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History · Mammoth Lakes

Mammoth Lakes’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Mammoth Lakes. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1984established
0old images & papers
11recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The Mono people were the first settlers of the Mammoth Lakes area, thousands of years ago. They settled in the valley but traveled by foot to other areas when trading with different tribes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Mammoth Lakes’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mammoth Lakes’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Mammoth Lakes

See all 4 →
CMCarly MarguliesSportsJTJim TracySportsJKJessi KirbyWriting & ArtsRMRussell MalmSports
By decade

Mammoth Lakes, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today11 photos
SnowboardersLOCSnowboarders2012SkierLOCSkier2012SnowboardersLOCSnowboarders2012TreesLOCTrees2012TreesLOCTrees2012TreesLOCTrees2012TreesLOCTrees2012TreesLOCTrees2012ForestLOCForest2012Woolly Mammoth sculptureLOCWoolly Mammoth sculpture2012Mammoth Lakes, CaliforniaLOCMammoth Lakes, California2012
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Mammoth Lakes is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Mammoth Lakes has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger Cabin in Mammoth Lakes, 5.3 miles away.

Mammoth Lakes and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Mammoth Lakes. Tap a dot.
Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger CabinVogelsang High Sierra CampMerced Lake Ranger StationMerced Lake High Sierra CampTioga Pass Entrance Station

Closest to Mammoth Lakes

Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger CabinMammoth Lakes · Building5.3miVogelsang High Sierra CampJune Lake · District22.8miMerced Lake Ranger StationYosemite Valley · Built 192723.6miMerced Lake High Sierra CampYosemite Valley · District24.2miTioga Pass Entrance StationLee Vining · Built 193124.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Devils Postpile National Monument Ranger Cabin’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Mammoth Lakes?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Mammoth Lakes’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Bishop

From the Library of Congress (11). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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