Lone Pine is located in central western Inyo County, California directly to the east of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states.

Tags:   California Post Offices Inyo County Lone Pine CA North America United States US United States of America

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This Classical Revival courthouse with proud old Ionic columns was designed by architect William H. Weeks in 1921. It was built by contractors McCombs and Son and was completed in 1923. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Independence is one of the smallest county seats in California serving one of the largest counties in the state (by area). Inyo County is definitely one of my favorite counties in the Western United States.

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Scotty's Castle (also known as Death Valley Ranch) is a fascinating two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California. "Scotty's Castle" is named for gold prospector Walter E. Scott, although Scott never owned it, nor is it an actual castle. It was built from 1922 to 1931 and was commissioned and owned by Albert Johnson.

For more information, please follow this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty%27s_Castle

Tags:   California CA Inyo County Death Valley National Park National Parks National Park System Mojave Desert Scotty's Castle North America United States US United States of America

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Scotty's Castle (also known as Death Valley Ranch) is a fascinating two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California. "Scotty's Castle" is named for gold prospector Walter E. Scott, although Scott never owned it, nor is it an actual castle. It was built from 1922 to 1931 and was commissioned and owned by Albert Johnson.

For more information, please follow this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty%27s_Castle

Tags:   California CA Inyo County Death Valley National Park National Parks National Park System Mojave Desert Scotty's Castle North America United States US United States of America

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Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is approximately 230 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Manzanar (which means "apple orchard" in Spanish) was identified by the United States National Park Service as the best-preserved of the former camp sites, and is now the Manzanar National Historic Site, which preserves and interprets the legacy of Japanese American incarceration in the United States.

Long before the first incarcerated individuals arrived in March 1942, Manzanar was home to Native Americans, who mostly lived in villages near several creeks in the area. Ranchers and miners formally established the town of Manzanar in 1910, but abandoned the town by 1929 after the City of Los Angeles purchased the water rights to virtually the entire area. As different as these groups were, their histories displayed a common thread of forced relocation.

Since the last incarcerated Japanese-Americans left in 1945, former incarcerated individuals and others have worked to protect Manzanar and to establish it as a National Historic Site to ensure that the history of the site, along with the stories of those who were unjustly incarcerated there, are remembered by current and future generations. The primary focus is the Japanese American incarceration era, as specified in the legislation that created the Manzanar National Historic Site. The site also interprets the former town of Manzanar, the ranch days, the settlement by the Owens Valley Paiute, and the role that water played in shaping the history of the Owens Valley.

It is an extremely touching site, and should be visited by all Americans. As a student in grade school, I learned of this location and its history. However, I was unprepared for the emotion that physically visiting this place would evoke.

Tags:   California CA Inyo County Manzanar National Historic Park National Park System Mojave Desert Japanese Communities in the United States Japanese Internment Camps 日系アメリカ人 Nikkei Amerikajin 日系米国人 Nikkei Beikokujin North America United States US United States of America

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