On July 4, 1862, Camp Independence was established to protect the interests of settlers from Native Americans who were engaged in Native American Wars that took place between 1861 and 1865 in various sites throughout the Owens Valley. The camp was named Independence to recognize the founding on America’s Independence Day – and never formally considered a military fort.

Captain Moses A. McLaughlin was well known as a man who seriously opposed the Native Americans. Local lore suggests his behavior was often colored by alcohol and a bad temper.

He was no friend to soldiers or Native Americans. When the Army diverted water and grew crops to support the soldiers and settlers, the Native Americans were forced to live close to camp so they had a source for water and to grow food. As living conditions grew increasingly more difficult, the Native Americans began working for the settlers in order to provide basic necessities for their families.

A year after the camp opened on July 10, 1863, McLaughlin directed all 1,000 Native Americans to leave the Valley and walk 200 miles to the recently closed Fort Tejon. Only 850 of them were still alive when they arrived at Fort Tejon. Within months, many had returned to the Owens Valley. Those that remained suffered continued hardship. Native Americans continued to leave the fort and those that remained died there. Once the Native Americans were gone, the army closed the fort once again. 

In the early years of Camp Independence, soldiers lived in nearby caves, deprived of decent shelter. Their living conditions at any time were so poor that many soldiers soon abandoned the fort without clothes, food or payment for several months work. The Army refused to leave the Camp Independence unguarded as conflicts with the Native Americans continued. Volunteer soldiers from Nevada were commissioned to serve at Camp Independence and it remained open until 1877.

After the Camp closed, members of the Native American tribes had land allotted to them. Executive Orders in 1915 and 1916 established the camp as an Indian Reservation. These orders provided 360 acres of land at Oak Creek for the Indian tribes to occupy without disturbance.

The California Historical Marker for Camp Independence is located at the intersection of US 6 and Silver Canyon Road about four miles northeast of Bishop.

Bishop Creek Battleground, San Francis Ranch, and Mayfield Canyon Battleground are other California Historical Landmarks located in Inyo County that mark the sites involved in the Owens Valley Indian War.

Inyo County

Inyo means “dwelling place of great spirit” in Paiute Native American language. Inyo County has many “greats.” Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States and Death Valley, the lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere, are both within Inyo’s boundaries. Great earthquakes have left their mark in recent history, changing the course of the Owens River and exposing ancient sedimentary rock.

California Historical Landmarks Program

Historical Landmarks are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of statewide significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other value. Historical Landmarks are eligible for registration if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

1) Is the first, last, only, or most significant of its type in the state or within a large geographic region

2) Is associated with an individual or group having a profound influence on the history of California

3) Is a prototype of, or an outstanding example of, a period, style, architectural movement or construction or is one of the more notable works or the best surviving work in a region of a pioneer architect, designer or master builder.

California’s Landmark Program began in the late 1800s with the formation of the Landmarks Club and the California Historical Landmarks League. In 1931, the program became official when legislation charged the Department of Natural Resources—and later the California State Chamber of Commerce—with registering and marking buildings of historical interest or landmarks. The Chamber of Commerce then created a committee of prestigious historians, including DeWitt Hutchings and Lawrence Hill, to evaluate potential landmark sites.

In 1948, Governor Earl Warren created the California Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee to increase the integrity and credibility of the program. Finally, this committee was changed to the California Historical Resources Commission in 1974. Information about registered landmarks numbered 770 onward is kept in the California Register of Historical Resources authoritative guide. Landmarks numbered 669 and below were registered prior to establishing specific standards, and may be added to the California Register when criteria for evaluating the properties are adopted.

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Time Period Represented: 1862-1877