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Old-Time Kern County Settler Judge Sumner and Kernville Lore
A Kern County pioneer, Judge J. W. Sumner, once a Maine miner, later coroner and judge in Kernville. He earned a reputation for frugality and humor, including a famous inquest over a whiskey canteen death that led to a $60 fine for carrying a concealed weapon. The tale ends with the judge’s generosity to bury the dead man and his daughter’s first visit to Kernville.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kern County
J. W. Sumner
Whiskey Flat
Judge Sumner
Maine
San Francisco
Sumner
Kernville