Skip to main content
Public meetings, agendas, records, and district information
Kern County Cemetery District No. 1 logo

Kern County Cemetery District No. 1

History

Cemetery History

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 Recognized as District of Distinction

Shafter, CA — The Kern County Cemetery District #1 which includes the Shafter and the Wasco Memorial Parks received the “District of Distinction” accreditation by the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) for its sound fiscal management policies and practices in district operations. READ MORE >>

Four men stand smiling in an office setting in front of a wall with a large round wooden clock. The man second from the left wears a navy vest over a blue collared shirt and holds up an official framed certificate with a gold seal. The man on the far left and the man on the far right wear matching dark green button-down shirts embroidered with a logo on the chest, while the man third from the left wears a tan embroidered button-down shirt. All of the men are wearing jeans.