Near Lee Vining in Mono County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Mono Diggins

Photographed by Adam Margolis, April 5, 2010

1. Mono Diggins Marker

Inscription.

About 1 mile N.E. of here lies Mono Diggins, the first extensive placer mining excitement east of the Sierra. Cord Norst is generally credited with being the discoverer on July 4, 1859. A town, Monoville, boasted a transient population of 500 – 1,000. A post office established December 12, 1859, was closed by April 2, 1862, as the prospectors moved to Aurora.

One of the most ambitious hydraulic water projects of the time was the transportation of water from Virginia Creek to the Diggins by open ditches known as “the Mono Ditch”. The remnants of the system may be seen by looking easterly from the highway summit or northerly from the bottom of the grade.

Erected 1978 by E Clampus Vitus, Bodie Chapter No. 64.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the E Clampus Vitus series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1881.

Location. 38° 4.44′ N, 119° 10.613′ W. Marker is near Lee Vining, California, in Mono County. It is on State Highway 395. The marker is located at the Mono Lake Vista Point below the south side of Conway Summit, 8 miles north of Lee Vining. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lee Vining CA 93541, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Sierra Nevada.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other

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markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Avalanche of 1911 (approx. 1.8 miles away); Grave of Adeline Carson Stilts (approx. 4.7 miles away); Lundy (approx. 4.7 miles away); The De Chambeau Family (approx. 4.8 miles away); From Scrubland to Ranchland (approx. 4.8 miles away); De Chambeau Ranch (approx. 4.8 miles away); Little Bodie (approx. 5.3 miles away); Dynamo Plant and Pond (approx. 5.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lee Vining.

Also see . . . Monoville, California - First Official Township on the Eastward Rush. (Submitted on November 28, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 22, 2011

2. Mono Diggins Marker

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 22, 2011

3. Mono Diggins Marker

Fall Colors near Conway Summit image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 22, 2011

4. Fall Colors near Conway Summit

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 22, 2011

5. Mono Diggins Marker

The View from the Mono Diggins Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Adam Margolis, April 5, 2010

6. The View from the Mono Diggins Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 28, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,863 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 13, 2025, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 28, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 6. submitted on February 13, 2025, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.