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Early Independence
Residents
1868 - 1934 |
Text
excerpts are from "The Land of Little Rain"
by Mary Austin
Ansel Adams photographs are from 1950 edition of "The
Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin
See USE NOTICE on Home Page.
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 04/22
"Nurslings
of the Sky"
from "The Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin
Thoughts on Mary Austin
by
Father
John Crowley
The late Mary Austin is unquestionably the greatest teller of
tales that Inyo has known, and her descriptions of "this
long, brown, and lonely land" are alike marvels of accuracy
and limpid English prose. She laid no claim to be an historian;
in fact, she deliberately used false names for participants in
incidents we all know well, but she left us pictures of Lone
Pine and Independence in their heyday that live and speak. Notable
particularly are The Land of Little Rain, The Basket
Woman, and The Ford, with her autobiography, Earth
Horizon, supplying the background for the former fictional
and descriptive sketches. (Houghton Mifflin).
Article from the February 7, 1937 edition of Sage and Tumbleweed. |
05/22
Mary Austin at the remains of Fort Independence in Independence, CA
Painting by Eva Scott Fenyes - June 7, 1905
(Image courtesy of Hal Eaton)
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Hal Eaton writes:
Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930)was a wealthy socialite and also watercolorist who Lummis encouraged to document the many old buildings and adobes in California which she donated to the Southwest Museum. Her second husband, Dr. Adalbert Fenyes was a physican and entomologist specializing in beetles. The Fenyes mansion in Pasadena in now a museum.
In June of 1905 the couple visited Inyo so that Adalbert could collect beetles--we all know how Inyo is a good place to find beetles, sometimes too many. Eva vistied her friend, Mary Austin, and did a watercolor Austin in front of the ruins of Camp Independence where Mary had harvested bricks for her fireplace it is said. This was a month before the announcement of the LA Aqueduct project.
November 2020
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Portrait
of an Owens Valley Literary Pioneer |
Mary Hunter
(circa 1900)
Courtesy
of the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA
(© The Huntington Library) |
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The Hunter family
in Carlinville, Illinois 1880
L to R: James, Mary, Susanna and George
Courtesy
of the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA
(© The Huntington Library) |
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Mary Austin
(1929 by Ansel Adams) |
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Blackburn
College class of 1888.
Mary Austin at the far left.
Courtesy
of the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA
(© The Huntington Library) |
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Mary Austin
Home in Independence
Mary and her husband moved to this area in 1892. In 1897 Mary taught for a while in LA- she came back in 1898, built the house in Independence and stayed until 1905. Mary moved to Carmel, her husband remained in Independence.
(Thanks to Gail Swain for the info.)
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"The
Land of Little Rain"
from "The Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin
"Mary
Austin - A Page From History"
an excellent but brief biography from "Mineral Information
Service"
Mary Austin
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Ruth Austin
(Mary's daughter)
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Mary Austin
in 1914
Courtesy
of the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA
(© The Huntington Library) |
Stafford Wallace
Austin
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Mary Austin
in 1906
Courtesy
of the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA
(© The Huntington Library) |
Who was Stafford Wallace Austin?
He worked for the General Land Office in Lone Pine. According to Chalfant (1933) he was very suspicious of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's interest in Owens Valley and reported internal issues to the Secretary of the Interior. He was "fired" in late 1906 and went into private law practice in Oakland, California. He was also a teacher and the husband of Mary Austin, author of books on the Owens Valley area including "Land of Little Rain.“ He and his brother designed irrigation systems but were unsuccessful in their business. He was also an amateur botanist. As the Receiver for foreclosure proceedings, he was responsible for getting the California Trona Company out of debt. He kept a daily diary of what happened in the Searles Valley between December 16, 1909 and November 30, 1917. He starts his diary with "I was appointed Receiver (without bonds) of the California Trona Company. I was to go down to Borax Lake and to take charge of the Company's property and complete the assessment work not to exceed $12,600. I was to be paid $270 per month by the Foreign Mines Development Co." On November 30, 1917 his entry stated that he had calculated the amount of fruit from Joe Peterson's Garden at 3,617 pounds of figs, grapes, and other fruit. Photo of S.W. Wallace. Courtesy of the Searles Valley Historical Society. |
"The
Streets of the Mountains"
from "The Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin
"Water
Borders"
from "The Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin
"Austin's Beardtongue"
by Larry Blakely
Fred and Rena
Moore, 1921
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"The
Mary Austin House"
by Rena Moore, 1921
In the latter part of '20... and all of '21,
and even into 1922, I was a busy one...
I lived in Independence, California, in the "Mary Austin
House."
And tho just newly married I seldom saw my spouse!
He was a mountain man in the summer, and
winters with a crew
of traveling surveyors, so he was busy too.
I had two friends called Dude and Doc, who owned the Sweet Shop,
where I hurried every morning, by the clock...
I fixed breakfast for one customer, and he was JUDGE DEHEY.
I cooked his ham and scrambled eggs, every working day....
Then off I'd go to get the news, for my column in the paper...
often at some distant ranch, and this was quite a caper!
I rode the school bus there and back, and enjoyed a visit too,
with refreshments...while jotting reports of what was new!
On Saturday night a weekly dance was in the old town hall,
with usually a bake sale too, which was enjoyed by all.
The Logan's and the Payson's, Diggy Bell and Jo;
the Sterling Brothers and Herbie Caps, were friends I used to
know.
Often in the evenings we'd gather at my home
around the old rock fireplace, and talk of times aroam....
Lesley, Wesley, Babe and Ann, were the Logan teenage clan...
Their father was the Sheriff, a very likable man.
(Photos
and text courtesy of Rena-Beth Smith) |
04/22
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Mary Hunter Austin, 1868-1934 |
Mary Austin and Ernest Thompson Seton at Mrs. Austin's home, Santa Fe, New Mexico - 1927 |
Mary Austin - 1932 |
Mary Austin - Age 44 |
Mary Austin home in Independence, CA - June 1905 |
Further Reading
on or by Mary Austin
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