Eastern California Museum
Independence, CA
VISIT OUR WEBSITEEstablished in 1928, the Eastern California Museum's mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret objects and information related to the cultural and natural history of Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra, from Death Valley to Mono Lake.
Agriculture and Ranching
Camp Independence (1862-1877)
Cerro Gordo
Great Registers of Inyo and Mono Counties
Passed in 1866, the Registry Act required the names of every voter to be listed in a book of voter affidavits. These affidavits were called the Great Registers. The responsibility for the implementation of this act fell to the County Clerk, who was to record in a Great Register “all the citizens...who are, or may be within six months, by reason of continuous residence, legal voters thereof…” The entries to be made for each voter included full name, age, country of nativity, occupation, place of residence, date of registry, and number of entry. A naturalized foreigner was required to provide proof with certificate of when, where, and by what court he received citizenship, or by the testimony of two registered citizens of his residence in the United States for five years and in California for one year.
Helen Gunn Edwards Collection
Helen Margaret Gunn Edwards (1890-1966) was the daughter of Eva Lee Shepherd and John "Jack" Joseph Gunn. Her mother, Eva Lee, was one of the daughters of John Shepherd, who homesteaded along George Creek and Shepherd Creek near what would later become Manzanar. Her father, Jack Gunn, owned the Minnietta Mine in the Argus Range. Helen married Los Angeles Aqueduct Surveyor Frederick Garden Woods in 1909, and later was married to Major Robert Edwards from 1958 until her death. All the items in this collection were either donated to the Eastern California Museum directly by Helen herself, or by her husband after her death.
Inyo National Forest Photograph Collection
Landscapes
Many of these locations are unknown--if you can identify any landmarks in these photos, please let us know!
Los Angeles Aqueduct and LADWP
Manzanar War Relocation Center
Maps
Mark Kerr Collection of Paiute and Shoshone Utility Plants from Eastern California
Collected in the 1930s by Mark Kerr and John Dixon for the Eastern California Museum Association.
Marsh Family Collection
The Marsh family of Lone Pine is best known for the efforts of Gustave Francis Marsh Sr. to complete the first pack trail to the top of Mt. Whitney and build the shelter on the summit. This collection was donated to the museum over many years by Gustave's grandson, George Marsh (1926-2022).
Mary Austin
Mining
Norman Clyde
The Eastern California Museum is proud to be home to the largest public collection of famed mountaineer Norman Clyde photos, artifacts, and documents. This collection includes photos of and taken by Norman, manuscripts and published articles he wrote, books from his personal library, as well as his hiking/climbing equipment.
People
Cartes de visite, cabinet cards, tintypes, etc.
Photographer Spotlight: Allan Welbury Ramsey (1865-1945)
Photographer Spotlight: Andrew Alexander Forbes (1862-1921)
Photographer Spotlight: Burton Frasher, Sr. (1888-1955)
Photographer Spotlight: Dwight Essler Bentel (1909-2012)
Photographer Spotlight: Fred Guy Harvey (1876-1918)
Photographer Spotlight: Harry Warner Mendenhall (1883-1952)
Photographer Spotlight: James Hezekiah Crockwell (1855-1940)
Photographer Spotlight: Matt Ashby Wolfskill (1870-1949)
Photographer Spotlight: Stephen Hallet Willard (1894-1966)
Photographer Spotlight: William Edward Detrick (1872-1952)
Railroads of Eastern California
Railfans rejoice! Enjoy historic photos of the locomotives that steamed through Inyo County. With special focus on our very own Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Engine #18, the Slim Princess!
Recreation
Saline Valley and the Aerial Tramway
Schools in Eastern California
School and class photos from the late 1800s onward.
Shiro and Mary Nomura Collection
A collection of panel collages created by Shiro and Mary Nomura, both of whom were incarcerated at Manzanar from 1942-1945, for the Eastern California Museum's Manzanar Project. The panels are comprised of photographs, artifacts, documents, and stories collected by Shiro starting in the 1970s. Over the following 20 years, the Nomuras assembled more than 75 panels depicting their personal interpretation of Manzanar 'camp' life, major events, history, and site preservation efforts. In each panel Shi and Mary provide valuable first-person documentation from their experiences. These panels have been displayed at various community events, annual Manzanar Pilgrimages, and the Eastern California Museum (the permanent home of the collection).
Town Spotlight: Big Pine
Town Spotlight: Bishop
Town Spotlight: Independence
The Inyo County Seat since 1866, Independence has had three names: Originally called "Putnam's," then "Little Pine," and finally "Independence."
Town Spotlight: Keeler, Cartago, Olancha, Darwin, Ballarat, and Little Lake
Town Spotlight: Lone Pine
Town Spotlight: Manzanar and vicinity
Pre-WWII Manzanar photos and artifacts. For WWII era Manzanar material, please see "Manzanar War Relocation Center" and "Shiro and Mary Nomura Collection."
