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History · Olancha

Olancha’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Olancha was established by Minnard Farley, who came to the area in 1860 and discovered silver ore in the nearby Coso Range. The name "Olancha" is believed to be derived from the nearby Yaudanche tribe. For processing the ore, he built a stamp mill just south of Olancha Creek. The remains of a stone wall from this mill still exists and has been designated as a California Historical Site (marker #796).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Olancha’s collection

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

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

Famous people close to Olancha

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Walter McCall Hoover, Jr.Walter McCall Hoover, Jr.Lone Pine · 22 miTDTatzumbia DupeaLone Pine · 22 mi
By decade

Olancha, 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
Today2 photos
Olancha from the US-315CommonsOlancha from the US-3152016Olancha city limit sign along Southbound HWY 395 on June 18 2010CommonsOlancha city limit sign along Southbound HWY 395 on June 18…2010
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Olancha is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Olancha has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic Structure in Keeler, 24.9 miles away.

Olancha and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Olancha. Tap a dot.
Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic Structure

Closest to Olancha

Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic StructureKeeler · Structure24.9mi

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. Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic Structure’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Olancha?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Olancha’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
📜 Ridgecrest

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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