Source: KHTS Hometown Station
Date: 03/15/2026 10:58am

Article Summary:
**March 15, 1942: Emery M. Whilton Opens Lebec’s Florafaunium Museum Showcasing California Flora and Fauna**
On March 15, 1942, naturalist and hotel owner Emery M. Whilton opened the Florafaunium in Lebec, a museum featuring an extensive collection of California wildlife and more than 1,700 native wildflowers displayed in detailed dioramas. Housed in a repurposed World’s Fair building relocated to Kern County, the attraction struggled during World War II and eventually closed, with the collection later sold to the county and transferred to the Kern County Museum before the original structure was dismantled in 1955.

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