Pearsonville - Hub Cap Capitol of the World - California
If you travel Hwy 395, chances are you’ve stopped in Pearsonville and didn’t even know it. The Shell Gas Station/Subway Sandwich Shop on the corner of 395 and Pearson Road gets a lot of visitors.
Have you ever driven north on Pearson Road? Or perhaps ventured to the west side of 395, to explore Sterling Road? There are treasures on both sides of the highway for history seekers and those who enjoy finding the odd and quirky “Roadside Attractions” of years past.
Here are some of the things you might have missed at 80 mph. I was guilty of this as well, having driven thru Pearsonville numerous times, always in a hurry to get to my destination (Lone Pine, Alabama Hills, Bishop, Mammoth….you know the route). But this trip, Pearsonville was actually on my itinerary, along with a dozen or more other stops between here and Mono Lake, to get off the 395 to see what I could find. In two days. 😁
Just a bit north of the Shell Station, on Pearson Road, stands the Pearsonville Uniroyal Gal, the female equivalent of the Muffler Man. Made of fiberglass, she stands eighteen feet tall and weighs 230 pounds. Some say she was modeled after Jackie Kennedy. Locally, she’s known as the Hubcap Lady, so-named after Lucy Pearson, one of the founders of the town. Lucy collected hubcaps from the nearby (at the time) wrecking yard and amassed a collection of some 80,000 hubcaps.
Continuing north along Pearson Road, there’s the old Trading Post and next to it, the Garage. Compared to the old postcard below, they haven’t changed much.
On the west side of 395 are some interesting things to see, everything is fenced off and on private property, however, so please respect the fences and no trespassing signs.
What can I say, I’m drawn to photograph EAT signs. I could have posted a lot more ….
It would have been awesome to be able to stop here, back when the Golden Cactus Museum and Ghost Town were open to the public. Some quick research reveals that it was open up til about six years or so ago. If you look closely, in front of the blue building, you might catch a glimpse of Seldom Seen Slim.
Next time you’re heading north or south on the 395, think about pulling off the highway and checking out the sights. Who knows how long they’ll be around to see.
For a first person account of the founding and happenings of Pearsonville, click on: Pearsonville: The Truth and Nothing But the Truth by Janice Pearson, daughter of town founders, Lucy and Andy Pearson.
If you’re still reading, thanks and hope you enjoyed the post! Comments below are always welcome!
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