Calico, San Bernardino County, California
| Calico | |
|---|---|
| Ghost town, former mining town | |
Calico in the Mojave Desert
|
|
 Calico
|
|
| Coordinates: 34°56′56″N 116°51′51″W / 34.94889°N 116.86417°WCoordinates: 34°56′56″N 116°51′51″W / 34.94889°N 116.86417°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Bernardino |
| Elevation | 2,283 ft (696 m) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC−8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC−7) |
| ZIP code | 92398 |
| Area codes | 442/760 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1660414 |
| Website | cms |
| Reference no. | 782 |
Calico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert region of Southern California, it was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, and today has been converted into a county park named Calico Ghost Town. Located off Interstate 15, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) from Barstow and 3 miles from Yermo. Giant letters spelling CALICO can be seen on the Calico Peaks behind the ghost town from the freeway. Walter Knott purchased Calico in the 1950s, architecturally restoring all but the five remaining original buildings to look as they did in the 1880s. Calico received California Historical Landmark #782, and in 2005 was proclaimed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to be California's Silver Rush Ghost Town.
In 1881 four prospectors were leaving Grapevine Station (present day Barstow, California) for a mountain peak to the northeast. Describing the peak as "calico-colored", the peak, the mountain range to which it belonged, and the town that followed were all called Calico. The four prospectors discovered silver in the mountain, and opened the Silver King Mine, which was California's largest silver producer in the mid-1880s. A post office was established in early 1882, and the Calico Print, a weekly newspaper, started publishing. The town soon supported three hotels, five general stores, a meat market, bars, brothels, and three restaurants and boarding houses. The county established a school district and a voting precinct. The town also had a deputy sheriff and two constables, two lawyers and a justice of the peace, five commissioners, and two doctors. There was also a Wells Fargo office and a telephone and telegraph service. At its height of silver production during 1883 and 1885, Calico had over 500 mines and a population of 1,200 people. Local badmen were buried in the Boot Hill cemetery.
...
Wikipedia