Barnes Log Cabin

barnesLogCabin: CollectionsIn 1868, heavy rains in the mountains east of Bakersfield washed cedar and pine logs into the Kern River far upstream near Kernville, California. The heavy rains caused the river to swell unleashing a torrent of water and logs that flooded the southern San Joaquin Valley around the small community of Bakersfield. Thomas Barnes, a freighter, gathered some of the timber washed down from the mountains in the flood and along with some milled lumber built this cabin. The lumber for the roof was milled wood from the mountains south of the San Emidio Ranch (located at the base of the mountains south of Bakersfield). The milled wood was hauled through Fort Tejon to the Barnes Ranch by ox team.

The log walls are six inches thick. The spaces between the logs were originally chinked with mud. During the late 1870s, the walls were papered with sheets of newspaper from the Kern County Californian and the San Francisco Chronicle.

In 1946, the cabin was turned over to the County due to the efforts of Hugh Allen, Superintendent of the Kern County Land Company. At that time, the museum was but a few years old and "Pioneer Village" did not exist. In fact, the donation of this historic building to the museum plus the offer of the Weill House provided the impetus for the establishment of the museum's outdoor exhibits.

To move the building, each piece was labeled with a numbered metal tag, and the whole building was photographed, disassembled, and transported by truck to the Kern County Museum, which was still the Kern County Fairgrounds at the time. In 1950, when the fairgrounds had moved to a new location and Pioneer Village was established, the logs were treated with a preservative and then reassembled. The sandstone chimney was rebuilt in 1951.

HISTORY:
thomasBarnes: The Barnes family were early farmers in the Bakersfield area. Thomas Barnes was born in North Carolina around 1827 and moved to Kern County in 1859, settling just west of the Panama area southwest of Bakersfield. His wife, Jane Harris was born in 1844 near Houston, Texas. In 1867, the Barnes family settled on 160-acres southwest of Bakersfield, later known as the Canfield Ranch, at the site where the cabin was built. The Canfield Ranch later became part of the Kern County Land Company holdings. Thomas and Jane Barnes sold their 160-acre farm in 1875 for $4,800.00.

Thomas Barnes planted around 20 acres of peach trees adjacent to this cabin. Barnes pioneered the raising of alfalfa in this area in 1867 by planting 35 pounds of seed he purchased from San Francisco for $100.00. In addition, he owned about 40 head of cattle and hogs.

janeBarnes:
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