Bishop was named for Bishop Creek, which in turn was named for Samuel A. Bishop, a Fort Tejon stockman, who drove the first herd of cattle into Owens Valley in 1861. He built two rough pine cabins on his St. Francis Ranch that were besieged by Paiutes during the Indian uprisings of the 1860's, and several times thereafter until Fort Independence was established in 1862.
--The WPA Guide to California, 1939
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