Little Lake

When the Southern Pacific built their Jawbone Branch to aid in the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct from 1908-10, a station called 'Narka' was established. Around the same time, a waystation called 'Little Lake' after the Little Owens Lake developed a short distance to the north. In 1913, the post office moved from Narka to Little Lake and the little town fluorished as a stopover between Los Angeles and the Eastern Sierra.

From 1919-23, William Bramlette built a new concrete hotel (an earlier hotel was destroyed by fire). In addition to the Little Lake Hotel, the town also had a service station, garage, and store. It reached its peak in the 1940s and 50s, but in 1958 the new alignment of Highway 395 bypassed the town and business began to decline. The rail line through town was abandoned in 1981, and in July 1989 the Little Lake Hotel burned. Multiple buildings, including the garage and burned-out hotel, remained through the 1990s, but were bulldozed around 2000. The only remaining structure in Little Lake today is the little green post office.


Jawbone Branch
← Linnie • NarkaLittle Lake • Coso →

Bibliography