Manzanar was a town in Inyo County, California, founded by water engineer and land developer George Chaffey.
It was situated on the former narrow gauge railway line of the Southern Pacific Railroad 9 miles north of Lone Pine, at an elevation of 3,727 feet.
A post office operated at Manzanar from 1911 to 1914. Manzanar was a shipping point for the surrounding apple orchards before the diversion of water through the Los Angeles Aqueduct from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles.
During World War II, the area was the location of the Manzanar War Relocation Center, where people of Japanese ancestry were held.