Elisha Stevens, a noted American pathfinder and scout, was born in Georgia on April 5, 1804, learned blacksmithing in his youth, and later drifted west to become a trapper on the Upper Missouri for more than two decades. In 1844 he led the 50-member Murphy-Townsend wagon train safely from Council Bluffs to Sutter’s Fort. During the Mexican War he served as an ordnance mechanic under Commodore Stockton. After living for a time in Santa Clara County, he settled here on a 38-acre tract as the first permanent settler in the Bakersfield District. He died on September 9, 1887, and was buried in Union Cemetery.