Olancha - Sleeping Beauty - Hwy 395 - California
Where does the name “Olancha” come from, or what does it mean? Seems that there’s no positive answer, but two likely options are that the name was derived from the name of a local Native American tribe, or that in their language the word means “Sleeping Beauty” or “Sleeping Maiden.” Possibly, nearby Olancha Peak (12,123 feet) resembles a sleeping maiden.
A man by the name of Minnard (Michael?) Farley first appears in the region in the early 1860s and discovers silver ore in the nearby Coso Range. He built a stamp mill by Olanche Creek to process the ore, which was operating by 1862. One thing led to another and in a few years, Olancha became a stage coach stop for travelers coming north from the Los Angeles basin. The town began to grow and in 1870, a post office was opened and has remained open ever since.
Over the years since, several businesses opened and closed to take care of travelers heading north or south. The town slowly dwindled away, but still survives with approximately 168 inhabitants.
There are several historical sites in and about the town, some of which are now only ruins. Here are a few cool spots I located on my last trip through Olancha.
The stone fireplace and partial remaining wall are all that is left of the home of the Callaways, a once prominent family in town. They owned the Callaway’s Cafe that once stood on the corner of 395 and 190.
Old postcard of Callaway’s Cafe on the left, on the right all that remains are a bit of the stone posts that were in front of the building (possibly placed in case a car veered too close to the building) and at the far right, what looks like a stone oven.
Gus’ Jerky appears to be occupying what was obviously once a gas station. A mural on the building next to it perhaps gives a hint as to the source of the jerky meat.
The large building next to Gus’, the one with the mural, appears to have at one time been a cafe. The soda machine at the far back points in that direction.
This building appears to have once been a motor court.
For me, the neatest building in town is the old Schoolhouse. Off in the back right, you can catch a glimpse of the school teacher’s home.
Olancha Schoolhouse with some young’uns. Thanks to IG friend mojave_desert_rose for helping me with this photo.
I haven’t been able to figure out yet where this version of the “Olancha Cafe” stood. This old postcard looks be to from the 1930s. If anyone has any info, please leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading!
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