Inyo County was at the forefront of the Western expansion of the 19th century, a place of rugged natural beauty that served as a gateway to the prospering state of California.
Published in 1922, this history begins with an examination of the geological facts of the area; located between Nevada and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Inyo County contains abundant clues of the land's history. The Native Americans who resided there are discussed, while the first white settlers discovered the lands sometime in the early 1800s. By the time of the Gold Rush, Inyo County was considered a popular shortcut to the Californian heartlands. Yet it was a dangerous and harsh land: the nearby Death Valley a place noted for claiming lives through its sheer heat.
Host to several battles between the settlers and Native American tribes, Inyo gained notoriety as a place of skirmishes and conflict. War was intermittent, and the two sides would live in uneasy peace for years, before conflict over land erupted anew. Later in the 19th century the county endured the emergence of outlaws; a prison break at Carson, plus various robberies and other villainous crimes, are discussed at length. Earthquakes and the advancement of the mining industry, plus the gradual arrival of organized government and law enforcement, made Inyo an eventful place to reside into the 20th century.