Roachville is a former small mining settlement, now in

Inyo County, California Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is ...

. It was founded in 1861 on the east slope of the White Mountains, at the lower reaches of Cottonwood Creek northwest of White Mountain City.

History

Roachville and White Mountain City, settlements east of the White Mountains from

Owens Valley Owens Valley ( Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Iny ...

, were used for a California election fraud in the fall of 1861. The Warm Springs precinct covering these sparsely populated settlements was populated with an additional 521 voters culled from the passenger list of a steamship that had recently arrived in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Location

The site of Roachville is on Cottonwood Creek, northeast of White Mountain City near the

Mono County, California Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The coun ...

border.

References

Former settlements in Inyo County, California Populated places established in 1861 Ghost towns in Inyo County, California 1861 establishments in California {{InyoCountyCA-geo-stub