Eastern California Museum

 

Current Events

Annual Manzanar Reception-Independence Chamber of Commerce
On Friday, April 29, 2011 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm the Independence Chamber of Commerce invites you to the Manzanar Pilgrimage Reception to meet and greet old and new supporters of Manzanar at the Eastern California Museum, 155 N. Grant, Independence. The public is invited. Light refreshments will be served, by the Independence Chamber of Commerce. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Eastern California Museum.

"1000 words and more...
Photogravures by Edward S. Curtis and photographs by Andrew A. Forbes"
March 19,2011 to February 2012.

Saturday, March 19, 2011 12: to 5:00 p.m.
Reception at the Museum for the opening of the new exhibit.

The exhibit presents the two men's differing perspectives on the use of photography to document the changing West. Edward S. Curtis stated his intent to create a visual and textual document of American Indians. The Moore Family Trust recently donated 30 Curtis photogravures to the Eastern California Museum.These classic, formal images will be contrasted with the work of professional photographer Andrew A. Forbes, who began his photo-documentation of the settling of the Owens Valley and the valley's Paiute Tribes in 1906. Photos of camps and dwellings present the viewer with the most striking difference between the two men's approaches to documenting the culture, and cultural changes taking place in the West at the time.

Guest curator Richard Stewart provides explanatory text and the exhibit's interpretive information. Stewart, a member of the Big Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe, is an artist, poet and exhibit designer.

For more information contact the Museum at 760-878-0258 or by email at ecmuseum@inyocounty.us

Preserving Inyo County's Heritage

Founded in 1928, the Eastern California Museum features exhibits that reflect the diverse natural and cultural heritage of Inyo County and the Owens Valley. Unique exhibit topics include the artistry of local Owens Valley Paiute and Shoshone Indians as demonstrated through basketry and other crafts, and the story of Manzanar, the Japanese American World War II Internment Center. The site of Manzanar also was home to Indians for hundreds of years, and of the irrigation community developed by George Chaffee in the early 1900s.

The museum also manages two historic homes located in Independence. The Edward's House was built in 1861 by Thomas Edwards, who was responsible for laying out the town of Independence in the 1860s. The Commander's House was built in the late 1880s from lumber recycled from the remains of Camp Independence, a military outpost established in 1862.
The home is one of the few remaining examples of rural Victorian architecture in Inyo County.

Also included on the museum grounds are Remnants of an Abandoned Landscape - a collection of historic agricultural and mining implements used by early Inyo County residents, and equipment used during construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

 

In addition to exhibits, the Eastern California Museum offers resources for research including an historic photograph collection, our Local History Files, transcripts from our Community Oral History Program, and the Frank Parcher Memorial Library. Research access is available by appointment. The museum gift shop also offers a wide selection
of educational material regarding Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra.

The Eastern California Museum is operated by the County of Inyo . There is no admission charge, but donations are appreciated. It is located in Independence three blocks west of US Highway 395 at 155 N. Grant Street. The Museum is open seven (7) days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM. The museum can be contacted at 760-878-0258 or 760-878-0364; by mail at PO Box 206, Independence, CA 93526; and by e-mail at: ecmuseum@inyocounty.us.

Visit the Freinds of the Eastern California Museum web site.

Visit the Eastern California Museum web site.

 

We invite you to explore our Independence Chamber of Commerce
Online Visitor Information Center.
For more information from our Visitor Information Center contact our friendly staff.

Make Independence Your Gateway To Discovery!