Sherwin's Folly honors Jim Sherwin who creatively engineered the Sherwin Grade from Round Valley over the Sherwin Summit in the 1870’s, and for whom the popular Sherwin Ridge was named. Sherwin later owned and operated the Sherwin Shake and Shingle Mill not too far from where we’re located today.

Sherwin’s Folly is not an act of foolishness, but a chance to experience senseless good times, listen to great music and dance like no one’s watching. Mammoth’s original Temple of Folly saloon, to whom we tip our hat, was located just up the road from us in historic Mammoth City at the base of Mammoth Rock. It was typical boom camp architecture featuring a roughly framed building made of field-rock, no windows and a rocky hillside for the rear wall. The joint was held together with a flimsy tin roof and a bit of earth. Considering Mammoth’s harsh climate, it’s no surprise that the proprietors only lasted from 1979-1880, at which time they moved to Bishop to open a second Temple of Folly, fondly known as Murphy’s.