Forgotten Destinations: 2016-10-02

Article and photography by Natasha Petrosova

Swansea in Califonia was once a booming "silver town" located on an eastern shore of Ownes lake . Swansea owns its success to a nearby silver mining operations of Cerro Gordo mines in the late 1860s. Swansea stands about 10 miles south of Lone Pine along Highway 136. Swansea in California is named after many experienced Welsh miners who traveled across the Atlantic from Swansea to find their fortune in Death Valley, became a hub for smelting the ore and transporting the resulting ingots to Los Angeles more than 200 miles away.

In 1872 the disastrous Lone Pine earthquake damaged the smelters and uplifted the shoreline and rendered the Swansea pier inaccessible by Owens Lake steamships. As a result , most of the smelting and transportation business moved to a nearby town called Keeler, leaving Swansea virtually a ghost town. To make matters worse, in the summer of1874 , a thunderstorm- induced debris flow inundated Swansea under several feet of water , rock, and sand . However by this time the town was almost deserted. The Owns Lake Silver-Lead company was also involved in expensive litigation with another company at the same time and they could never afford to rebuild.

As 2007 there is only one structure is left in Swansea.

the only structure left in Swansea

Keeler Beach

Article and photography by Natasha Petrosova

Keeler is practically a ghost town. Many Buildings are falling apart, Owens lake is dry , the mines have been played out, yet about 50 people still live here.

In 1870 and early 1980s Keeler was first used as a stop for steamer ships such as Bessie Brady and the Mollie Stevens. Back then Ownes lake was filled with water and the town Keeler was called Cerro Gordo Landing. Silver mined from Cerro Gordo would be halted down to Keeler and loaded up on the steamer ships for transport across the lake on its way to Los Angeles.

The town was renamed to Keeler after Julius M. Keeler who owned the mill there. In 1883 a rail line was built in Keeler, with the last stop on the Carson&Colorado Railroad being in the town. The same year the post office was opened. The success of the Cerro Gordo mines caused Keeler to boom until silver prices plummeted in the late 1800s. After zinc was discovered up at the mine in 1911, it gave another boom to Keeler and the railway found some life. However, zinc deposits ran out by 1930. The last train left Keeler in 1960. The train that use to run on the line was known as the "Slim Princess".

However , that was not the end for Keeler. Keeler at this point became a popular resort for people coming from Los Angeles. Standing right by the entrance to the Death Valley and on the shores of beautiful and giant Owens lake, Keeler did well as a vacation spot for travelers. Hotel Keeler provided lodging for vacationers and those departing the train. But unfortunately, this phase was short-lived.

Western Water wars can last for a long time. It's been almost 100 years since William Mulholland stood atop an aqueduct along the Owens River and said, " Here it is, Take it". He was referring to a diversion that started piping water to Los Angeles from 200 miles away. That water allowed Los Angeles to become the metropolis it is today. But it also meant that Owens River no longer flowed into the massive Owens Lake , which quickly dried up and became one of the biggest environmental disasters in the nation.

Today Owens lake is a salt flat a size of San Fransico , and when the wind blows, it can churn up huge dust storms with high levels of particulates that are dangerous to breathe. That earned Owens Lake the dubious mark of being the largest single source of dust pollution in the nation.

In the late 1990s, the city of L.A. reached a historic deal and agreed to a cleanup plan. To date, the city has spent more than a billion dollars doing that, giving it another distinction: It's one of the largest dust-control projects in U.S. history. The levels of particulate coming off Owens Lake were 100 times the standard the federal government says is safe to breathe. These tiny particulates are especially harmful because they're hard to detect, and can build up in the lungs over time and cause respiratory problems.

The City of Los Angeles is still to blame for this pollution disaster. Many may argue that it is a desert climate and is naturally dusty. Yes, it is, but it never been that dusty. L.A. Water Department made it a dust bowl that it is today. Thier job cleaning up the area from dust pollution is still not done . The way the water disputes flow in the West is back to the courts and after numerous prior law suits, Los Angeles is back in court over the obligation to control dust pollution at Owens lake.

the Sierra Talc Company. This old mill used prosessed talc from 5 diffrernt mines in California and Nevada

Owens dry lake

keeler beach

Carlson and Colorado Railraod Depot

Keeler plaque : " "Keeler End of the Line - From Mount House, Nevada, narrow gauge rails of the Carson & Colorado reached this site in 1883. As Cerro Gordo and other mines faltered, the rail line fell on hard times, so plans to extend the line to Mojave were abandoned, leaving Keeler as "End of the Line". Dedicated May 12, 1973 Slim Princess Chapter E Clampus Vitus Inyo County Board of Supervisors"