Dog Town

Mono County, August 30, 1993

On the banks of what is now Dog Creek, Cord Norst discovered gold here in 1857 and this became the first place to attract attention to the eastern Sierras for possible mining sites. About 100 or so miners came and the site subsisted till the summer of 1859 when Cord Norst had wandered off about 5 miles to the east and discovered better diggings in a place to become known as Monoville….named after the lake. It went for a few years as well till much bigger discoveries were made at Aurora and Bodie.

To keep Dog Town company in the California odd town name department we offer: Bummerville, Dunmovin (also on 395), Poopout Hill, Shafter, Squabbletown, Toad Town, and Wimp.

 The Dog Town marker is on US 395, just six tenths of a mile from the entrance to Bodie.

NO. 792 DOG TOWN - Site of the first major gold rush to the eastern slope of California's Sierra Nevada, Dog Town derived its name from a popular miners' term for camps with huts or hovels. Ruins lying close to the cliff bordering Dog Town Creek are all that remain of the makeshift dwellings which formed part of the 'diggins' here.
Location: On State Hwy 395 (P.M. 69.5), 7 mi S of Bridgeport
Google:38.170236,-119.193882