Mono County, California

Mono County extends along the boundary between Nevada and California, with Inyo County to the south. Its area is 2,796 square miles. The estimated population is 3,200, while the census of 1880 gives 7,499. The decrease is due to changes wrought by mining excitement, but the steady growth of the last few years is of the class that makes homes, and remains. The surface is extremely mountainous, and mining has always been the chief industry. The eastern part is composed of alkali plains, interspersed with salt-pools and volcanic remains. The lower foothills are covered with a heavy growth of sugar and yellow pine. Bodie, the largest town, was once the center of extraordinary rich mines. Of late these mines have been reopened, and the bullion yield last year was over a half million dollars. Cheap transportation is all that is needed to cause a general revival of mining in many long-deserted camps. Lumbering and stock-raising are also important industries. The assessed valuation for 1889 is $941,010.

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Source: California State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1890, Volume II, R. L. Polk & Company, 1890.