Independence in Inyo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Mary Austin’s Home

1868 - 1934

Photographed By Craig Baker, April 28, 2023

1. Mary Austin’s Home Marker

Inscription. “But if ever you come beyond the borders as far as the town that lies in a hill dimple at the foot of Kearsarge, never leave it until you have knocked on the door of the brown house under the willow-tree at the end of the village street, and there you shall have such news of the land, of its trails and what is astir in them, as one lover of it can give to another…”
—The Land of Little Rain

Erected by California State Park Commission. (Marker Number 229.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Settlements & Settlers • Women. In addition, it is included in the California Historical Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1868.

Location. 36° 48.102′ N, 118° 12.114′ W. Marker is in Independence, California, in Inyo County. Marker is at the intersection of Market Street and Webster Street, on the right when traveling west on Market Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Independence CA 93526, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Edwards House (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Engine #18 (about 600 feet away); Mining in Inyo County (about 700 feet away); Putnam’s Stone Cabin

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(about 700 feet away); Inyo County Courthouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); Historic Independence (approx. 0.3 miles away); Camp Independence (approx. 2½ miles away); Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Independence.

Also see . . .
1. Mary Austin - Owens Valley Literary Pioneer. (Submitted on October 14, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.)
2. Literary Encyclopedia: Mary Austin. “Acknowledged during her lifetime as an important American nature-writer in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau, as a leading feminist theorist, and as an expert on Native American cultures, but largely forgotten after her death in 1934, Mary Austin has received renewed interest over the past few decades due to a unique literary blending of feminism, environmental ethics, social critique, and interpretations and adaptations of Native American, Hispanic-American, and Euro-American mythological traditions.” (Submitted on October 14, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.)

3. The Land if Little Rain. Online edition of the book by Mary Austin at the Berkeley Digital Library. (Submitted on October 16, 2007.)

Photographed By Karen Key, August 25, 2007

2. Mary Austin’s Home Marker

Mary Austin’s Home and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Denise Boose, February 12, 2009

3. Mary Austin’s Home and Marker

“The Brown House Under the Willow Tree” image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Karen Key, August 25, 2007

4. “The Brown House Under the Willow Tree”

Photographed By Craig Baker, April 28, 2023

5. Mary Austin’s Home and Marker

After record-setting spring rains.

Highway Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, April 28, 2023

6. Highway Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on June 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 2,738 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 28, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 2. submitted on October 14, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. 3. submitted on April 27, 2012, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 4. submitted on October 14, 2007, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. 5. submitted on April 28, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 6. submitted on June 7, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.