Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Keeler, CA

Keeler is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Inyo County, located on the east shore of Owens Lake along State Route 136.

Keeler was originally named Hawley; after the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake uplifted the shoreline and made the pier at nearby Swansea unusable, a new pier was built to the south at Hawley.

In 1880 the Owens Lake Mining and Milling Company built a mill at Hawley to process ore from the rich Cerro Gordo Mines in the mountains to the east, and the town was laid out by company agent Julius M. Keeler, for whom it was later renamed.

Silver from Cerro Gordo was loaded at Keeler's pier onto the steamship Bessie Brady, which ferried ingots across Owens Lake in the town's shipping heyday.

The narrow-gauge Carson and Colorado Railroad reached Keeler in 1883, making the little town the southern terminus of the line.

Keeler boomed on Cerro Gordo silver until prices collapsed in the late 1800s, then revived in the early 1900s on zinc mining, with an aerial tramway built to carry ore down from Cerro Gordo to Keeler.

All mining around Keeler had ceased by the 1950s, train service ended in 1960, and the railroad tracks were removed in 1961.

Water exports from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles in the 1920s caused Owens Lake to dry up, and the resulting alkali dust storms blew through Keeler and drove many residents away; cleanup efforts in the early 21st century have reduced the dust problem.

Keeler's post office dates to 1883 and, remarkably for such a small desert outpost, is still operating today.

The 2020 census counted 71 people in Keeler, up from 66 in both the 2010 and 2000 censuses.