Site information:

State Hwy 178 (P.M. 88.0), 0.2 mi W of junction with State Hwy 14

35.602057,-117.907195

Plaque information:

State plaque

Plaque text:

Freeman Junction

In 1834 explorer Joseph R. Walker passed this junction of Indian trails after discovering nearby Walker Pass. Death Valley 49er parties here diverged west and south after their escape from Death Valley enroute to the California gold fields. Later this became a junction point where the bandit Tiburcio Vasquez preyed on stages and freighters traveling between the Kern River mines and Los Angeles and the mines of Bodie and the Panamints.

Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Death Valley 49ers, Inc. and the Kern County Historical Society, November 9, 1961.

Registered 11/3/1961