Zurich (formerly, Alvord and Station) is a former settlement in

Inyo County 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 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was a stop of the

Carson and Colorado Railway The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. narrow gauge railroad that ran from Mound House, Nevada, to Keeler, California, below the Cerro Gordo Mines. It was incorporated on May 10, 1880, as the Carson and Colorado ''Railroad'', and constru ...

. It is located northeast of Big Pine. Zurich was established in 1884 as Alvord, but was renamed in 1923 as Zurich for the jagged peaks of the nearby White Mountains, since during the winter, the snow on the mountain peaks reminded a local Swiss resident of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The town was established as the first stop of the

which ran to Keeler. When the railroad declined in the 1940s, so did Zurich, and it was finally abandoned in 1960 when the railroad shut down. Several building foundations are all that remain of Zurich. An historical plaque dedicates the site of the former town.

References

Former settlements in Inyo County, California Former populated places in California Owens Valley {{InyoCountyCA-geo-stub

See also

References