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History · Independence

Independence’s post office opened in 1866, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 2000.

1866first post office
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Independence’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Independence began

When was Independence founded?

1866

The Independence post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 574 in 20002020 census: 593160 years
Founding year: the first Independence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Independence’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.Old housesHalf of Independence’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 historic places in Independence

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Histor…
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Histor…
Inyo County Courthouse
BuildingsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
★ Landmark
Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic SiteBuilt 1972
Inyo County CourthouseNeo-Classical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Independence, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s12 items
Baxter Lake1928Baxter LakeBaxter Lake1928Baxter Lake"Reflections," Rae Lake1928"Reflections," Rae LakeSawmill Pass via Independence, Calif1928Sawmill Pass via Independence, CalifWoods Lake via Independence, Calif1928Woods Lake via Independence, CalifWoods Lake via Independence, Calif1928Woods Lake via Independence, CalifWoods Lake via Independence, Calif1928Woods Lake via Independence, CalifWoods Lake via Independence, Calif1928Woods Lake via Independence, CalifKearsarge Pinnacles and lakes1928Kearsarge Pinnacles and lakesLimit catches from Baxter Lake1928Limit catches from Baxter Lake"Rainbows" from Charlotte Lake via Independence, Calif1928"Rainbows" from Charlotte Lake via Independence, CalifRae Lake and Dragon Peak1928Rae Lake and Dragon Peak
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Independence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Independence.

Read it all →

Charles Putnam founded a trading post at the site in 1861. It became known as Putnam's, and later Little Pine from the Little Pine Creek. The site of Putnam's Cabin, across the street from the Inyo County Courthouse, is a California Historical Landmark # 223.

ChaptersMuseumsLibrary

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Independence, 1866 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Independence post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Born hereJohn K. Singlaub is born here
  5. 1928In the archiveBaxter Lake
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1972BuiltManzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic Site is built
  8. 1985LandmarkManzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic Site named a National Historic Landmark
On the map

Independence on the map, 1951 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Independence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Independence on the 1951 USGS mapIndependence on the 1982 USGS mapIndependence on the 1992 USGS map1951Independence sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Independence.

Every building

Independence, building by building, 1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Independence fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Baxter Lake
Retake this viewBaxter Lake, 1928

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Independence’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Independence, census by census

010020030040050060070020002020Peak: 669

Between 574 and 669 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Independence’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Independence’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBaxter Lake: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Independence’s history

What year was Independence founded?

The Independence post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Independence?

Two places: the Manzanar War Relocation Center, National Historic Site (listed 1976) and the Inyo County Courthouse (1998).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.