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Aberdeen, CA.
Aberdeen is a small, unincorporated community in the northern Owens Valley, located about 12 miles north of Independence along U.S. Highway 395 at an elevation of 3914 feet.
Photo by Burton Frasher
A local post office opened in 1895 and closed in 1934.
Also see:
Old Hwy. 395/ Aberdeen/Fish Springs
Aberdeen, at 5 miles along the route, was a small but thriving community in the first two decades of the 20th century—supported primarily by the ...Owens Valley Ecosubsection
This subsection is the alluvial plain in the southern part of Owens Valley, from the Poverty Hill south to Rose Valley. ...Independence, CA
U.S. 395
Big Pine, CA
Big Pine is the gateway to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains and the ...Aberdeen, California: A Quiet Chapter in Owens Valley History
Tucked into the northern reaches of California’s Owens Valley, Aberdeen is a quiet, unincorporated community that sits alongside U.S. Highway 395, about 12 miles north of Independence. At an elevation of 3,914 feet, the settlement once played a modest yet meaningful role in the region’s development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.A post office was established in Aberdeen in 1895, marking the town as a place of some importance to local residents and travelers alike. Though the post office closed in 1934, this period reflects the height of Aberdeen’s activity. Like many small communities in the Owens Valley, Aberdeen was sustained by agriculture, local industry, and its location on a key travel route. In the early 1900s, the town supported a few businesses and families who relied on the land and the seasonal rhythms of valley life.
Aberdeen’s quiet charm endures, even as its role has faded into the background of Owens Valley’s larger narrative. The surrounding landscape—marked by dramatic mountain backdrops, arid plains, and the distant shimmer of the Sierra Nevada—remains much the same as it was over a century ago. Today, the town stands as a reminder of the many small settlements that helped shape the history of eastern California, each one a thread in the wider tapestry of the American West.