1 1 Vol. 12 No. 4 Newsletter of the China Lake Museum Foundation Fall 2006 COSO OLD FORT BY C. JOHN DiPOL No, the Naval Ordnance Test Station was not the first military establishment on what is now the China Lake North Range area. That appellation belongs to an outpost of the U. S. Army Independence that dates back to the 1862-1877 time frame is located in the Coso Mountains in Coso Canyon one mile northeast of Coso Village. Before we describe the specifics of Coso Old Fort, let us review some of the background. With the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, many more prospectors were streaming into Eastern California. These included stockmen and settlers that first arrived in the Owens Valley in 1861. The hard winter of 1861—62 gave rise to conflicts between the native inhabitants and the settlers. By early 1862, the vio- lence increased to the point where the settlers asked for protection by U. S. Army troops. A detachment of troops from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, California Volunteers was dispatched for a reconnaissance. Their report led to the establishment of Camp Independence in the Owens Valley on July 4, 1862, manned by companies from the 2nd Cavalry. For the next several years, the violence raged to and fro, with periods of peace, followed by battles. In 1864, with the Civil War at its peak in the east, the Army pulled the 2nd Cavalry from Camp Independence. The native inhabitants ruled the Valley, but by November, 1865, following the conclusion of the Civil War, the Army reoccupied Camp Independence with hardened veterans from the Union armies, stabilized the conflict and essen- tially ended all fighting by the end of the 1866/early 1867. Camp Independence remained in operation until 1877. This was a dark period in the history of the Owens Valley. Author Chalfant’s final paragraph at the end of several chapters on the subject in his book, “The Story of Inyo”, says it best: “Perhaps it is not the business of a record of this character to philosophize in the Indian War subject. The facts have been set down as fully and im- partially as they have been learned. That the Indian should resist trespass on hereditary domain was but natural. Some white men proved themselves as savage and ruthless as those they fought. But the white domination, and its ability to make use of resources ….. Were as inevitable here as they have been elsewhere as civilization advanced.” But, back to Coso Old Fort. The site is located at Coso Springs (formerly Darwin Springs) in Coso Canyon and consists of ruins of three main building structures and several minor features. The building ruins are of suffi- cient integrity, however, that their functions and original floor plans have been reconstructed (on paper, of course). The barracks building is located adjacent to the springs, the redoubt is on a ridge in the canyon wall high above the barracks, and the third structure is an explosive magazine/storage facility separately located between the first two. The Barracks is built of cut and dressed granite blocks and mud mortar. The overall dimensions are 67 ft. by 21 ft. which enclosed four rooms. The northern portion is an extension 13 x 12 ft., with a fireplace and may have been a kitchen. There is a fireplace in the furthermost of the other of the other 3 rooms. One window and several doors between rooms and to the exterior are evident. The building most likely had a gables roof. The Magazine/storage facility is cut into the hill at an elevation slightly higher than the barracks. It is square in shape made out of crudely stacked and unmortared rock. (Continued on page 2) Page 1 , OCR Text: 1 1 Vol. 12 No. 4 Newsletter of the China Lake Museum Foundation Fall 2006 COSO OLD FORT BY C. JOHN DiPOL No, the Naval Ordnance Test Station was not the first military establishment on what is now the China Lake North Range area. That appellation belongs to an outpost of the U. S. Army Independence that dates back to the 1862-1877 time frame is located in the Coso Mountains in Coso Canyon one mile northeast of Coso Village. Before we describe the specifics of Coso Old Fort, let us review some of the background. With the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, many more prospectors were streaming into Eastern California. These included stockmen and settlers that first arrived in the Owens Valley in 1861. The hard winter of 1861—62 gave rise to conflicts between the native inhabitants and the settlers. By early 1862, the vio- lence increased to the point where the settlers asked for protection by U. S. Army troops. A detachment of troops from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, California Volunteers was dispatched for a reconnaissance. Their report led to the establishment of Camp Independence in the Owens Valley on July 4, 1862, manned by companies from the 2nd Cavalry. For the next several years, the violence raged to and fro, with periods of peace, followed by battles. In 1864, with the Civil War at its peak in the east, the Army pulled the 2nd Cavalry from Camp Independence. The native inhabitants ruled the Valley, but by November, 1865, following the conclusion of the Civil War, the Army reoccupied Camp Independence with hardened veterans from the Union armies, stabilized the conflict and essen- tially ended all fighting by the end of the 1866/early 1867. Camp Independence remained in operation until 1877. This was a dark period in the history of the Owens Valley. Author Chalfant’s final paragraph at the end of several chapters on the subject in his book, “The Story of Inyo”, says it best: “Perhaps it is not the business of a record of this character to philosophize in the Indian War subject. The facts have been set down as fully and im- partially as they have been learned. That the Indian should resist trespass on hereditary domain was but natural. Some white men proved themselves as savage and ruthless as those they fought. But the white domination, and its ability to make use of resources ….. Were as inevitable here as they have been elsewhere as civilization advanced.” But, back to Coso Old Fort. The site is located at Coso Springs (formerly Darwin Springs) in Coso Canyon and consists of ruins of three main building structures and several minor features. The building ruins are of suffi- cient integrity, however, that their functions and original floor plans have been reconstructed (on paper, of course). The barracks building is located adjacent to the springs, the redoubt is on a ridge in the canyon wall high above the barracks, and the third structure is an explosive magazine/storage facility separately located between the first two. The Barracks is built of cut and dressed granite blocks and mud mortar. The overall dimensions are 67 ft. by 21 ft. which enclosed four rooms. The northern portion is an extension 13 x 12 ft., with a fireplace and may have been a kitchen. There is a fireplace in the furthermost of the other of the other 3 rooms. One window and several doors between rooms and to the exterior are evident. The building most likely had a gables roof. The Magazine/storage facility is cut into the hill at an elevation slightly higher than the barracks. It is square in shape made out of crudely stacked and unmortared rock. (Continued on page 2) Page 1 , China Lake Museum,China Laker - Newsletter,China Laker 2000s,China Laker 2006,Vol+12+No+4+Fall+2006.pdf,Vol+12+No+4+Fall+2006.pdf Page 1, Vol+12+No+4+Fall+2006.pdf Page 1