announcing a new discovery... THE BISON FILM COMPANY ON LOCATION IN THE LONE PINE VICINITY IN 1909 by Marc Wanamaker
T
he history of the Owens Valley is intertwined with the discovery of gold and silver in the Sierra Mountains both in California and Nevada, water supplies for the Los Angeles area, and tourism at the beginning of the 20th century. Railroads played a major role in the development of Lone Pine and the Owens Valley and by 1883, the Carson and Colorado Railway line was constructed from Belleville Nevada, across the White Mountains to Benton and then down to the Owens Valley where it ended in Keeler. The arrival of the C&C rail line and the stagecoach in Keeler where an economic boost for the area. From Keeler, one could take the stagecoach to Mojave and then either onto akersfield or Los ngeles. The Lone Pine area was an important junction for tourists coming to see Mount Whitney, Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Mammoth Mountain, Death Valley National Park and Yosemite National Park since the late 19th century. The motion picture industry came to Los Angeles in 1908 with the Selig Polyscope Company of Chicago and it was followed by the Bison Film Company of New York in 1909. Selig
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2021 Lone Pine Film Festival Souvenir Program
Advertisement in The Moving Picture World magazine of 1909.