Zurich was the first town south of Laws, CA on the ex-Carson & Colorado narrow gauge railroad (later the Southern Pacific Railroad narrow gauge Owens Valley Branch), which originally run from Mound House, NV to Keeler, CA . After standard gauging of the northern section to Mina, NV and abandonment of the line over Montgomery
Pass only the line from Laws, CA to Keeler remained (finally abandoned in 1960). Town Died when the rails were pulled up from Tonopah, Nv to Keeler, CA. Named by the residents because the sharp jagged peaks of the White Mountains, located just east of the town and the Sierras to the west looked like the Alps in winter when covered by snow. The last resident was a family who's daughter Josephine (the last person born in Zurich) married a railroad conductor and moved to Mojave, CA. Now 74 in 2000, She still resides in Mojave today. Submitted by: Bill Steele

Zurich's historical plaque located on California Highway 168. December 5, 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright
Great Basin Research

Stock yard at Zurich. This platform appears to be a scale for weighing livestock. December 5, 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright
Great Basin Research

Stock ramp. View toward Sierra Nevada after a late autumn snowstorm. December 5, 1998.
Courtesy David A. Wright
Great Basin Research