Fort Independence
Owens Valley, California, US
Camp Independence in the Owens Valley, in 1871.
Fort Independence Show map of California Fort Independence Show map of the United States
Coordinates	36°49′31″N 118°22′18″W / 36.82528°N 118.37167°W / 36.82528; -118.37167
Type	Military post
Site information
Owner	United States Army
Controlled by	Fort Independence Reservation
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	July 4, 1862
Fate	Decommission 1877
California Historical Landmark
Official name	Camp Independence
Reference no.	349

Fort Independence, originally named Camp Independence, was a fort located in the Owens Valley, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of present-day Independence, Inyo County, eastern California. The U.S. Army post was active from 1862 to 1877.

Camp Independence was established on Oak Creek in the valley on July 4, 1862,^[1] during the Owens Valley Indian War.^[2] It also served as an American Civil War army post. The fort was briefly abandoned at the end of hostilities with the Owens Valley Paiute in December 1864.

However, it was reoccupied by the Nevada Volunteers in March 1865, due to renewed conflict with the local Paiute. The post was finally abandoned on July 5, 1877. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department for disposition on July 22, 1884.^[3]

When the military left the valley, the native Paiute and Shoshone peoples of the area held various allotments of land adjacent to the fort. The Fort Independence Reservation was officially established through executive orders Number 2264 and 2375 in 1915 and 1916. This provided the tribal members with 360 acres (1.5 km²) of land adjacent to Oak Creek in the southern Owens Valley, near the Owens River and town of Independence.^[4]

The site is a California Historical Landmark, with a historical marker on Highway 395.^[3]

• Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians
• California Historical Landmarks in Inyo County, California
• History of Inyo County, California