Calico, San Bernardino County, California

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. Located off Interstate 15, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) from Barstow. Giant letters spelling CALICO can be seen on the Calico Peaks behind the ghost town from the freeway. Walter Knott purchased Calico in 1950s architecturally restoring all but the five original buildings to look as they did in 1880s. Calico received State Historical Landmark 782 and in 2005 was proclaimed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to be California's Silver Rush Ghost Town.^[2]

History

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.^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[3] At its height of silver production during 1883 and 1885,^[4] Calico had over 500 mines and a population of 1,200 people.^[3]

The discovery of Colemanite borate in the Calico mountains a few years after the settlement of the town also helped Calico's fortunes, and in 1890 the estimated population of the town was 3,500, with citizens from China, England, Cornwall, Ireland, Greece, France and the Netherlands, as well as American living there.^[5] In the same year, the Silver Purchase Act was enacted, and it drove down the price of silver.^[3] By 1896, its value had decreased to $0.57 per troy ounce, and Calico's silver mines were no longer economically viable.^[3] The post office was discontinued in 1898,^[6] and the school closed not long after.^[4] By the turn of the century, Calico was all but a ghost town,^[5] and with the end of borax mining in the region in 1907 the town was completely abandoned. Many of the original buildings were moved to Barstow, Daggett and Yermo.^[5]

An attempt to revive the town was made in about 1915, when a cyanide plant was built to recover silver from the unprocessed Silver King Mine's deposits. Walter Knott and his wife Cynthia, founders of Knott's Berry Farm, were homesteaded at Newberry Springs around this time, and Knott helped built the redwood cyanide tanks for the plant.^[5][7] In 1951, Knott purchased the town and began restoring it to its original condition referencing old photographs. In 1966, Knott donated the town to San Bernardino County, and Calico became a County Regional Park.^[8]

Calico has beem restored to the silver rush era, although many original buildings have been removed and replaced instead with flamboyant Victorian architecture and false facades that tourists expect to see in a Western-themed town;^[9] however, there are still some structures dating back to the town's operational years: Lil's Saloon; the town office; the former home of Lucy Lane, which is now the main museum but was originally the town's post office and courthouse; Smitty's Gallery; the general store; and Joe's Saloon. There is also a replica of the schoolhouse on the site of the original building.^[9]

In November 1962, Calico Ghost Town was registered as a California Historical Landmark (Landmark #782),^[10] In 2002, Calico vied with Bodie in Mono County to be recognized as the Official State Ghost Town. In 2005, a compromised was finally reached when the State Senate and State Assembly agreed to list Bodie as the Official State Gold Rush Ghost Town and Calico the Official State Silver Rush Ghost Town.^[11]

Today, the park operates mine tours, gunfight stunt shows, gold panning, a restaurant, the Calico and Odessa Railroad and a number of general merchandise stores. It is open daily, and requires an entrance fee.^[12]

Image gallery

In popular culture

• The town was the basis for the Kenny Rogers and the First Edition album The Ballad of Calico.
• On their 2009 album Gutter Anthems Celtic Fusion band Enter the Haggis has a song about the ghost town called "Ghosts of Calico."
• Children's author Susan Lendroth wrote a picture book, "Calico Dorsey, Mail Dog of the Mining Camps," based on the true story of a dog that carried mail between Calico and East Calico in 1885.
• Filming location for the final scenes of "The Prowler" (1951), starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes.
• Gorillaz shot the music video for Stylo in Calico.
• Mentioned in "Swansea", a song by Joanna Newsom.

See also

• Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm
• Calico Early Man Site

References

External links

• Official website
• Extensive information about Calico and surrounding area
• Extensive history of Calico