A brand new monument in Panorama Park has been built to honor a Kern County pioneer that few people know about. Third District Supervisor Jeff Flores says that included him, before the public-private partnership with the Jedediah Smith Society…

The granite monument near Loma Linda Drive describes how Smith led 18 men from the Rockies to California in 1826, one of many trails he blazed across the West. The 32-hundred pound granite slab was purchased through private donations.