mining Districts" states, "The Greenhorn mining district, founded in 1858, is located about 28 miles northeast of Bakersfield and its approximate boundaries are the Kern River on the south, Fremont Creek on the west, Woodward Peak on the north and Black Gulch on the east. Being this district goes from the Kern River up to the summit of the Greenhorn’s, elevations range from 2000 -6500′. The district encompasses Greenhorn Gulch, the location of the first discovery of gold in (what is now) Kern County. It was in 1851 when a member of General John C. Fremont’s party found gold near the mouth of Greenhorn Gulch at the Kern River. As a result, a rush soon followed with miners pouring into the area over the next few years. In 1855, the town of Petersburg was established by Peter Gardett. Gold-mining activity declined before 1890, but there has been minor prospecting since with most of the output has been from placer mining." 1855 predates Keysville.
I was watching a television show referring to genealogy which reminded me of my research I had done on ancestry.com. I realized the website may bring more of the story to life, so I resubmitted my membership to the site and started researching. I was able to find out the following information regarding Peter Gardett;
