HISTORY PAGE
Constructed
in the early 1900's, this picturesque lodging establishment has undergone
several incarnations before taking the present name of River view Lodge. It was
born into the true "Wild West" as the Mountain Inn, when Old Kernville was home
to ranchers, cowboys, milhands, miners and other seekers of fortune.
It became the place to gather for
town folk and careless cowboys alike, pulsing to life on Saturday nights with
music, dancing, untamed polker games and colorful characters.
The movie industry discovered Old Kernville late in the
1920's. the rugged, breathtaking panoramas of the Sierra Navada's and the Kern
River became the filming location of choice, distinguishable in numerous
"Westerns" of that era and later, in the 1950's when television companies
exploded into existence, with productions such as Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers,
Gene Autry, Bonanza, The Waltons, and a long list of others. By this time the
old inn had been rescued and moved to it's present location up-river, on the
banks of the Kern, to survive the government-built dam that would flood the old
town and create Lake Isabella, in 1953. It was called the Sierra South Lodge in
those days. But the long tradition of accommodating the famous casts and crews
of the movie and television industries continued. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren
Bacall, Rod Cammeron, Audie Murphy, Tom Mix, Andy Devine, Yvonne Decarlo, Harry
Carry and Gabby Hayes are just a few of the celebrities who mingled with the
old-timers at the lodge during this filming days in the rugged
valley.
These days, most of the guests of River
View Lodge are attracted by the myriad outdoor recreational activities, such as
white-water rafting, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, rock climbing,
near-by golfing, water skiing and snow skiing in season, as well as the annual
Kernville Kayak races and local festivities like Whiskey Flats Days. Stroll to
near-by shops and eateries, enjoy a picnic in the park or shaded children's
playground, or simply relax beneath the giant Mulberries and listen to the
rolling Kern form the colorful courtyard at the heart of the historic River
View Lodge.
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