OLANCHA / GRANT / CARTAGO

NAME: Olancha - Grant - Cartago
COUNTY: Inyo
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: Warm to hot summer, mild to cold winter.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: All year
COMMENTS: Not a ghost town, but has much history and some remains from earliest times
REMAINS: Stone walls of Farley's Mill, old homes on verge of collapse

Olancha was inhabited by Indians living among the verdant meadows on the southwest shore of Owens Lake before 1863. That year, Minnard Farley constructed his mill on Olancha Creek. Farley came east of the Sierra Nevada Range in 1860 in search of the legendary "Lost Gunsight Lode", popularized a decade earlier when an emigrant crossing Death Valley lost his gunsite and replaced it with some local soft metal he found, which later proved to be rich silver. Farley didn't find the "Lost Gunsight," but he did find some rich silver mines in the nearby Coso Range. By December 1863, Farley had built an eight stamp mill with five amalgamating pans, a sawmill and a blacksmith shop. Indian uprisings later in the decade culminated with the burning of Farley's mill in 1867. By then, nearby Cerro Gordo began glowing brightly in the nearby Inyo Range, attracting stages to run north from Los Angeles, then a small burg 175 miles south. Olancha became a stage stop. Two steamships were constructed to carry payloads of Cerro Gordo silver bullion across Owens Lake, which tied up at Cartago Landing, a couple of miles north of Olancha. Soon Olancha was bustling with traffic inbound and outbound from Cerro Gordo. A post office was opened at Olancha September 23, 1870 and has remained open ever since. After mining died down, Olancha remained as an agricultural center. Many ranches raised livestock and produce, watered by abundant streams and springs. Ranchers have for more than a century have driven cattle and sheep into the Sierra Nevada Range and nearby Monache Meadows for summer range for their cattle, and large cattle drives still are the norm today. In 1910, the Southern Pacific Railroad reached Olancha with their Owens Valley Branch (the "Jawbone", which is now undergoing salvage), built to provide construction materials for the under construction Los Angeles Aqueduct, a 250 mile long aqueduct to feed pure Sierra snowmelt to the growing city, and is still in use today. Olancha continues to hold a stable population of around 200 citizens. A couple of restaraunts serve hungry tourists traveling along US395, along with a couple of gas stations. A large water bottling plant is located a mile north, serving the popular Crystal Geyser brand bottled water. Anheiser-Busch Brewing Company also owns property and pumps pure well water for use by their bottling plant in Los Angeles. Nearby attractions include: Olancha Sand Dunes, the Sierra Nevada streams and backcountry meadows, Dirty Sock Hot Spring, Cerro Gordo ghost town, and Death Valley can be accessed via Olancha. Today, decaying and abandoned old buildings are sagging and crumbling among occupied and cared for homes. The stone walls of Farley's Mill hide nearby with occupied homes a stone throw away. Salvage crews are presently scrapping the old "Jawbone" branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, it has officially been abandoned in 1982 and salvage has finally begun. Submitted by: David A. Wright

Grant was once a small community 1˝ miles south of Olancha. A market, gas station and hotel once served weary travelers plying US395 to or from the Eastern Sierra and its recreational opportunities. Pack trips could be taken from trailhead points west of the community into the headwaters of the Kern River on the west side of the Sierra crest. A few old buildings serve as a reminder that Grant once existed, but you’ll only see reference to it on older maps. The Highway Department removed the highway sign indicating Grant within the past decade. - David A. Wright.


Olancha Siding, before and after salvage. Top photo taken July 1998, bottom taken January 1999
Courtesy David A. Wright


The old Calloway's Restaurant at Olancha, built in 1929. Photo taken June 1998. Compare with the shot of the same building
January 1999, it so old and weakened it collapsed under a the weight of a snowfall of 18".
Courtesy David A. Wright


Abandoned home. June 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


The Calloway Motel. Built of adobe in 1924. Photo June 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Calloway Restaurant after collapse. January 31, 1999
Courtesy David A. Wright


The old Grant Market, found alongside US395 in Grant. December 12, 1999. Look closely, can you see the gray cat in the rafters of the porch cleaning himself on a brisk December morning?
Courtesy David A. Wright


Grant Market. December 12, 1999.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Advertisement for the Union 76 gas station at Grant, from the 1957 INYO-MONO FISHING AND VACATION GUIDE.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Stone ruin at the entrance to the old Cabin Bar Ranch. D. A. Wright photo. November 5, 2000


Large foundations mark the former Permanente soda products plant just north of Cartago. Snowy scene looks northeast across now dry Owens Lake and into the Inyo Range in the vicinity of famed Cerro Gordo. January 1999. D.A. Wright photo


Old Sportsman's Cafe, a popular spot to have a hot breakfast before hitting the trout streams or going after that big buck in the Sierra. November 5, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Old Sportsman's Lodge. Once a popular place to overnight, but now the luxury SUV's just roll on by on to northern destinations. November 5, 2000. D.A. Wright photo


Farley's Mill. July 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Farley's Mill. July 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Farley's Mill. July 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Farley's Mill. July 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Olancha Siding. January 1999.
Courtesy David A. Wright


Calloway Restaurant
Courtesy David A. Wright


Calloway Restaurant
Courtesy David A. Wright


Calloway Motel
Courtesy David A. Wright


Calloway Restaurant
Courtesy David A. Wright


Advertisement for the Airflight Café that was once located in Grant, taken from the 1957 INYO-MONO FISHING AND VACATION GUIDE, a substantial publication once published in the Eastern Sierra region of California and highlighting recreational opportunities in the area. David A. Wright collection.


Advertisement for the Airlift Pack Station that was once located in Grant, taken from the 1957 INYO-MONO FISHING AND VACATION GUIDE, a substantial publication once published in the Eastern Sierra region of California and highlighting recreational opportunities in the area. The Airlift Pack Station would fly in sportsmen from Grant into Monache Meadows west of Olancha Peak for fishing in the Kern River or hunting for deer or bear. David A. Wright collection.


vAn old gas station found alongside US395 at the former community of Grant. Might be the old Union 76 gas station advertised in 1957 in another photo. December 12, 1999.


Advertisement for the J.G. Motel in Grant. Advertisement from the 1957 INYO-MONO FISHING AND VACATION GUIDE. David A. Wright collection.

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