It's hard to imagine that there was a time where a simple trip from Los Angeles to Lone Pine could take as long as 2-3 days. At least, back in the 1920's, that's what it would have taken and because of it, towns such Little Lake was born. Once called "Little Owens Lake", the town stood at the southern most edge of the Owens Valley and was established next to a small ancient lake bearing the same name. Situated in a natural corridor leading up into the valley from the Mojave Desert, prospectors and early settlers a like used this location as a stopping point as they made their way to destinations such as Cerro Gordo and Darwin. Back in the early 20th Century, the Jawbone Branch of the Mojave to Lone Pine Southern Pacific Rail Road was located here and sportsman heading up US 395 would stop to top of their tanks, fill up their stomachs and rest at the old Little Lake Hotel. Unfortunately, the years haven't been kind to this quiet little roadside stop. In 1958, a divided 4-lane highway bypassed the town, rail service was discontinued in 1982, a fire destroyed the upper story hotel in 1989, the post office was closed in 1997 and a flash flood near about erased all that remained of the town in 1998.
Our recent stop at this long forgotten destination was to check out some of the old advertisements for "cigars and groceries" that were painted onto the black basalt walls as well as a few old signatures left behind by travelers back in the early 1900's. It had been years since we were last here and as luck would have it, vandals haven't destroyed them yet and if anything, it looked like some effort had been made to preserve them and even erase modern graffiti left near by. Anyway, here are a few shots of what we found, I hope you enjoy.
Steve Glassell and C.J. Gillmore left their signatures here over 100 years ago on June 10, 1906.
