Originally, the Shafter Cemetery was created as a private cemetery to meet the needs of the Shafter and the Wasco communities. It was started by the local mortician H.R. Janzen of Shafter in 1923 with its first burial being made on December 29, 1923.
In 1928, a local government agency was created to take over the private cemetery under the California Enabling Act 546, also known as, “The Act to Provide for Public Cemetery Districts”. This 1909 enabling act and other organizational and government acts that followed; allowed the cemetery district to be formed and operate. The Kern County Cemetery was the first public cemetery in Kern County to be formally created by vote of the Shafter and the Wasco residents. A second cemetery was opened in Wasco to meet the needs of the Wasco families. This was done by an action of the Board of Trustees in 1948.
Kern County Cemetery District is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and
channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, Kern County Cemetery District
has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and
commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and
other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome
feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
If you need any special assistance or accommodations:
Kern County Cemetery District has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations.
The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best
practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.
Compliance Procedures and Reports
In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards,
Kern County Cemetery District regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely
changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Linked Documents and Third Parties
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do
not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our
agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties,
we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.