INYO-MONO TITLE COMPANY

TRUST A LOCAL FAVORITE

" THERE IS A DIFFERENCE "

SERVING INYO-MONO COUNTIES SINCE 1913

TITLE INSURANCE

COMPLETE ESCROW SERVICES

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED

The first title work in Inyo and Mono counties was done by title searchers or
abstracters in the hustling mining camps of the day, but the camps seldom lasted
long enough for an established business to develop. Undoubtedly the title work done
in law offices at the county seats was more enduring. Much of it concerned mines,
and the litigation involved was likely to have taken far more time than the title work.
Many an attorney's fee was paid in mining interest, the attorney's themselves often
developed acute cases of mining fever.

Attorney Ben Yandell in his office south of the courthouse developed a systematic
title abstract business in Independence. Cecil MacFarlane, a young stenographer in
his employ, became interested in the work and purchased the business before
Yandell's death in 1913. MacFarlane was also a court reporter, and he served as
Inyo County tax collector for the 1911-1914 term.

Business prospered for "C.I. MacFarlane, searcher of records", who was searching
records in Mono County also. In 1917 he acquired a small parcel of land directly
across from the courthouse in Independence and built a new office building to house
the company. The business became known as the Inyo County Abstract Company,
with its branch, the Mono County Abstract Company, occupying the same office.

In the 1930's MacFarlane had four additional men on the staff to help search title on
town property which was being acquired by the city of Los Angeles. Inyo County was
enjoying a temporary boom, while the rest of the county was in the slump of a
depression. Upon the death of MacFarlane in 1934, his widow, Irene, continued the
business, with his daughter, Sally, acting as manager. When Sally married in 1946,
she and her husband, William E. Burch, bought the company.

Title Insurance and Trust Company (T.I.), enter the scene in 1949, when it acquired
the two abstract companies. Acquisition of the companies was one of the many
steps in T.I."S far reaching expansion program. T.I. became one of the largest and
most respected of all title companies in the industry, with its origins dating back to
1893. In 1961, just north of the courthouse, a modern cement building, including a
large vault for storing microfilm, had just been completed to house the growing
company. In 1977, T.I. completed a new and much larger office building at 163 May
St., moving their facility north to Bishop to accommodate the increasing population of
residents of growing Mammoth Lakes.

Then in January of 1983, T.I. sold its Inyo and Mono county operations to the Core
family. Father and son team, Jim and Jerry Core, and their wives, Jo and Debbie,
named their new company Inyo-Mono Title Company.

Seen here is the Title Insurance and Trust Company which was acquired in January
of 1983, located at 163 May Street in Bishop.

Jim had gone through the ranks of T.I. starting at the young age of 18 in Ventura,
managing various T.I. operations throughout California with title and escrow
experience. Jerry also started his title career at age 18 at T.I. in Oxnard in 1973.
With 30 years and 10 years respectively at the time, it seemed like a logical move to
seek out a small title company for ownership. T.I. was selling smaller operations in
California and the Core's first choice was Inyo and Mono Counties although neither
one had ever visited the area. The offer was made and accepted, sight unseen.

In October of 1984, the company moved its main office and joint title plants to
Mammoth Lakes, leaving an escrow branch in Bishop. In 1990 the company, having
purchased an obscure building on Line Street in Bishop, painted it pink and added a
couple of green stripes. Highlighting the architectural features, of the art-deco 1994

"streamline modern" building was the talk of the town.

The Inyo and Mono title plants were split at that time, Jerry moving Inyo to Bishop
and Jim retaining Mono in Mammoth, both operations concentrating on each counties
market.

The plan worked. In December of 1995 the former Chicago Title Company building
located on Line Street was purchased. The building was then remodeled, painted
and a mural was added to one of the exterior walls making yet another
landmark building in downtown Bishop. The Inyo and Mono title plants were then
merged together again and moved to this new location on Line Street where it
operated as the main title plant for both counties.

 

 

 

 

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In 2003 Inyo-Mono Title Company  purchased a larger building in downtown
Bishop. This building is known as the former Forest Service building located behind
Sizzler restaurant at 873 N. Main Street. This new location will join both of our Line
Street locations into one building. This merge of our offices will offer our customers
immediate access to both our escrow and title departments in one location. After a
remodel on the new building, our current plans are to occupy this new location in the
Spring of 2004.

 

 

                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of the Company