When the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake rendered the pier in nearby Swansea inaccessible by uplifting the shoreline , a new pier was constructed to the south at a community named Hawley . In 1880 a new mill was constructed at Hawley by the Owens Lake Mining and Milling Company for processing ore from the Cerro Gordo Mines in the mountains to the east . A town was laid out by the company agent Julius M. Keeler , for whom the town of Hawley was later renamed
1872 Lone Pine earthquake
1872 Lone Pine earthquake
Keeler, California