The Eastern California Museum in Independence has been the repository for Inyo County and Eastern Sierra history for eight decades. That history, from dinosaur bones to Native American baskets to pioneer saddles to famous Sierra mountaineers to the famous "Water War" between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley, is on display in the museum building and on the museum grounds.
The museum bookstore features a wide variety of titles, from fiction by renowned Victorian Era writer Mary Austin (an Independence resident), to histories about California and Owens Valley water issues, Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra.
Legendary mountaineer Norman Clyde roamed the high Sierra from his home in Independence and in the 1920 and ‘30s recorded more than 130 first ascents, and topped out on every 14,000-foot peak in California (all but one are in the Sierra). His legendary Sierra Club High Trips attracted notables such as Ansel Adams and the top climbers and mountaineers of the day. “The pack with legs,” is how Clyde has been described, a testament to his ability to traverse all types of terrain with an 80-pound pack. The Norman Clyde exhibit at the Eastern California Museum, which will run from mid-April 2009 until February 2010, will review those well-known aspects of Clyde’s life, but will also delve into lesser-known events that shaped the rugged mountaineer. The Museum is located at 155 N. Grant Street, in Independence, and is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends and weekdays. Call 760-878-0258.
The heart of the museum's collection is one of the largest collections of Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone basketry in the nation. Ornamental and functional baskets, along with cradleboards, arrowheads, bows and arrows, and rare examples of Paiute beadwork are included in the extensive collection. The basket collection includes more than 400 baskets and nearly 100 other, related artifacts, an is contained in about 14 large display cases. The collection was recently moved into the museum's East Wing, and named the Anna and OK Kelley Gallery of Native American Life. Giving the baskets a large, spacious new home highlights the extensive and unique collection. Plus, the exhibit allows visitors to look at all sides of the artistic baskets and take plenty of time marveling at the intricate patterns and precise workmanship represented by the baskets and other artifacts.
The Museum is also a repository for more than 20,000 historic photos of the majestic Eastern Sierra, including photos of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, and Death Valley, the lowest point in the U.S. The photo collection includes candid and professional photos of and the hearty souls, from Native Americans to pioneer ranchers and miners, who settled the area. The photo collection also includes a wide array of turn-of-the century scenic photos and shots of fishermen, hunters, campers and others who came to the mountains to recreate and "get away from it all."
Many of the Museum's historic photos are on display. For example, and extensive section of photos is devoted to renowned Eastern Sierra climber Norman Clyde. A schoolteacher in Independence during the winter, Clyde was a pioneering rock and mountain climber, with more than 100 first ascents to his credit. With just an 80-pound pack and rope, he explored the Eastern Sierra for weeks on end during the summer. He wrote about his climbs for the early Sierra Club newsletters, and also published a book, "Close Ups of the High Sierra."
The Museum's photos, History Files and artifacts help relate the story of the Owens Valley "water wars," which started in 1905 when the City of Los Angeles set its sights on the water in the Owens River as the answer to the growing city's need to secure additional water supplies. The astounding construction effort that created the Los Angeles Aqueduct (completed in 1913) is documented through photos and wagons and other equipment used on the project.
The museum features an equipment yard that contains freight wagons from the area's mining era, farm equipment and construction equipment.
A substantial collection of oral histories also allow real voices from the past to tell their own stories about the history they saw and lived, whether it included early mining days in Death Valley, building the Aqueduct, riding the Carson or farming in the once verdant Owens Valley.
The voice of Mary Austin, an early 20th Century author, also resounds from the museum in the form of her books, which are not only still in print, but still some of the most enjoyable and educational works about man's impact on the environment. Austin wrote about "The Land of Little Rain," and other Owens Valley related topics stemming from her stay in Independence. She is often cited as one of the nation's first ecological, or environmental writers because of the deep concern and link to the land that marks much of her work. Her home, a California State Landmark, is just a block from the museum.
Another popular and vital part of the museum is its permanent exhibit displaying some of the few remaining artifacts from the Manzanar World War II Internment Center, which was "home" to about 10,000 Japanese Americans during the war. The focal point of the exhibit is a replica of a typical barracks "apartment" at Manzanar. All of the camp's buildings, which covered 36 blocks, were dismantled immediately after the end of the war. Manzanar was located between Independence and Lone Pine, and although the campsite is now a National Park Service Historic Site, the Eastern California Museum has a substantial exhibit of photos and other artifacts from the camp on display.
The museum bookstore is a popular attraction in itself. The shelves are lined with a wide variety of books for a wide variety of readers. Field guides help the curious learn about the Eastern Sierra's flora and fauna. Numerous histories document local events from a local angle, from the Water Wars to filming movies in Lone Pine. An entire section is devoted to Native American topics. Mining and Death Valley are also popular topics, and are represented by impressive photo books to interesting little tomes about the mining era.
The Eastern California Museum is located at 155 North Grant Street, 3 blocks west of the courthouse, in Independence, Calif. The Museum is funded and operated by Inyo County, and was founded in 1928 to preserve and display the unique history of Inyo County, which stretches from Death Valley in the south, the Nevada state line to the east, the crest of the Sierra Mountain Range to the west and Bishop to the north. The sprawling, 10,000-square-mile county is bisected by U.S. 395, which runs through the Owens Valley.
The current museum building was constructed in 1968, with an expansion wing added in 1999. The Museum is open every day except Tuesdays. The Museum's phone number is 760-878-0258. Admission is free.