First Permanent White Habitation in Owens Valley

The title on this marker is itself the historical document. A. Van Fleet and three others drove cattle to the big bend of the Owens River in August 1861 and built a cabin of sod and stone; the state called it the valley's first permanent habitation. People had lived here for thousands of years — the Nüümü, whose ditches watered the ground those cattle grazed. What the marker really dates is the arrival of the herds, and the war that followed. The bronze here is not the state's: E Clampus Vitus renamed the place Owensville in 1977.

What the plaque says

The first white man's settlement in northern Owens Valley was built here in 1861 and two years later prospectors named it Owensville. It thrived for some time but in 1864 as mining in the White Mts. petered out the miners moved on to better diggings leaving the town deserted.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bishop — 3.4 mi
  The Eastern Sierras working capital, and the home of the Nüümü who were traded out of their own valley.
• Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest — 9.6 mi
  Trees older than the pyramids, growing on white dolomite at ten thousand feet.

More markers nearby

• Laws Narrow Gauge Railroad Station and Yard — 0.4 mi
• San Francis Ranch — 6.1 mi
• Bishop Creek Battleground — 8.1 mi
• Mayfield Canyon Battleground — 16 mi