CALIFORNIA GHOST TOWNS
KEELER, CALIFORNIA
Tourist Guide and Information
LATITUDE: N 36°29.309
LONGITUDE: W 117°52.403
(GPS from Historic Marker in Keeler, CA)

Sign on Highway 136

Located on Hwy.136
13 miles east from Lone Pine, CA
(Towards Death Valley)
What a bizzare town... a complete subculture.
This place is not your average town.

Old house in Keeler, CA

The town is mostly abondoned buildings from...
There are some charaters who live here. You see
houses made from buses and old trains. You have
a lot of artistic liberty to design your structures.

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Sign on Highway 136

Keeler, CA

Keeler Post Office

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Keeler, CA

Famous ABC Beer

Old Machinery in Keeler, CA

"End of the Line" Plaque

"End of the Line" Plaque

Keeler, CA

Keeler Beach
SAFE BEACH / BEST DUST
Wear Your Haz-Mat Suit At All Times!

Loading Ramp

Historic Keeler Cemetery?
LATITUDE: N 36°29.158
LONGITUDE: W 117°51.847
Just east from Keeler you will see the cemetery
There is an Historic Marker on the roadside and
the cemetery is about 100' north. It looks like
some of the gravesites had been washed away
during a flash flood.

Highway 136

Highway 136

Highway 136

Views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Owens Lake

Owens Lake Sand Dunes
(On highway 136)

Owens Lake

Owens Valley

Cerro Gordo Plaque

Cerro Gordo Plaque

Dolomite Loop Road

Dolomite Mine Plaque

Dolomite Mine Plaque

Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program

HISTORY:
Owens Lake was...
Dust made the area into a hostile enviorment
Property was cheap compared to surrounding
values and the skyrocketing prices in California

Will Rogers said this about the aqueduct in 1930:
"Ten years ago this was a wonderful valley with
one-quarter of a million acres of fruit and alfalfa.
But Los Angeles had to have more water for its
Chamber of Commerce to drink more toasts to
its growth, more water to dilute its orange juice
and more water for its geraniums to delight the
tourists, while the giant cottonwoods here died.
So, now this is a valley of desolation."

DIRECTIONS:
From Lone Pine, CA
Take Hwy.136 towards Death Valley
Keeler is 13 miles

MILAGE CHART:
Milage from Lone Pine, CA
Big Pine 40 miles
Bishop 54 miles
Reno, Nevada xx miles
Los Angeles, CA xx miles
Death Valley 103 miles

Underground House in Darwin, CA

DARWIN, CALIFORNIA
Darwin is located a couple miles south of
Hwy.190 (Just west of Death Valley
National Park). It could be listed as a Ghost
Town, but people live here. There are sections
of interesting old company houses...

SWANSEA GHOST TOWN
No photos at present time.
Hwy.136, between Lone Pine and Keeler
Classic structures and feel of a Ghost Town
It does appear that this is private property
and there is somebody living here. There is
a sign that says "Welcome to Swansea".

Space building in Cartago, CA
N 36°19.146
W 118°01.608

Olancha, CA
There are several old and abandoned buildings.
Hwy.395 at Junction of Hwy.190

Buildings near Coso Junction
N 36.05.278
W 117.57.599
(GPS opposite side of highway 395)

Buildings 36 miles south from Lone Pine.
3 miles north of Coso Rest Area on Hwy.395

Cottonwood Charcoal Kilns
N 36.24.910
W 118.00.717

COTTONWOOD CHARCOAL KILNS
Cottonwood Charcoal Kilns. From Lone Pine
take Hwy.395 south about 11.5 miles. There is
a small road marker. The charcoal kilns are to
the east about 1/4 mile.

Manzanar National Historic Site

MANZANAR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
(9 miles north of Lone Pine, CA)
Manzanar was a Japanese Relocation Center
during World War II. It is one square mile and
was enclosed with barb wire. It housed over
11,000 internees between March 1942 and
November 1945.
www.nps.gov/manz
N 36°43.553
W 118°08.719
Elevation 3853'

Manzanar Airport
Old and overgrown with weeds

Zurich Station
LATITUDE: N 37°11.023
LONGITUDE: W 118°15.708
Elevation: 3912'
Hwy.168 about 2 miles east of Big Pine, CA
Established 1884 as a freight and passenger station
on the Carson & Colorado Railway, know locally as
"The Slim Princess", the station fell into disuse during
the 1940's and was abandoned when the Railway ceased
operation in 1960.

Zurich Station

Mass Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims
HWY.395 north of Lone Pine, CA
LATITUDE: N 36°37.104
LONGITUDE: W 118°04.129
About 2 miles north of Lone Pine you will
see the historic marker. Park and walk about
10' up the embankment and you will see the
gravesite..

LINKS:
http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com