San Francis Ranch

Samuel Bishop brought 650 head of stock over from Fort Tejon in 1861 and reached the creek that now carries his name on 22 August. The cattle are the part that matters. The Nüümü had farmed Payahuunadü, the land of flowing water, by irrigation for millennia, and the herds ate the harvest those ditches fed. Settlers and Paiute leaders signed a peace at this ranch on 31 January 1862. It held about two months. Hunger, not treachery, is what broke it.

What the plaque says

In 1861, Samuel A. Bishop, his wife and party left Fort Tejon for the Owens Valley driving 650 head of stock. On August 22, Bishop reached a creek later named for him and southwest of this spot, established San Francis Ranch. There a peace treaty was signed by the settlers and the chiefs of the Paiute Indians.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bishop — 3.2 mi
  The Eastern Sierras working capital, and the home of the Nüümü who were traded out of their own valley.
• Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest — 15 mi
  Trees older than the pyramids, growing on white dolomite at ten thousand feet.

More markers nearby

• Bishop Creek Battleground — 2.1 mi
• First Permanent White Habitation in Owens Valley — 6.1 mi
• Laws Narrow Gauge Railroad Station and Yard — 6.5 mi
• Mayfield Canyon Battleground — 12 mi