Aurora is known for its mining history, but it also played a role in military history. The short-lived Fort Aurora only existed for several months, but its presence and soldiers left their mark on the region and town. What role did Fort Aurora play in the Owens Valley Indian War? Why was the fort’s surgeon murdered in Aurora?
More pictures coming this spring when roads open.
The Great Storm of 1862
(Photo credit: UNLV)
December 24, 1861, was not remembered as the start of the Christmas festivities. Heavy snow fell, blanketing the town of Aurora, as well as in Mono Basin and Owens Valley. With temperatures well below freezing, the passes and supply routes over the Sierra closed. The storm continued for 26 days. By mid-January, the temperatures warmed. The mild weather was not a relief but exponentially compounded the issue. Precipitation continued, now in the form of torrential rainfall. Creeks overflowed, flooding low-lying areas, leading to the Great Storm of 1862.
(Photo credit: USFS)
South of Aurora, in the Owens Valley, the Paiute diet depended on hunting and harvesting wild plants they irrigated. White pioneers drove cattle to Owens Valley to settle homesteads and raise cattle to sell to Aurora’s miners. Thousands of cattle feasted on the grass and consumed the Paiutes’ crops. Native wildlife was forced farther and farther away, straining the Paiutes’ resources. Flooding from the Great Storm of 1862 was catastrophic to the Paiute. To survive, they killed the cattle and dried the meat for sustenance. Tensions rose between the settlers and the Paiute, resulting in a death on both sides.
(Photo credit:Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center)
On January 31, 1862, settlers and tribal representatives met at the St. Francis Ranch, owned by Samuel A. Bishop, the town’s future namesake. They reached a peace agreement, which lasted only a month, as Joaquin Jim, head of the Southern Mono Paiutes, continued the attacks. In Owens Valley, settlers gathered their cattle on Oak Creek, 30 miles north of Owens Lake. Under attack, they sent messages to nearby Aurora, the county seat of Mono, and Visalia, the county seat of Tulare.
Fort Aurora
General Wright ordered fifty soldiers from Fort Churchill to provide relief at Aurora. Nevada Territorial Governor Nye also sent fifty muskets to arm local volunteers.
… we may expect soon to hear active operations between the belligerents unless Mr. Indian wisely follows the example of the European powers, and speedily crawfishes out of the country.
The Nevada Democrat, Apr 1, 1862
On May 14, 1862, the US Army established a temporary post at Adobe Meadows to maintain peace between settlers and Native American tribes. The fort was an outpost of Camp Independence at the north end of Owens Lake. Captain Edward A. Rowe Company, 2nd California Volunteer Cavalry, commanded the fort. Rowe and the company were dispatched from Fort Churchill in the Nevada Territory.
Modern accounts of the post refer to it as Fort Aurora, Fort Near Aurora, Camp Noble, and Fort Adobe Meadows. It was located one mile below Aurora, in Adobe Meadows along Aurora Creek. The location allowed them access from Fort Churchill in the north and Owens Valley in the south.
Fort Aurora’s Dr. Chorpenning
Dr. Franklin Chorpenning attended medical school in Pennsylvania but relocated to the West to assist his brother, a founding partner of Woodward & Company. They carried mail from Sacramento to Salt Lake on mules, leading to the nickname the “Jackass Express.” After ten years of service, the Pony Express took over the route and stations.
Dr. Chorpenning accompanied the Fort Churchill detachment to Adobe Meadows as Assistant Surgeon. The First Directory of Nevada Territory in 1862 reports Dr. Chorpenning “rendered valuable assistance.”
On July 28, while visiting Aurora, William Pooler shot Dr. Chorpenning for showing his estranged wife affection. Reports stated the injury was not thought to be life-threatening, but he died fifteen days later.
Dr. Chorpenning was buried at Aurora Cemetery. Esmerelda Rifles provided a military escort and band and the Odd Fellows participated in the burial. The town’s U.S. flag flew at half-mast, and the company’s colors were draped in mourning. A large procession followed the hearse to the graveyard, led by Mrs. Pooler, dressed in black. Any headstone was lost to time’s ravages.
Dr. Chorpening, who was shot a few weeks since at Aurora, by a man named Pooler, on suspicion that he had committed one of the popular sins of the age to the injury of the avenger, has since died of his wound.
Deseret News, Seuptember, 3, 1862
Upon learning of Dr. Chorpenning’s death, Pooler fled, but law enforcement captured him. During the hearing in September, local opinion was that Poole would be acquitted but the papers do not document the verdict.
Battles
(Photo credit: National Archives)
Newspapers reported on April 13 that white settlers in Owens Valley arrived at the safety of Fort Independence. They were mainly naked and without food for four days. Within four miles of the fort, Native Americans shot their horses from under them. Citizens in Owens Valley were determined to stand their ground and fight, rather than flee. A relief party from Aurora, consisting of twenty armed men, took supplies of flour, sugar, and ammunition for the settlers. Locals were watching daily for soldiers and supplies from Fort Churchill.
Additional troops from Los Angeles departed on March 19 and arrived in Owens Valley on April 2, under the command of Colonel Evans. When they arrived at Fort Independence, a dozen white men, with a handful of women and children, were entranced at Putman’s store. They were afraid to leave the store as the Paiute declared ownership of Owens Valley and threatened to kill any white man in their territory.
Battle at Biship Creek April 6
Colonel William Mayfield and a group of Tulare County militiamen headed to Owens Valley, joined by former Army Captain John J. Kellogg and 18 men from Aurora. Local settlers volunteered and senior officer Colonel William Mayfield took command. The 60 men headed north and, on April 6, battled the Paiute at Bishop Creek. The Paiute drove the soldiers back, where they took shelter in a ditch. Under the cover of darkness, they escaped, leaving horses, ammunition and supplies. One of the men killed was the first sheriff of Mono County, N.F. Scott who was shot while lighting his pipe. Other fatalities were C. J. Pleasants of Aurora and Mr. Morrison of Visalia.
The following day, Mayfield’s group connected with Colonel Evans. Forty-five joined Evan in pursuit while the remainder retreated to the fort. The group proceeded north toward what was later named Mayfield Canyon.
(Photo credit: Fort Tejon)
Battle of Mayfield Canyon
Under Colonel Mayfield, the force totaled 123 soldiers and volunteers. The Paiute entrenched themselves on a hillside in a steep canyon. The military split into thirds; one group attempted to the left and one to the right while the third held the base of the canyon. Under fire, they found their foe unreachable. In retreat, Colonel Mayfield was killed. His men attempted to recover his body, but had to leave him as he was an “unusually heavy man.” Having left their supplies with settlers, they returned to the fort.
(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The end of Fort Aurora
Mono County district attorney Phelps traveled to Stockton to report on the Owens Valley Indian War. He questions how the tribes acquired Minnie muskets, which were good to 600 yards, while the settlers only had one musket with that range.
It is an important quesiton, which we trust will soon be fully investigated. It must be confessed that appearances indicate that white men are at the bottom of this war.
Sonoma County Journal May 9, 1862
Following the two battles, Colonel Evans ordered the evacuation of Owens Valley. The Paiute had destroyed the houses and improvements of the settlers and killed 1,000 head of cattle. Settlers requested that 25 men remain and protect property, but Evans denied their request. The soldiers evacuated the remaining population of Owens Valley and 3,000 head of cattle over the Kern River Mountains.
(Photo credit: USC)
Fort Aurora disbanded in August 1862, and the soldiers returned to Fort Churchill. The Owens Valley Indian War ended in 1863 with the removal of many local Native Americans to Fort Tejon, although skirmishes occurred until 1867.
(Photo credit: California Indian Affairs)
WANT MORE GHOST TOWNS?
For information on more than five hundred ghost towns in Nevada & California, visit the Nevada Ghost Towns Map or a list of Nevada ghost towns.
Learn about how to visit ghost towns safely.
References
- American Forts West: Nevada
- Appeal-Democrat Apr 1, 1862
- Appeal-Democrat Apr 13, 1862
- Appeal-Democrat Apr 20, 1862
- Appeal-Democrat Aug 20, 1862
- The Daily California Express Apr 23, 1862
- The Daily California Express Aug 6, 1862
- The Daily California Express Sep 30, 1862
- Daily Miner-Transcript Aug 22, 1862
- Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields: Adobe Meadows Camp
- Los Angeles Daily News Apr 25, 1862
- Los Angeles Daily News May 2, 1862
- Los Angeles Daily News Aug 20, 1862
- Mono County: Sheriff office history
- The Nevada Democrat, Apr 1, 1862
- National Park Service: Manzanar
- National Park Service: National Register of historic places
- Nohill Travels in Nevada: Aurora
- Officer Down Memorial Page: Sheriff
- Oregon California Trail Association: The Jackass Mail Mystery
- Patera, Alan. Western Places: A Chronicle of Western Settlement volume 2, number 2.
- Roberts, Robert B. Encyclopedia of Historic Forts. Collier Macmillan Publishers. 1988
- The Sacramento Bee Aug 20, 1862
- Sacramento Daily Union, August 18, 1862.
- Santa Cruz semi-weekly sentinel May 16, 1862
- Silver, Sue. Aurora, Nevada’s silent city on the hill. 2011.
- Stewart, Robert E. Aurora: Nevada’s ghost city of the dawn. Nevada Publications, 2004.
- The Sonoma County Journal May 9, 1862
- Weekly Oregon Statesman May 12, 1862
- Wikipedia: Battle of Bishop Creek
- Wikipedia: Mayfield Canyon
- Wikipedia: Owens Valley Indian War
Leave a Reply