Zurich | |
Settlement Type: | Populated place |
Pushpin Map: | California |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in California |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | California |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Inyo County |
Coordinates: | 37.1828°N -118.26°W |
Elevation Ft: | 3934 |
Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank Info: | 269403 |
Zurich (formerly, Alvord and Station) is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was a stop of the Carson and Colorado Railway.[1] It is located 2miles northeast of Big Pine.
Zurich was established in 1884 as Alvord, but was renamed in 1923 as Zurich for the jagged peaks of the nearby White Mountains, since during the winter, the snow on the mountain peaks reminded a local Swiss resident of the Alps. The town was established as the first stop of the Carson and Colorado Railway which ran to Keeler. When the railroad declined in the 1940s, so did Zurich, and it was finally abandoned in 1960 when the railroad shut down. Several building foundations are all that remain of Zurich. An historical plaque dedicates the site of the former town.[2]