Eastern California Museum 90th Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday, May 5th, the Eastern California Museum in Independence will celebrate its 90th anniversary of preserving the region’s history, with a fun filled day of yesteryear walking tours, history presentations, inspiring oratory and enticing refreshments.The day kicks off at 10 am, with 2 different ½ hour walking tours through the historic district of Independence. At 11, the first of several presentations on various Eastern California History topics will be offered at the Eastern California Museum. The topics range from the lost but not forgotten town of Thebe, to a brief history of the treasured Eastern California Museum itself. The Eastern California Museum Association was founded in 1928 by a group of civic minded citizens from Inyo County. The Association operated the Museum until 1968, when it was turned over to the County of Inyo, which continues to run it today.The mission of the Museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret objects and information related to the cultural and natural history of Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra, from Death Valley to Mono Lake. The Museum collection is held in public trust, and a computerized database with over 15,550 records is used to manage the Museum’s extensive collections. In addition to those artifacts, the Museum also houses about 27,000 historic photographs of the Eastern Sierra region, the majority of which date from the late 1800s through the 1950s. The Museum is also an outstanding resource for researchers, and typically handles about 200 requests for information or photo reprints per year.

We are very fortunate here in the Eastern Sierra to have such a treasure as the Eastern California Museum. Please come join us in celebrating 90 years of preserving our Eastern Sierra history and heritage on Saturday May 5th, from 10 am to 3 pm, at the Eastern California Museum in Independence.