Mono Basin, at Bodie, which had its peak 8,000 residents between 1879 and 1881. Preservation Basin Society Museum.

Link Location Gps  ← Find Best directions

 Gps Coordinates  /  37.9590408,-119.1192848

Upside Down House VR 1893 Mono Basin Historical Society

323-129 Mattly Ave, Lee Vining, CA 93541, USA

The Old Schoolhouse that houses the history museum is one of several one-room schools operated early in the 20th century.

Mark Twain wrote about his 1862 visit to Mono Lake in his book Roughing It. 

Link Location Gps -119.1192971

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9589538,-119.1192971

Settlers established ranches and farms to serve those mining towns, especially Bodie, with food and fiber products. McPhersons who had a ranch on Paoha Island in the middle of Mono Lake.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.1195071  /  Gps Link -119.1194916  /  Gps Link -119.1194382

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9588217,-119.1195071  /  37.958828,-119.1194916  /  37.958847,-119.1194382

According to the Mariposa Gazette, Vining's ranch grew vegetables for weary miners tired of pork and beans, and had accommodations to welcome all who sought room.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.1195145  /  Gps Link -119.1194458  /  Gps Link -119.1195908

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9587479,-119.1195145  /  37.9591331,-119.1194458  /  37.9591331,-119.1195908

His name would ultimately be given to the town, Leevining, founded in 1926 by Chris Mattly, the name officially changed to two words, "Lee Vining" in 1957.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.1196976  /  Gps Link -119.1196442  /  Gps Link -119.1193237

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9591103,-119.1196976  /  37.9590645,-119.1196442  /  37.9587774,-119.1193237

Mono Mills, south of the lake, processed much of that timber, which reached Bodie via steam vessels that crossed the lake then transferred their loads onto wagons. After 1882, the Bodie-to-Benton railroad followed the east shore of Mono Lake from Mono Mills to the mining town.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.119265  /  Gps Link -119.1192733  /  Gps Link -119.1192971

Gps Coordinates  /  37.959219,-119.119265  /  37.9591295,-119.1192733  /  37.9589538,-119.1192971

An annual community celebration was begun by the Mono Inn, on the west shore of Mono Lake north of Lee Vining, where Mark Twain Days celebration drew hundreds of people in the 1920s and 1930s to watch speedboat races, bathing beauty contests, baseball games and other events.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.1193091  /  Gps Link -119.1193237  /  Gps Link -119.1193504

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9588651,-119.1193091  /  37.9587774,-119.1193237  /  37.9586677,-119.1193504

West Portal was one of four construction camps where laborers employed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worked from 1934 to 1941 on a system to tap four of Mono Lake's tributary streams.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -119.119401  /  Gps Link -119.1194264

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9585826,-119.119401  /  37.9585024,-119.1194264

Those construction years were like a wild west boom era for Lee Vining and June Lake.

 The Mono Inn operated boat tours on Mono Lake in the first half of the 20th Century.

Link Location Gps -119.1195068

Gps Coordinates  /  37.9588585,-119.1195068

The Mono Lake Committee was established in 1978 to save the lake's ecosystem from the effects of increasing salinity. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's water licenses were amended by the state in 1994 to reduce diversions and restore both the lake and the dried-up creeks. That environmental victory brought national and international recognition to the region.

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Official website sources below

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https://www.monobasinhistory.org/

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Museums rely on donations for upkeep costs, please visit the Mono Basin donation page below

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https://www.monobasinhistory.org/checkout/donate?donatePageId=603d6b67f35dd94540cefc37