Mono Lake: From Dead Sea to Environmental Treasure

4: Commercial and Recreational Developments before World War II

44 CH A PTER 4 Commercial and Recreational Developments before World War II I n 1852 a Mariposa miner named Leroy Vining organized some men to hurry to the Mono Lake region where gold and silver had recently been discovered by Lieutenant Treadwell Moore. Moore and his infantrymen had been pursuing a band of Yosemite Indians accused of killing several miners in the Yosemite Valley, and they had chased them clear to the Mono Lake region. They failed to find the Indians, but in exploring the area they came across some promising mineral deposits. Inspired by that find, Vining and his party proceeded to Mono Lake, pioneers in the region that would shortly produce Dogtown, Monoville, Lundy, and other mining camps. Although the vicinity of Vining’s explorations was soon named Vining Creek, almost three quarters of a century would pass before a townsite was established there that would be named for Leroy Vining. The area was first homesteaded by John B. Anderson, who sold the land to Chris Mattly. The original name for the townsite, Lakeview, was changed when the Southern Sierra Power Company complained that many other communities had the same name; so in 1923 Mattly and another early settler, August Hess, obligingly changed the name to recognize the pioneer who had started the mining rush to the Mono Lake region. In 1979 the Bodie Chapter of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus, an organization that dedicated itself to erecting historical markers and having a lot of fun parodying more sober organizations , put up a plaque to commemorate the founding of Lee Vining. The plaque read, “The name of this community honors Le Roy Vining. Commercial and Recreational Developments before World War II 45 In 1852 Lt. Treadwell Moore and soldiers of the 2nd Infantry pursued Indians of Chief Tenaya’s tribe from Yosemite across the Sierra via Bloody Canyon. They took back mineral samples and a prospecting party was organized. In this group were the Vinings, Lee & Dick, who established a camp at what is now Lee Vining Creek. Plaque dedicated September 8, 1979, Bodie Chapter of E Clampus Vitus.” There is some dispute in Lee Vining today over whether Mattly or Hess deserves credit for starting the town. Mattly established the townsite, but Hess and his family and his brother’s family opened businesses that continue to this day. Some people in Lee Vining distinguish between Mattly as the “father” of the town and Hess as its “founder” (sometimes the terms are switched between the names). There were several other people involved as well, including August Hess’s brother, Bill Hess, and Guy Carrington. In any event, the fathers or founders chose their site well, for strategically located Lee Vining could offer itself as the “gateway to Yosemite,” just north of State Highway 120. Lee Vining also straddles U.S. Highway 395, the famed highway that runs from San Diego to British Columbia and makes it possible for automobile tourists to visit Yosemite conveniently from such east-of-Sierra Jack Mattly’s ranch southwest of Mono Lake. Three Mattly families settled in the Mono Basin. The photograph was taken in 1922. Courtesy of the Mono Basin Historical Society. 46 Chapter 4 locations as Lake Tahoe and Carson City. Located near the western shore of Mono Lake, Lee Vining offered opportunities for business development and success. August E. “Gus” Hess was born in Switzerland in 1886, came to America at age seventeen, and eventually settled in the Mono Basin, where he could pursue the blacksmith trade near mountains that reminded him of his birthplace. Recognizing the growing importance of the automobile, Hess opened a garage and gasoline station in Lee Vining, enlarging it in 1926 to offer ethyl as well as regular gasoline. Hess’s efforts and the hard work of others helped develop the small town; in the 1920s Lee Vining residents laid water lines, received a post office, and were connected to the outside world through telephone and electricity hookups. In 1928 the El Mono Hotel was constructed, and a year later Hess built Hess Hall as a recreational facility. The El Mono Hotel offered enough modern attractions to satisfy the demands of any traveler coming along U.S. 395. It featured twenty rooms with hot and cold water in every room, a dining room and kitchen, electricity provided by the Southern Sierra Power Company plant at the south edge of...