Explore / North America / California
California
Swansea Owens Lake smelter town
Ghost town Documented siteGray area
What you could find
Reported finds from this ground.
Nails and fittings
Old bottles
Coins and tokensAlso reported: Seated Liberty and Trade dollars, Indian Head cents, wagon parts.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: North Lincolnshire Museum, Martin Foreman, (CC BY 2.0), Sheila Sund (CC BY 2.0), West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service, Amy Downes, (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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Why this spot
1869-1874 silver smelting and lake port town
Smelter town on the east shore of Owens Lake that processed Cerro Gordo silver and shipped ingots by lake steamer toward Los Angeles. The 1872 Lone Pine earthquake damaged the smelters and stranded the pier, business shifted to Keeler, and a debris flow buried the nearly deserted town in 1874.View source →
Before you go
Hazards noted for this site.
alkali dust from the dry lakebedHighway traffic
Keep exploring nearby
More spots in this area.