Calico is a ghost town located in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, today it is a county park located in unincorporated San Bernardino County off Interstate 15, three miles from Barstow. Giant letters spelling “CALICO”, on the Calico Mountains behind the ghost town, can be seen from the freeway.
At its height, Calico boasted a population of 1,200 people, and over 500 silver mines. The Calico Mining District became one of the richest in California, producing $86 million in silver, $45 million in borax and, of course, gold. Besides the usual ortment of bars, brothels, gambling halls and a few churches, Calico also supported a newspaper, the Calico Print.
During the mid 1890s, the price of silver dropped, and Calico’s silver mines were no longer economically viable. With the end of borax mining in the region in 1907, when borax mining moved to Death Valley, the town became a ghost town.
In 1951, Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, purchased the town and began restoring it to its original condition referencing old photographs. Though five of the original town buildings exist today, many others were recreated as replicas of their originals on preexisting foundations.
In 1966, Walter Knott donated the town to San Bernardino County, and Calico became a county regional park.
Today, the park operates mine tours, gunfight stunt shows, gold panning, a restaurant, the Calico & Odessa Railroad and a number of general merchandise stores. It is open daily, and requires an entrance fee. During the tours, one may see silver ore so rich that there are gray spots of silver in the rock.
Some believe that Calico is haunted by the spirits of miners. The town was the basis for the “Kenny Rogers and the First Edition” album “The Ballad of Calico”.
Calico is a registered California historic monument, and is one of a number of ghost towns in California (other examples are Drawbridge and Bodie). It is the “official state silver rush ghost town” of California. Here is a video I did on Bodie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3GY53-Tgt0&fmt=18
The song I chose for the video is James Taylor’s great song: “Our Town”.
Duration : 0:5:30
Tags: Calico, California, Ghost, LifeJourneyGuy, Town
22 comments so far
Leave a reply