By Jim Farber

What do Hopalong Cassidy, Gunga Din and John Wayne, ancient Native Americans, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Ansel Adams and thousands of wrongly interned Japanese-Americans all have in common? The town of Lone Pine and nearby Manzanar National Historic Site, located in the Owens Valley on historic California Highway 395.

Nestled between the towering escarpment of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and the Alabama Hills to the west and the mineral-rich Panamint Mountains and Death Valley to the east, Lone Pine is not a big town. During winter months skiers and snowboarders on their way to Mammoth Mountain tend to pay little attention to it, except to fuel up and grab a bite to eat.

But while there may not be a ski slope in Lone Pine or the congenial hot-buttered rum apres-ski scene that goes with it, Lone Pine is a world-class, year-round travel destination with enough scenic grandeur, recreational adventures, moviemaking legends and vibrant history to fill a book.

Now a massive land art project (by the architectural firm NUVIS and designer, Perry Cardoza) is nearing completion. Set amid the great expanse of what was once glittering Owens Lake, this monument/park with its central plaza, wavelike land forms and winding pathways will celebrate the long, varied and sometimes bloody history of the region. It's part of a much larger wildlife reclamation and dust mitigation project that is designed to restore portions of the lake and cut down on the alkali-ridden dust storms that blow across its parched surface.

Founded a year before the outbreak of the Civil War, Lone Pine has seen its share of visitors dating back more than 20,000 years, when Native Americans built villages on the shores of the lake and left impressions in the form of petroglyphs carved into crags of dolomite.

Then came the Spanish, who colonized the region as part of Alta California. But it was "The Pathfinder," John C. Fremont, who first mapped the valley in 1845 and left the name of his surveyor, Richard Owens, behind as its namesake.

Throughout its long history Lone Pine has been prized and plundered for its resources. In its early years prospectors dug deep into its mountainsides in search of silver, then shipped smelted bars of bullion across the great lake aboard a pair of river boats — the Bessie Brady and the Mollie Stevens.

Cattlemen arrived and grazed vast herds along the verdant grasslands that lined the Owens River.

In the late 1800s a man named William Mulholland came to the valley and had a vision. He wasn't a miner. Mulholland coveted the water that poured down from the snowy peaks. The result was one of the greatest underhanded land-grabs in California's history and the creation of an aqueduct that would allow Los Angeles to become the citadel it is today. It's a story immortalized in the film "Chinatown" and a legacy that remains controversial to this day.

Ultimately it was not the silver or the water that would make Lone Pine famous. It was the cry of "Lights, camera, action!" Dating back to the era of silent films, Hollywood discovered its dream location — the Alabama Hills, a picturesque jumble of rocks that stretches between the floor of the Owens Valley and the towering peaks of the Sierras.

Its rocky crags have provided a backdrop for every cowboy and posse imaginable, from "The Lone Ranger" and "Hopalong Cassidy" to "Ride the High Country" and "Django Unchained." Gangsters such as Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy took to its hills in "High Sierra" and "Bad Day at Black Rock." It evoked the mountains of India in "Gunga Din" and "King of the Khyber Rifles" and Spain for a fleeing Russell Crowe in "Gladiator." Add to that at least 100 different car commercials.

To celebrate its rich cinematic heritage, in 2006 Lone Pine opened the Museum of Western Film History, replete with enough posters, props and memorabilia to please the most avid film buff. And every October the town hosts the Lone Pine Film Festival, featuring screenings of classic films, star attendees and guided tours of iconic locations.

Then came World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Because of its isolated location, the federal government considered the empty land just north of Lone Pine a viable place to build a camp to confine thousands of Japanese-Americans. Today the 814-acre site can be toured as the Manzanar National Historic Site. Grim and haunted though it may be, no trip to Lone Pine is complete without a visit.

The landscape surrounding Lone Pine also became a favorite subject for the lens of America's iconic photographer, Ansel Adams. One of his most famous images captures a sunrise illuminating the peaks of the Sierra Nevada as a lone horse grazes peacefully in a field below the Alabama Hills.

A mere 2.5-hour drive from Los Angeles, Lone Pine is a bucket-list-worthy destination and an ideal jumping-off point to explore the hiking trails of the Sierras or the depths of Death Valley. It offers a variety of comfortable motels and eateries, some with spectacular views. You can also camp almost anywhere in the Alabama Hills for free. At night the star-viewing (especially when there's a movie shoot in progress) is some of the best you can find.

WHEN YOU GO

Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce: www.longpinechamger.org/sightseeing-in-the-lone-pine-area/self-guided-tours

Manzanar National Historic Site: www.nps.gov/manz/planourvisit/hours.htm

The Museum of Western Film History: www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org

This soon-to-open land art project at what was Owens Lake near Lone Pine, California, celebrates the area's rich history. Photo courtesy of Jim Farber.

Hollywood stars who have made movies in Lone Pine, California, are immortalized at the Museum of Western Film History. Photo courtesy of Jim Farber.

The Manzanar National Historic Site near Lone Pine, California, is where Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II. Photo courtesy of Jim Farber.

Jim Farber is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.