Cottonwood Charcoal Kilns

Inyo County · 15 miles south of Lone Pine · location approximate

In June 1873 Colonel Sherman Stevens built a sawmill and flume on Cottonwood Creek directly west of this spot. The flume connected with the Los Angeles bullion road. The lumber was used for timbering in the mine and buildings, and the wood was turned into charcoal in these kilns, then hauled to Steven's Wharf on Owens Lake. There it was put on the steamer The Bessie Brady, hauled across the lake, and from there wagons took it up to Cerro Gordo Mine. Belshaw's furnaces had used all available wood around the Cerro Gordo, and this charcoal was necessary to continue production.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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